NEWS OF THE DAY.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 990, 29 January 1883, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY .

Some Volunteers entertain the mistaken notion that they can lay claim to their uniform after being enrolled for twelve months. . The regulations do not permit this, and any Volunteer on leaving the corps must deliver up his uniform. The capitation fund of the corps has to supply the uniforms and they afterwards belong to it. Captain Taplin notifies that members, of the late cadet corps and Patea Rifles who have not re-enrolled must hand in the whole of the property belonging to Government, or legal pro ceedings will be taken to recover the same at the expiration of seven days. Sir William and Lady Jervois attended a performance given by Simonsen’s Opera Company in Wellington on Saturday night, but Lady Jervois had to leave before the close of the performance through illness.

The Hawera Rifles appear to have shown the white.feather. They had arranged to fire against Patea, and at the first firing were beaten by seven. The return match was fixed for last Wednesday, and Patea made the respectable aggregate total of 542. Hawera has neither fired, nor given a reason for not doing so. The fall from the footpath to the road at Mr Gibson’s corner has been made so great through the new channelling as to be absolutely dangerous.

The last number of the Now Zealand Gazette contains the regulations for the boarding out of children under the Industrial Schools Act passed last session.

At Rockhampton recently n man was engaged to a-sist in unloading a steamer, having appealed to the chief officer to give him a job, as ho had no money and was starving. Unfortunately (says the Australasian') be was not a member of the Labourers’ Union, and immediately a 1 ter he had commenced work the other men—who are all members of the Union—refused to continue unless the starving man were discharged. Unwillingly, the officer explained the circumstances to the poor fellow, who replied that he would join the Union so soon as bo had money to pay the entrance fee. This promise would not satisfy the Union men ; whereupon the man appealed to each in tutn, begging them to withdraw their opposition and permit him to earn enough to obtain a supply of food. They, however, refused point-blank, and the poor fellow had no choice but to depart.

Mr Dale put up a number of sections ai Ins mart on Saturday, but the onty one sold was section 5, block 17,-Patea, which brought £6O. ' The weather has undergone a great change within the last twenty-four hours, and there was quite a heavy downpour of rain this morning. The Natives complain that they will have no potatoes this year, and farmers have been equally unfortunate with regard to turnips. Everything is utilised nowadays (says an American paper). The clippings of sole leather in New England shoo factories were formerly regarded as worthless, and the smell of their burning was a peculiarity of such towns as Lynn and Salem. These scraps are now stamped into buttons for clothes and fancy tack-heads for upholstery . The returns from several chambers of commerce in the vicinity of the Austrian frontier, botli Saxon and Prussian, show that tremendous damage has been caused to the German corn-factors in consequence of the excessive import duties on grain.

A German patent has just been taken, out for Ibo manufacture of bottles, &c., from cast iron containing 12 per cent of silicum, a compound which is said to resist the action of the strongest acids. It is also recommended for the iron plates of zinc and iron galvanic batteries

King Ludwig of Bavaria lias granted n concession for an International Art Exhibition in 1883. The perfect success of the last was mainly due to the contributions of the English painters in water-colours.

A brakeman on the Cincinnati Southern Railway refused (o allow the coloured wife of a clergyman to ride in the ladies’ car. They rode on another line, but sued the objecting company and have received lOOOdol as an apology. In London there is alleged to be a growing tendency among young men of business to substitute milk and sandwiches for' friendly drinking. We hear that the tenders for the new Episcopal Church were so much above the sunj.at the disposal of the vestry that the plans have been referred back to the architect for modification.

The Patea Rifles have been brought up to the required number, Captain Taplin having sworn in a number of recruits.

Sergeant Whelan, who has been so long stationed in Patea, is about to be transferred to.Opunake. Volunteers in this part have ever found him a courteous and obliging officer. At the time of the disruption of the Church of Scotland Dr Chalmers ventured the prediction, regarded by some as rash and enthusiastic, that the annual income of the Free Church would reach £300,000. Last year the receipts of the Free Church for its various objects were £607,608.

The Graphic states that a modern copy of the quaint old Viking’s ship now in the Christiana, Museum is to be built for Lady Brassey’s use at Cowes during the next yachting season. In Denmark the quantity of alcohol consumed per head is 23 quarts ; in Russia, 16 ; Germany, 10 ; Belgium, 9 ; the United States and Switzerland, 7£ ; England, 6 ; and France, 3 quarts.

A Mr Gotch lias started as a rival to Oscar Wilde, and is drawing crowds to his aesthetic lectures in London. He pronounces- the present male attire idiotic condemns hats, coats, and vests, and reserves special bitterness for trousers. Ho goes in for knickerbockers and stockings, no shirt front, no coat tails, no pockets. The Earl of Aberdeen lately entertained his whole tenantry—4ooo people, comprising 882 families. When the Hon. W. Rolleston was Queenstown last week he was shown a piece of pure white marble, picked up on the shore of Lake Mackerrow, which was supposed to have been derived, from a spur of the Skipper’s Range, on the north side of the lake. A gentleman present valued it at £3 per cubic foot—if it were obtainable in large blocks. Lake Mackerrovv drains into Martin’s Bay, which it is said could bo made navigable for about £IOOO, and lies some 50 or 60 miles north of Caswell Sound, where a good vein or reef of marble is known to exist.

The New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company, report under date the 25th inst. “The Mail via San Francisco places us in possession of priced Catalogues to 30th November, which fully confirm cable advices at the time, announcing irregularity in biddings, and a general decline of £d to Id in prices, excepting for finest qualities of Merinos and half-brods. It wiil be remembered, however, that subsequent telegrams wore of a more reassuring character, and that before the close of the scries en Bth December the drop had been partially recovered and the market was again firm at September rate. The somewhat unsettled condition of trade at various centres, both in England and on the Continent, coupled with the fact that large stocks were held by dealers at latest mail advices, dispelled the hope of any very substantial improvement in values at tho[Fobruary series. It is doubtless owing to these circumstances that buyers in the Colony have been unwilling to operate in long wqols, cross-hreds, and coarse merinos, except at a reduction of about 10 per cent, on the opening rates of the season, and in most cases growers have appreciated the situation, and accepted the rates offered.”

Captain John Davis, of the Dora, steamship, of Sunderland, reports that on the IGth November, off Hasboro, in squally weather, she passed a large raft, which appeared to have three or four dead bodies lashed to it and the sea washing over them. The raft could not be secured in consequence of the gale and high sea then experienced.

The New Zealand Tobacco Growing and Manufacturing Company is about to register and commence practical operations.

A new police station is to be built at Hawera. ,

A company is being formed -to work a marl bed at Waitotaara, the material being a good fertiliser.

A sailors’ rest has been established by Bishop Gowie and other gentlemen i: Auckland.

The scratching of Bundoora, a strong favourite for the Wellington Cup, has led to a deal of adverse comment among the sporting public. The residence of Mr Rutherford, M.H.R., near Kaitangata, has been burned down. It was only insured for £SO, An Association telegram from Kaikonrn states that a native named Ratiwa, living at Maunganiamo, eight miles from there, is reported to have murdered his wife.

In the Papakaio murder case, concluded at Dunedin on Friday', Judge Williams summed 'up in favour of Beattie, the accused, who was acquitted after two hours’ ..deliberation on the part of the W-

From Hobart we learn that on the 4th instant three divers from the Nelson went to ascertain the whereabouts of the wreck of the Maude Myra, which recently sunk in (he river. One of the divers named Abel Worth, after discovering her, went down for the purpose of sending up ballast. He had been down three-quarters of an hour, when, as he did not reply to the signals, his comrades became anxious regarding his safety. They continued pumping air, and after four hours the body rose to the surface. Worth being then quite dead. Death is supposed to have been caused by a woollen cap which deceased wore stopping the air-valve.

The Tuapeka Times has the following : —“ The Chinese have now nearly finished the work of exhumation of the bodies of their Celestial brethren. The modus operandi pursued is to gather together the bones of each consumed corpse into a calico bag, thereafter enclosing the same in a cornsack and putting a label thereon, so as to show the identity of the bones, four of these bags being put into a leaden coffin and afterwards enclosed in a wooden one. Uncousumed bodies are put each into a leaden coffin and afterwards into a wooden box, the leaden coffins being all well soldered together, and the wooden ones firmly screwed down. A number of professional Chinese resurrectionists, who, it is said, get £lO for every body resurrected, have been engaged, and these carry on the work of manipulating the remains in an apparently nonchalant and unconcerned manner, The sight to any stranger, especially of delicate nervous organisation, being anything but a pleasant one. The coffins which had formerly held the dead are all burned. A vessel from China, it is understood, will take the bodies to Canton upon their arrival at Port Chalmers.” Marriage (remarks the Bendigo Independent) has its narrows as well as its joys. A day or two ago a young lady named Mackay, a resident of California Gully, entered into the holy bonds of matrimony, and after the ceremony left home in a cab in quest of a honeymoon. On leaving her paternal residence, she received the usual ovation of rice, wheat, and old slippers, which, of course, added to her natural enjoyment. However, a boy named Dower, wishing to add his quota to the respect tendered to the bride, threw a heavy hobnailed boot, which struck her a severe blow on the face. Her nose was badly cut, and blood poured from the wound profusely down her dress. She fainted from the loss of blood and the shock, and had to to be conveyed to her father’s house. The boy ran away as soon as he saw the mischief he had caused. This is only one other to be added to the list of accidents caused by the absurd habit of regarding a bride and an-Aunt Sally in the same light.

Tom Carroll, the once famous jockey, was taken before the Borough Magistrates at Nottingham, the other day, charged with being destitute. He was seen wandering about the town in a deplorable condition. Ho entered a public-house, and on refusing to leave it, was convoyed to the Police Station. The Magistrates ordered him to be sent to the Workhouse.

A strange way of getting n good claim at liimu (says, the llohitiha Star ) was effected by a parly of miners, who wore duffored out, and about leaving their claim. One of the party proposed to sink the shaft deeper before abandoning it. This was according!}' done, and at 15l’t they came on the wash again, and in 40 loads obtained 30 ozs, which is now one of (ho best claims on the rush. Wo liavo heard of other claims where parties have sunk through a layer of wash, and when on (ho second layer have found it did not pay so well as the first, through which, they know many parlies have given it a good (rial, and others take up the abandoned claim, and make a good rise out of it.

Mr Childers is the second Australian public man who has filled (ho position of Chancellor of (ho Exchequer in Mir Gladstone’s administration.

A terrible accident is reported in (ho Roman Catholic chapel of Manghorow, County Sligo. On a recent Sunday morning while a violent thunderstorm was raging, tho congregation being on their knees during mass, a flash of lightning struck the belfry, and brought it down through (ho roof. A dreadful panic ensued, but fortunately only lasted a short time, tho priest leaving the altar and calming tho worshippers. The stone forming tho roof crashed into the eenlro of the congregation, and injuring many of them. One heavy stone fell upon a fanner and broke his neck, tho man dying soon afterwards. In the rush to leave the building some [serious injuries were sustained.

The Stratford Correspondent of the Hawera Star writes thus caustically : —1 was so glad to see that the Patea Harbour Board do not intend to disfranchise Hawera county, and wish to keep us within their rating district. There is a ring of true friendship in such sentiments, and we are delighted so. bear that) as we are not liable to be rated for Taranak 1 harbour, we are not to be excluded from Patea' It would be very cruel if we were. I would suggest, however, that, as some people may not thoroughly understand how great is the honour to be conferred on us, a couple of the members of (he Board should invite us to a public meeting at Stratford to have the matter explained. I certainly consider that as Stratford is on (he Patea river it ought to have the first chance of expressing its enthusiasm for harbour rates. We don’t have many circuses or fai.cie fayres, or things of that sort here, but we are fond of a bit of f un, all the same. If some of the members of the Manawapou and the Tongahre harbour boards would also attend, and explain that they were all willing to rate us rather than let us be disfranchised) it would lend more dignity to the proceedings. If modesty restrains all these gentlemen from coming, I hope that the Patea Harbour Board will accept our sincere thanks for the information that we are not subject to the Taranaki rate. What an ignorant set of muffs we must be, to have been all this time under the impression that we enjoyed the li franchise ’’ of that august body ! Seriously, though, it is rich beyond compare, that when the country districts around .Patea refused only a short time ago to be rated for the harbour, it should be proposed to rate Hawera county for the same purpose.

A cable special to the New York Sim from London, Dec 9, says There is an extremely bitter feeling against England now growing in France, and the Madagascar incident has been an additional exasperation. The English Government yesterday showed some disposition to recede from the position first" taken, which indicated a determination not to interfer e with the Frence projects of annexation in the Island,but there is no apparent yielding of England’s position, In regard to Egypt the French Government has been notified that England must not be interfered with in her conduct of affairs in Egypt; that she is willing to recognise the commercial interests of France in Egypt, and is able to protect them, and that the French people must be satisfied with that. If they accept the invitation in a friendly spirit, England will do her part, and in the meantime they can go ahead with their annexation scheme in Madagascar and America without fear of interference; otherwise, Eng’and will concede nothing in Egypt, and oppose everything in Madagascar. “ If we only had an army,” say the French- “ that we could use it to give emphasis to phrases of our diplomatic negotiations !” The bargain proposed is, however, creditable to neither party. It is said by a French journal that M. Grevy has established a telephone between the Elsyee, Paris, and his country house at Mont-sous-Vaudrey. The distance between.the two places is about 217 miles, a greater distance than has ever been connected by telephone up to the present time.

The Mushera Mountains, County Cork, in Ireland, are literally swarming with grouse» there being nobody to shoot them, The landlords are too afraid of their tenants to go near the place, and the latter have no guns, having had to surrender them under the Coercion Act to the authorities.

“ Why, John, where have you been all night 7” was the greeting, as he stumbled up stairs, “ Comet party, my dear, zhat’s all.” Comet party ? Why it ought not to take all night to see the comet.” “If you zhee as many cornets ash I did, t’would take you, poor < weak woman, a whole week. Yesh it would.’>

A one-legged Yankee orator named Jones was pretty succesful in bantering an Irishman ; when the latter asked him, “ How did you come to lose your leg?” “Well,” said Jones, “ on examining my pedigree, and looking up my descent, I found there was some Irish blood in me, and becoming convinced that it had settled in that left leg, I had it cut off atonce.” “Be the powers !” said Pat, “it would have been a better thing if it had settled in your head

The great current ot Italian emigration has till now been directed to South America, and especially La Platte. In the Republic of Uruguay there are now about 450,000 inhabitants, and there land at Montevideo every year about 17,000 Italian emigrants.

In order, apparently, to avoid an unseemly competition after their death, the poets Whittier and Wendell Holmes arc both reported to have made arrangements that; their bio* graphics shall be undertaken by Mr F. H, Underwood.

Five men who were formerly Brahmin priests are now engaged in Christian work in connection with the Santhal Mission in India.

The lacquer industry of Japan in all its details is illustrated by a collection of 170 specimens recently added to the museum at Kcw Gardens.

Tho Indian Government have purchased from (ho Sid lan of Lahej. (he village of Sliaik o(liman, which is six miles from Aden, and commands all (ho roads loading to (hat town. Tho price is said (o have boon f>o,ooodols. Of all (he industrial arts of (ho early days of Alexandra, one only survives—-that of tine embroidery. In (ho lime of (ho Caliphs (his had reached an admirable pilch of perfect ion. In (hose days (he European princes procured (heir most, costly drcss-s(nil's from the East; and even (he coronation mantle of (he HomanGorman Emperors, preserved in (ho Treasury of Vienna, was worked by Aral* hands.

Tim Gospel of Si . Luke has been translated into (lie Patagonian language byllm l«evTheodore Bridges, who Imslaboured in (hat country for twenty-live years.

Bishop Growl her, ‘‘ England's black bishop,” reports (hat (ho average Sunday attendance at Ins stations on (he Niger I* 8472.

The Christchurch 'D'h'/jraj>h understands (hat Mr Jacobsen, (he alleged discoverer of a diamond field, has received a communication from (ho Minister of Minos (o (ho efieet that the samples of supposed diamonds forwarded to the Government, for analysis are not valuable gems, but merely quarlz crystals. Mr Jacobsen, however, is not satisfied with this explanation, and intends getting experts’ opinions on the nature of his discovery.