LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Oamaru Mail, Volume I, Issue 239, 27 January 1877, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

At the r*>ttte Court this morning Edward Murphy and John Shannon, convicted of l>e : ns drank and disorderly, were lined W$ each, with the alternative of three dj.y* imprisonment. Constable Donovan le't town I y ths Waitaki th a morn'ng. having in hi* escort two pri oners sentence! to term? of imprisonment at ths last sitting of (lis District Court. I hey were Tafrvik Walsh., sentenced to three year/ imprisonment for stealing a S'im of money: and James Allen, convicted of malteioudy broking windows and allotted three month* in thj Dune.lin Gaol. Th--four children. Bcntley. deserted by their father, were also se»t down to the Industrial School, the two older ones for fonr years. and the younger for a term of seven years.

A safe of property in the estate of Hugh M Lareo wa* bald to-dny by Mr. Mantle in his rooms, hat although the attendance was numerous the competition was anything but brsk. Out of all the lot* submitted the hammer fell to but one, that of freehold section 23 on block I XXIIL, on which were two fonr-rnomed cottages. Mr. W. Aitken became the purchaser for the sum of £27o*. All the other lot* failing to realise the reserve pnc<s*. were withdrawn.

It will be seen by advertisement that we are to bivc a visit from the Grand Nation il Circus next week. I'he entertainment consists of the equertrian performance by the mammoth stud of Li Hputian horses and juvenile riders, in addition to Barlows trained d»>g-* and menkiys. The troupe has teen spoken btgjly of by the pre*seliewhere. and our juveniles may consequently prepare for a treat.

We were this morning shown a natural curiosity in the shipe of the root of a tree, which was choppe.l off fr»m a gum tree in Victoria. Ihe piece u a perfect representation of a katig iroo rat, in s:ze anil shape, and it « hard to b<2 iave that it his not bean carvel t*> repre e.t thj animal we h*ve mentioned. Wjt huvj been a* ured, that «»Ji ii not th* caie, and that the only insciuaient with wldeh it Las been into contact is the axe which scvared it Horn the tree. 'lhe hind portion with the the tail complete is true to life, so also ;s the hea», tha only partj which ar«* aomswhat out «>f shape b-ing the two foreleg). Tafcea ai » whole, however, i; is a capital repreicata'.ioa, and a jc-fect cariosity in its way.

Despite the semi-official contradiction that the Government do not intmd reducing the pay of the police in this Province, there is,

w> {Stir) understand, a gsne al feeling among the men that reductions aud change arc to take place ai the cad of the fin:in;:q ycir. 'i h 3 co:i3 jqiiciici i 3 that saveral of the oUest msmbjrj of the foro arc a'joat t j reji^ndne >»f the p-.iioairj in thi Ilokitika Gaol <s.y* this Arjit*) named Luke Moore, fur mcrly a Echwbnaster, and eoavu-ted a short time ag» of improper conduct to a youug girl, one of l.ij pupils, and for which offence he was seutcnce.l to a term of imprisonment and two floggingj, bad fi.'teen lashe3 a».lmiuktcrtd to him on Friday morning under the inspection of the Medical Officer and Visiting Justices of the gaol. On this occasion, as on the former, he endured the punishment, whidi wa* carefully yet unsparingly administered, with the ufcmo3t fortitude.

Judging from the fo'lowing, taken from the BuJjei, New Plymouth must be a lively place:—"A coup'c of commercials were comparing notes yest -rday ai to the lively state of aff.iirs in t!>w.i j -st n»w. One happen d to menti-m that he had m-mige I to sell a hog-brad of tre.iele "Tie-cle—-breal a«.d trcic'e," ciied t'ae oth.-r, 'have thing.got to auch a low ebb as that -treacle and bre.il.' A butelur observer even worse tb nth-it, and snys his thief orders now are U,t 'dr'pjiing fat'—bread an I dripping being the chief food of his cast mcra. A gent now on a tojr of infection from Wel.ingtoir while ramb'ingm Devon street t'.;ii morning. obsr\cl one shopkeeper leaning on the cuntcr fast asleep, 'ihe gjut'j attention wai attra-eti'd as he pas«ed the sb«p ilo >r by the heavy snaring JI;d; as-!iour later lb • ship was bS.n-> cnntinuetl. 'Lively, ccrtidtdy.' said the vi ito-. There was, h-w----evcr, one thi *« lb it pu/ale-l hi n, and th.it w:;s—why all storukc pus did not go in f 't a !>wuct doze aho. for be could see little lmnc« doifg to warrant them keeping open .-dl day—a few ImiusJ an evening would be quite sutrieicn"."

King?t-ii. at the head of Like Waka!i;>. was viiiJc.l by a waterspout nu the I'lth iti3t. 'J Ite C o:mv,-ll Arjn* corrc-i omlent pa sing fr.un cast to west it strttek the to;» af the rang; on the we=t side »f the I akc at asp >t kit nva a; the head of A Ilea'j Creek. a-id s-cnis to have literally torn a v.-iy for it el; d >wn b -th side; of the rnouiiMin rai'ge <>n the I ake side its track mw be plainly seen, while on the Allen Creek or western ii.le of the rang: the water has torn u:» trees and everything in its track, hrtii'.'ing down trc„-3 fro 11 forty to lifty feet high in it* course. A f-w navvies, camped on the terraces, were the only part 123 flooded r.nt. 'J hey say the creek amic down like a tidal wave some eight or ten feet high, carrying everything before it. Having taken place daring the diy, no h.ssof life occurred, although several men had a narrow csenpc in attempting to save some timber belonging to Mr. Blair, the railway contractor, who will be at coti3:der..ble loss thereby."

The last number of the Gonrxnunt Gaz?U.i contains a notification tlmt a bonus of C 1,500 will be paid for the production of the first fifty tons «>f gey or wrapping paper; and that a further bontn of £I,'OO will be paid for the product >n of the first fifty tons of printing piper on the following terms : That the clai n shall be ina le in writing to the Colonial Secretary on or before tha 30th of June, 1877, acjo:n:>anie I l»y evidence that the prescribed qumtiiy of paper hat been manufactured in New Z.-alan I by machinery intended t- be permanently employed in the manufacture of paper within the C< lony, :iml has bean actu illy sold at a fair market pricj for pu-pi'ses of trade, an I delivered t.> the buyer prior to tha claim lodged. Mr. Bnnny, M.H.R., who resigned on the last day of the year his appointment of administrator of the Wellington Provincial district (sayj the Daily Te'.ejraph), -which he held at a salary of £l,O-0 a year, has received a fresh delegation of power from the Government, and will conduei the business as but without salary. We observe also that Mr. Cartis has consented to occupy the same position at Nelson. A3 in fact does all tli3 ex-sapei-intendunts who enjoy the confidence of the Governm nt.