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Poverty Bay Standard, Volume XI, Issue 1257, 24 January 1883, Page 2

The fete at Te Hapera, given by Mr and Mrs Rees to the children attending the Government School, will take place to-morrow. The youngsters are to assemble at the Schoolhouse, as a start is to be made at half-past one o’clock in the afternoon. Six traps have been engaged from both the livery stables, so that the little ones at any rate will be enabled to ride up, but the big ones, we are told, will have to trust Shanes’ pony. The children attending the Government country schools, in response to an invitation given by Mr A. Weston, assembled on Monday last at the Wuikauae in large numbers. Mr and Mrs Weston were indefatigable in their efforts to make toe day a pleasant one fos the children and admirably sueceeded in doing so, The little ones thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and as an impromptu sports programme was drawn up, foot-racing, jumping, running, &c„ were indulged in. There was one closely-contested event, a married women’s race for a cheese, which resulted in a dead heat. The ladies, however, did not run off, but very sensidsy cut the cheese in half, and thus settled the difficulty.

The following testimonial from Major Richardson of Hawke's Bay to Mr Milner Stephen of Sydney respecting the latter’e power to heal deafness has been handed to the Napier” Telegraph ” for publication “ I, Major Richardson, am 50 years of age, and have suffered for 17 years from deafness in the left ear, caused by the reports of rifle shots during the Maori war in 1865, and could not hear general conversation. Having heard and read of Mr Milner Stephen’s wonderful cures, 1 went to him on the 18th inst, and also on two subsequent occasions, when he restored my hearing by breathing into my ear ; and having since taken two bottles of his niaonetised water, I hope and believe that the cure is complete. After the second treatment by Mr Stephen something burst in my ear, and blood flowed out, since when I can hear very distinctly all conversation. —W. A. Richardson, late Inspector A’C. Petane (near Napier), N.Z., December 29, 1882.”

A rumor has been current that Corny Osmond who played with the “ Pollards” here the important part of Ralph Rackstraw in “ Pinafore” was dead, but this we are pleased, by the authority of Messrs Stanley and Darbyshire, to be in a position to contradict. The youngster is now in an office in Melbourne.

Staff-Com., J. C. Atkinson, the oldest naval officer on record, died at Southampton lately, aged 100. He served in the Racehorse until 1833, when he retired from active service, so that he has been on the retired list for close upon half a century. The veteran lost the sight of one xff his eyes in 1847, and had been totally blind for the last 15 years.