The Manawatu Standard (PUBLISHED DAILY.) The Oldest Daily Newspaper on the West Coast. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13. 1886. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1607, 13 January 1886, Page 2

Manawatu Standard (PUBLISHED DAILY.) The Oldest Daily Newspaper on the West Coast. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13. 1886. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

We again., remind our waders of the social gathering which Uk«s place tomorrow evening, m the ForasUrv td.Mll iv connection with tb» Pre«byt«rian Church. ■ Meß«rß Stevens and. GortonV annual horse fairtaueß pluce. at thp Bollu S,ul« Yards on Friday r the 15th iuat. . A number of lioraes passed through here last night en route for the Napier market. . . . ; ' Ou Monday morning, (say* the F«ilding Star,) a horseman wV> was riding along the Kiinbolton ftoad v tliEow down alighted matcli. amongst the- Jgng dry grass. Immediately tliore was a blaze ■tartud, but fortunately Mrs Fairfluld -'riidinpson, whose house is near at iiand saw it, and promptly extinguished th« fire befoieit had s&ined any Blrengtlu The Auckland Star sa'yß the iinmeri'Be sum of £35,0,09 waa passed through the totaiißfttprß dunlin the three days of the Auckland Summer Meetinc. Colonel Chaillelong, Ute chief-of-stafE to General Gordon, delivered a lecture m JSew York on December slh, m which ' he insisted that th*i General was still alive. The lecturer said he had four or five steamers, aud m his opinion went south m oue of thwee to Gondokoro, and would m due titno be hoard from. Two of the most difficult problems to solvo iv this lif« are, why ones rest - Should be disturbed by having to risefor breakfast, and why the exigencies of •» iatctice should make it tjeci-ssary to work m the intervals betwqeu ; inealsi These have uev«r beett properly solv.ed. ; ' . The Hokitika Guardian of the sth says that at Lyell on New Yeara's Kvb an It&liau miner deliberately blew oSki» haad with dynamite. ~ The Advocate bmjb that water fit for drinking is becoming very scarce m , Marton, and hence the Mayor; aud BoroHgh Council have been - castingabout as to the best means of securing a supply. Holes are 'being sunk iii tho bed of the Tutaenui, and present appear ancos are rery favourable. Should this resort fail, however, there is another source, and a very coed one. ■ Ok the t property of Mr Ingram, about a mile from Watt & Jones' corner, there is a well affording an inexhaustible supply of pure spring water. Mr Ingram hasgenerously placed this at the disposal of the borough gratis. In the event of the w«U being used, the Borough Council will have, to erect the neeessarjr pumping appliances. ...... . -. On Monday, the mail coach drove across the Manawatu River on this side of the Gorge, instead of using tho ferry punt. _ The water was. uot over the axles of the- wheels. This is almost unprecedented. A, very good joke is recorded m connection with a recent Couaty Council election which occurred m a district not many miles from the river Manawatu. Amongst tho eluctors was a settler whoso rates amounted to something near , half a century, and the authorities of Council of course congratulated themselves on the individual m question having to " stump up " to be m a? condition to record his vote. Iv this they were slightly, mistaken, for the knowing one had quietly registered himself as the owner of a section on which the annual rate was the immense sum of ten pence ! Going into the polling bootn;, he asked fora receipt for this amount, and having obtained it, demanded a voting paper. The collector looked with, horror upon this attempt, aud made an endeavour to collect tbe full sum, but it proved futile and the elector, on his ten-penny rate, triumphantly recorded his vote for bis party.— Foxton paper. ' The War Cry of tbe 9th instant states that a Female Kesoue . Home is to be opened m Wellington shortly, Miss Brownlie taking the supcrintondency. The N.-Z. Times of Friday says that an exceedingly narrow escape from drowning occurred m the harbour that afternoon. A steerage passenger of the Wakitipu, named William Bennett, was watching the Manapouri moving away from the wharf, from the side of the steamer, when, suddenly losing his balance, he fell into the water. He im"rnediately .ptrtfck out,. a <: rope; being thrown to him, which he failed to grasp. Captain Wheeler, who was on the bridge of the 'Wakitipu, then-threw hini a life-buoy, but unfortunately it struck him on the face, rendering him nearly insensible. His condition was rapidly becoming critical, when Alfred Best, lamp trimmer ef the Wakitipu, jumped/ from the bridge of that steamer into the water, and after a little trouble succeed- , fd m rescuing the drowning man. The two men were hauled on board the Bt«am«r. Bennett 'wan m a very exhausted condition, bnt soon recovered. : Best: jwajrsaluted with a gqod d«al of cheer ' iag f rom the large crowd on the wharf as a reward for his plucky conduct. E Indeed, had it not boen for his prompt > action, Bennett would have iundoubt^ \ edly drowned. i