The Manawatu Standard (PUBLISHED DAILY.) The Oldest Daily Newspaper on the West Coast. THURSDAY, JULY 2, 1885. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Standard, Volume X, Issue 29, 2 July 1885, Page 2

Manawatu Standard (PUBLISHED DAILY.) The Oldest Daily Newspaper on the West Coast. THURSDAY, JULY 2, 1885. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

John Keen rode a bicycle twenty miles against thrao trotting horses on Easter Monday, at Crystal Paris, (" one done, another came on "), and ho won by over a mile, m lh 9min 38sec. Francis Capel, whoso wife was killed m the collision between the Nemesis and the Iberia, on the occasion of the departure, of the Australian contingent, died m the Sydney Hospital on Saturday laat. It appears that Capel, who landed at Adelaide from the Iberia, met ! with an accident on board whiph resnlted m the amputation of several fingers m the Sydney Hospital. Mortification sut m lately, ami he died on tho 6th instant. Ho leaves a family of fire children utterly destitute, and under the painful circumstances m whiuh they have lost botli parents, a public appeal is being made for their support. Tho following anecdote shows that the-influ'enc* of Te Whiti is still great. A Maori who had been staying at Parihaka visited Hawera the other day. He is a steady man, and apparently sensible and reasonable enough. His name was included with those of several others as guarantee for a reserve specially set aside for Maori use. He was asked to sign the deed inclining him as one of the grantees m trust for the rest of the jiapu, but declined. The interpreter explained the matter fo him, and he said the interpreter might sign it for him, but ho would not put pen to paper. If he did so God would see him and would tell To Whiti. Our informant says that he could cite other instances, equally s'trong,jjhowiri{j that, although Tjiikowaru is now taking an active part, m reality Te Whiti's influence is grow- \ ing rather than: • declining.— Hawera Star. There was no meeting of the Borough Council last night, the attractions of the Baldwin entertainment proving too potent for our City Fathers to resist. Crs. Beck, Abrahams, Hutcheson, and Grace, put m an appearance, but a quorum coujd not be obtained. A,fter a lapse of Ijalf' an ; hour the; Town Cierk adjourned thY meeting till 5 Friday evening, whsn it is more than probable it will be further adjourned till next Wednesday evening. \. . ■ ■ ■ We remind our readers of Messrs Srielson and Cos. sale of drapery, clothing, fancy g;oods, blankets, &o N . f to take place to-morrow at their rooms at 2 p.m. During tha week at least twenty men with swags upon their backs have passed : through the main street, going northwards m search of employment, some of them remarking to the writer " they would have done much better by staying down South," meaning m the South Island.— Girey town correspondent of Wellington paper. The Rev. Mr Dunn, a Presbyterian minister, who has beon travelling m New Zealand giving lectures on physiognomy, etc., has been' called to account by the Auckland Presbytery. It appears that he has a ministerial charge, at Pakekohft, and some three or four months' ago obtained six months' leave of absence to visit his parents, m Scotland. Instead of going to Scotland he went on a lecturing tour. Tho Presbytery' were aghast at his conduct. He' . was granted leave for a specific object, and spent his time m making money by lecturing^ He is a young man hale and strong, and did not need a diversion from his pastoral duties. He has been ordered to return to his proper work. William Ebden, previously convicted of sly grog selling m connection with Wellington brotheis, was on Monday fined £50 or three* mouths for sly grog selling. . Three firms of Wellington photoJ;raphers have been fined 20s And costs of employing females after hours. ■'•'' The lives of five persons were saved m Boston a few nights ago by the warning of a cat. The animal mewed and ' scratceed at a window until the sleeping occupant was.awakened, who discovered that'the house was on fire, and gave the alarm, jn time for the t family to make their escape,; ' . ' " The'; pretty, little building at Foxton known a's All Saints' Church, and used by the Anglican congregation, had a remarkably* narrow escape from fire on Sunday evening last. It appears that Mr Maclean, who very kindly looks after the lighting of the Church, had just lit the three lamps m the middle chandelier, when the whole affair, as he was ; m the act of descending the steps, came crashing down. on his head. Fortunately, only one of the lamps-broke, and befor« the flame had left the wick, Mr Maclern 1 had it out, The other two lamps were then speedily extinguished. I There was no one but Mr Macl«an m the building at the time, of the occurrence, and it can readily be believed* that at one time, the situation, to use a hackneyed phrase, was " rather critical." The building is insured for £400, and it is without doubt owing to the fact thafc»Mr Maclean never lost his presence of mind for one moment that the company interested are not losers by that amount. Three burning lamps falling about a man's ears, and one breaking on the floor, and then no fire, is a record that • does not always followsuch an incident. Ihe cause of the accident was owing to the chandelier by some means becoming discpnnected from the iron rod to which it was attached. — Foxton paper. rt> " The brigatino Seretha, which arrived at St. John's, Newfoundland, on April 26 ; from Figueria brought Captain Bowden and two seamen Shaw and Adams survivors from the last barquentine Mariner of St John's. This vessel was crushed >m an icepack on April 5, and the chief officer and the rest of the crew perished on the same night m the long boat, which was crushed m the floe, which •was set m violent motion by the heavy" eastern swell, Captain Bowden and the two men were for twenty days exposed to a storm of snow and sleet with no covering, little clothing, and scanty bread fare. They were rescued on April 25. They will probably die. The Marine^. left Lisbon on January 1, and was ninety-eight days at sea, when she 'sank amid the ice field.

The polibe (says the Wafpawa Mail) have for 3'ears past been very unsuccessful m collecting the do£-tnx from tho ■o\yt}ars qf dogs amongst tho Maori population, neaF Waipawa. Qne year they went over to tiie pah--wh,en old 'Sydney Taiwhanga was there on a .visit. After being informed as to the nature of their errand, tho old radical produced a hugh roll of papers and docmnnnts, and from it took out a copy of the troaty of • Waitanga, which, he contended exempted the natives from the tax. This year Sydney Taiwhanga is not hero and the police are bringing some of the owners of canine delinquents into court when it will become the duty of the R.M. to decide whether natives should pay the dog-tax just as much as a white man or not.

The ronl relationship between colliery explosions and the shite of the atmosphere is gradually being ascertained. The Manchester Guardian now publishes a daily ptobahlu connexion and " Colliery Warning." Hitherto " warnings" have only been issued to those who go down to the sea m ships. Now they art isaued to those who go down to the earth m mines. Thus, tho last of these " warnings " was as follows : "|fhe atmosphere over North- West Europe m a very unsettled state. No naked light to bo allowed m. workings — no shot to be fired unless the greatest care is taken. If weather be five do not relax vigilance." The absurb adjustment of electoral boundaries which place* Sandon, Poxton, and the Wellington suburbs m the same district has received some attention at tho hands of Mr Wilson this session. Ho was, however, told by the Premier, iv reply to a question, that no general re-adjustment' of doctoral districts would take place this session, but that the requirements of a few city electorates would, m thiß respect, receive attention. Tho purport of the Rating Act Amendment Bill, introduced by Mr Turnbull, is to exempt from liability to rates all real aud personal property belonging to registered friendly societies. Sir Julius Yogel has introduced a Bill relating to Postal Notes, tt empowers the Post Office to issue postal notes for transmission of small sums within tha Colbuy or abroad at a rate of commission to be fixed by Order m Council. The Customs duties collected at the port of Wellington during last month amounted to £24,497. For the corresponding month last year they 'were £17,141. A Press telegram from Grey mouth states (hat the water m the coalpit,. Heath mine, has decreased sufficiently to allow of work to be resumed to some extent. Two marriages were celebrated at Foxton on Tuesday, and more to follow I Things are looking up. The inhabitants of Ashburtou have re : ! ceiyed notice f rim tho varibua insurance companies that tho discount of 25 per cent, on fire insurance risks will' be discontinued at the end of the . current month. Great dissatisfaction is the result, tho more so because. the borough council have recently gone to great expense m providing an excellent water supply for fire preventive purposes. The Chief Surveyor's opinion of the block of land taken up by the Foilding Small Farm Association is very good. He considers it equal to the pick of the Kiwitea Block. . ■ The Rev. Mr Collins who greatly distinguished himself near Suakirn, iv March last, when the British, troops were surprised by the Arabs while m the act of constructing a zareba, is ; a priest of the Roman Catholic .Church. It is stated that the rev. gentleman will receive the Victorian Cross as a reward for his heroism. He certainlu wellearned this distinction.