The Manawatu Standard (PUBLISHED DAILY.) The Oldest Daily Newspaper on the West Coast. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1885. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Standard, Volume X, Issue 1487, 22 October 1885, Page 2

The Manawatu Standard (PUBLISHED DAILY.) The Oldest Daily Newspaper on the West Coast. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 22, 1885. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

We give elsewhere a letter from Mr Thomas Lowes, lessee of the ferry, m rqply to the article m the Woodville Examiner, m reference to the Gorge telephone. The Bationalist has the following : — "MrT.B. Walton, a noble worker m the cause of Freethought, is to be credited with much of the favor with which Rational tenets have been received fa Palinersten, which, m proportion to its size, is behind no tow* 1 m New Zealand for liberality of thought, and deed. 11 You want to know why it is called the English sparrow, do youj Ethel ? Well, dear, it is because it is vory English m its ways.' Making more noise than any other bird of its size, quarrelling all the time that it is not eating, and seeming to think that this great universe was created for its especial benefit. That is why it is called the English sparrow, Ethel. Vicar : " Did you ever think what you would do if you bad the Duke of Westminister's income ?" New Curate : " No; but. l have sometimes wondered what the Duke would do if he had mine." The number of fires m New Zealand during the last twelve months has been very large, and some of the foreign companies are beginning to look on this colony as a rather unprofitable field for insurance. It was only a few months ago that we had to chronicle the withdrawal of the Fire Insurance Association of London. We now hear' that the Hamburg Magdeburg Insurance Company has received instructions to oease inviting business m New Zealand. — Post. The settlert on the Taonni and Valley roads are rapidly clearing their land of bush, preparatory to cultivation. Mr Manson has got 500 or 600 acres down, and Mr Allerby with other settlors follow with another 400 or 500 acres. The whole face of the country is being changed. Where nothing but dense forests was to be seen two years ago, there now exists open farm lands on which herds ot well-fed cattle abound. The buildings erected are substantial, and vouch for the comfortable worldly positions of the.occupantß. — Star. Mr Dion Boucicault, the well-known dramatic author and actor, opens m Wellington about the 20th of next month. We regret to hear that Lady Jurrois is indisposed. In consequeuoe of this, his Excellency will not leave for Christchurch by the Aorangi, as had been inteuded. In Pweeden, if you address the poorest person m the street you must raise your hat. A gentleman paising a lady on the stairs of a hotel must do the same. To enter a shop or bank with one's hat on is conpidered a terrible breach of good manners.

The rails for the tram line are now laid to the township of Sanson, and 'goods can be conveyed right into the township. By a singular coincidence Dr Rockstrow, who initiated the scheme, was the first passenger landed at Sanson by .the_ line. It may be said that the line is virtually open now for goods traffic, but it may be some three or four weeks before the passenger traffic will commence, as the line has yet to be passed by the Government officials.— Foxton paper. A new form of Highway, robbery has taken place m Canada, which is not altogether unknown m other British Dominions or colonies. The following clipping 'speaks for itself : — A correspondent sends the following : "We often read of highway robbers and they seem to be a rare thing m this part of the country, but we have far more of them scattered m the country, than we imagine. For instance, the farmer clearing his land of stones, will draw them out on the roadside, occupying sometimes as much as one tkird of the highway, or for greed to gain a foot or two ot land, will move his i fence out on the road and make the already narrow roadway narrower.l should say he is a highway robber m earnest, the only difference being that 'he des not rob the people on the highway but robs them of their highway. I think the proper authorities should be informed of such highwaymen wherever they are seen, and have them brought to task, thus relieving the public at large ot a dangerous nuisance." , Sleeping m ohurch. — A Scottish minis-: ter one day inflicted upon his own wife a oensure for the above offence. He had observed one of his flock asleep during his sermon. Ho paused and called him to order. " Jeeras Robson, ye are sleepin' ; I insist on your waking when the gospel is preached to ye !" " Weel, sir, you may look at your am seat, and yo'll see a sleeper forbye me," answered Jeems, pointing to the clergyman's'lady m the minister's pew. "Then, Jeems," said the ministdr, " when ye see thy wife asleep again, haud up your hand." By-arid by the arm was stretched out, and sure enough the fair lady was caught napping. Her husband solemnly called upon h«r to stand up and receive the censure due to her offence. He thus addressed her :— "Mrs B— — , anybody kens that whon I got ye for my wife I got nae beauty. Yer friens ken that I got nae siller ; and if I dinna gat Heaven's grace, ' I shall have a puir bargain indeed." — Dean Ramsay's Reminiscences. -..--■ .It is said that considerable public inconvenience has been caused m Feilding by the recent resignation of the four Justices of the Peace. T We learn that the resignations have ' been accepted by his Excellency. — Post. This story is told by the great Phineas T. Barnum, the unrivalled sliowinan and storyteller : — " When I first opened my great museum m New York a newspaper reporter called on me, and was duly shown over and duly admired the exhibits, suggesting that the only thing required to make .my show complete Was the club "Which killed Captain Cook Now I had several war clubs m my lumber room at the time, and seizing the idea, I said that curiously enough I had secured the treasure yesterday, and would show it to him. I hurried up, procured a label, and placed the club m his hands. He turned it over— he almost shed tears, I thought— and then lip spoke. 'Poor Cook,' he said- ; ' poor fellow ! I'm glad you've shown nic this but I expected it. I've been to all the inusenms m the city, and they, all had it, so I felt sure that a gigantic establishment like this would not be without it.*' The Sydney Evening Nevos contains the following regarding Mr Thomas Bracken, who has been lecturing m that city : — lt is said that when m Parliament, Mr Bracken on one occasion relieved the tedious monotony of the debate by reciting some poetry appropriate to the occasion, which so excited one of the Maori members — Hen are Tomoana by name, the , representative of the Eastern Maori district —that he too, recited a poem — a native poem, the subject matter of which the interpreter had to allow, with a blush, would not admit of reproduction before ears polite. The entire truthfulness of this story is weakened by two discrepancies. In the the first place, ii would be hard to shock the feulings of an average member of Parliament. • Secondly,'it would be impossible to make a New Zealand interpreter blush ; it is not m him. Messrs Luke, the iron founders of Wellington, are manufacturing a hip-h---presßure compound condensing. 14 h.p. fhominal) engine to the order of Messrs Chamberlain Bros., flour millers, at Wairarapa, who, from a visit one of that firm recently paid to the Exhibition became convinced that they could obtain as good value for their money within the colony as they could by going to the Home market. Aa showing that the Maori is not incapable of the highest civilisation we may mention the following story :'■ — An East Coast settlor on a visit to the other Island met a native. Now natives are scarce down South and our friend, a first-rate Maori linguist, naturally said 11 Tena koe." The Maori answered iv English, and m reply to' further enquiries stated that he belonged to the Bay of Plenty ; that he had been at sea : had just landed at Newcastle ; and .being hard-up, would like to borrow a pound. He was given the money at once. Next day the two met again m the street, when the native paid back the pound. " I thought you were hard-up" said our friend. "Ah well," said the Maori, " me did not want you go back Bay Plenty and tell my people Jack owe rae Pound. I ' Me make a play gamp poker, win fifty pound!" " How did you manage that ?" "Me know how stack the pack ; me learn at Sydney 1" ' The loan question was discussed at the mwetiug of the Borough Council held last evening, and the Council wisely'decided not to consider the matter without going intoi committee unless the reporters promised to withold comment and publication of report until affairs were satisfactorily concluded with the Bank. The editor of our contemporary (present-reporting) conscience smitten for his past indiacrece action m this matter, promised to restrain himself this time, and the business then proceeded. The following letter appears m the advertising columns of the feilding Star : — Sir, Will you kindly inform the public, through your columns, that m order to prevent any obstruction to business of a nature requiring the services of a J.P., while I am alone here m the Commission, that I shall attend each day at the Court House, Feilding, at 11 a.m., at their service. — Yours, &c, E. H. Wright, J.P. Mamre, Feilding, October 19th, 1885.