Local and General.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 36, 10 January 1884, Page 2

Local and General.

Bather Hot,—The barometer in Gisborne, yesterday, indicated 83deg, in the shade and llOdeg. in the sun. The weather was not, however, very oppressive, as a gentle breeze toned the heat down a little daring the day. lui Destroyed,—Yesterday morning, a fine poplar in front of Mr, Croll's store was broken off dose to the ground by the wheel of a dray coming in contact with it. It is really a pity that the beautiful adornments to the streets of. the town should be destroyed, through thb carelessness or stupidity of people. The borough “ authorities”—a short time since—set the example of spoliation by putting their laborer to lop off the limbs of some of the trees between the Masonic Hotel and. the office of this paper, and other lessimportant personages of course get careless about the protection of the poplars. Picnic.—We understand that the Rev. J. T. Pinfold and the Blue Ribbon party in Gisborne purpose holding a picnio up the Waimate River on Tuesday next—the first day of the Poverty Bay races. The low price of 2s. 6d. will, we understand, be charged for the tickets. < j Don’t Tvch-bs!—This ie, we admit, an execrable pun (pure Devon), but it serves our purpose in pointing out the excessive candour of Cr. Tutchen. He admitted at the last meeting of the Council that “ he owed the papers a debt of gratitude;" for “if reported as he spoke he should be ashamed to read it.” We rather like Cr. Tutchen’s honesty; but would ask him to “ don’t Tuch-en ” again, or it may be imagined he is only humbugging the reporters, who are rather sensitive on matters of that kind.

Floating Breakwater.—lt is highly satisfactory to find that the Gisborne Harbor Board has decided to write Home for a description of the model of a floating breakwater shown at the Fisheries Exhibition, and it is to be hoped that the Agent-General will obtain and send out the fullest information on the subject.

Notice.—We call attention to Mr. Orr’s advertisement in another page, explaining matters connected with his bankruptcy.

Held over.—We are indebted to the Ven. Archdeacon Williams for a tabulated form of and temperature at Gisborne, which will appear in our next issue.

Hospital Committee.—At the meeting of the Hospital Committee last night, Mr. E. K. Brown remarked “ The committee of the present year were the very worst he had ever known. Scarcely any of them ever attended to their duties.”

Wool,— Several <hay loath of wool passed through Gisborne yesterday, anti it may be be stated that the shearers are now in the heart of their season, The weather, too, lately, has been favorable for the work.

New Importation.—Among the very large variety of articles of furniture in Large and Townley’s, we noticed, yesterday, some rolls of cork matting, which is considered the best article in the market for halls and passages,

Correction.—ln the report of the B.M. Court, in our last issue, an error crept in, Mr. Nolan being credited with having ap. peared for the plaintiff in the case of C. D. Berry v* P. Barrie, and Mr. Brassey for the defendant, It should have been reversed, and we apologise to the legal gentlemen for placing them in a wrong position, A Hailstorm,—The Ashburton correspond dent of the Press writes“ Probably no place in Canterbury can compare with the districts of Alford Forest and Mount Somers fur variety of and extraordinary changes in climate. Recently reportshave come to hand of extraordinary hailstorms occurring in these districts, but the accounts now to hand seem entirely beyond credence, and were it nof for the fact that my informant gives his state, ment in such a way as to leave no room for doubt, I should hesitate te communicate his account of a storm occurring in the Mount Somers district on Christmas Day. My informant is a shepherd in the employ of Mr. E. Ga Wright. He was in Mr. Wright’s place at Gawler Downs on Christmas evening, and states that between five and six o’clock a most severe storm passed over the district. His attention was first attracted by the falling of a hailstone as large as a bantam fowl's egg. He was proceeding outside with the intention of picking the hailstone up, but was driven back by the falling of others still larger. The stones kept falling and pattering on the roof of the room occupied by the shepherd and other employes, and eight or nine holes were made through the iron ridging of the roof. The storm was not like an ordinary hailstorm, but continued for some time, and in half an hour the ground was covered with hailstones resembling solid pieces of ice, many of them being as large as a hen’s egg. They lay on the ground several hours before melting, and wherever they fell macle deep indentations. My informant also states that a quantity of glass was broken at the Hon, W. S. Peter’s house, situate about two miles south of Gawler Downs, and also at Mr. Peache’s house, some three or four miles away, in the direction of Mount Somers’ township.”

The Telei’KONr. — Opera by telephone seems to be coming popular at Home. At a recent dinner party at Manchester, Mr. Carl Ross being amongst the guests, the wires were laid on from the stage of the Princess’ Theatre to the dining-room, two miles away. The experiment was a thorough success, the guests hearing all that went on at the theatre, from the preliminary tuning up of the orchestra to the final rounds of applause ; and Mr. Rosa was able in some measure to control the proceedings, as in the course of the first act he suggested to the conductor at the theatre that one or two of the airs had been taken rather quickly.

Bad as the Kea.—“ The other day (says the Oamaru Mail), while mustering at Otematatata, the manager (Mr. Stoddart) observed a sheep come straggling along with head erect and mouth open, panting with a large gull perched upon its back, and tearing away at the poor brute’s flesh. On examination it was found that the gull was eating the flesh in the same manner as the kea is in the habit of doing. Whether the kea had oommenced the attack, and the gull was finishing off this particular sheep, it is impossible to say.”

Honesty.—“ We heard of an instance today whieh speaks highly for the honesty and attention of the officers on board the Union Company’s steamers. A young lady (writes the Taranaki Herald) visiting this town was so ill on board the s.s, Rotorua, that she not only lost her return ticket, but half a sovereign with it, which slipped from her purse. By the steamer this morning she received a letter containing not only the return ticket but the money she lost, with an intimation that they were found together in the berth she occupied. As such instances deserves notice, we have much pleasure in recording it.” Sale or Tramways.—“ It will ba seen from an advertisement in our auction columns (says the N, Z, Times) that the Wellington City Tramways, concession, good-will, horses, engines, and the whole plant will be sold as a going concern by public auction on Friday, the 18th inst. Messrs, T, Kennedy Macdonald and Co. will act as auctioneers, and as the sale is absolutely unreserved, in consequence of a dissolution of partnership between the proprietors, it may afford an opportunity for an outside or local capitalist to come in and reap a very rich reward for the losses sustained by the early promoters of this valuable undertaking.” Electric Communications in Trains,The system of electric between passengers and engine-drivers has been brought into operation on one of the railway lines in New South Wales. The mode of connection is at once simple and ingenious, those portions of the wire likely to be subjected to any sudden jerk or strain being made of spiral form, so aa to yield. wjthout risk of fracture. The method of application is simply by pressure on a button covered by a small glass dome, fixed in a conspicuous part of every carriage. A passenger desiring to stop the train has only to pull off the glass dome and press on the button, when the bell is set ringing, and continues to ring until the train is stopped. The glass dome cannot, however, be replaced, so that in the event of a false alarm being given the carriage from which the apparatus was set in motion can be determined.”

Shipping Company’s Fleet.—“ The New Zealand Shipping Company have received cable advices as follows: —“ The sts. British Queen left Plymouth on the 29th ult., for Wellington and Lyttelton, with immigrants. The Company’s steamers Aorangi, for Wellington, and Doric for Auckland, will probably proceed direct from Teneriffe to their respective ports of call in Zealand. The third new steamer, the Ruapehu, built for the Company’s direct steam line, has arrived in London from the Clyde, and will be despatched to Auckland about the 10th instant. The clipper Rakaia left London for Lyttelton on the 23rd December.” The Auckland Crops.—The N. Z. Herald says that “ the wheat crops in the country are very much later this year on any former occasion, and a gentleman from Papatoetoe informed us yesterday morning that it will be fully a fortnight before the wheat in his district will be ready for the machine whilst on former occasions he has had wheat in stook at Christmas, thus showing that the season is fully three weeks later than formerly, whilst the new year has generally been the very busy time for harvesting the crop. The same gentleman informed the stormy weather had been the means of causing a deal of the heavy wheat to lie down, and that the crop generally requires heat to bring it to proper maturity.”

Pykw v. Stout.-'From southern papers we find that those two champion politicians have been at loggerheads lately respecting a leader in a daily paper, the authorship of which Mr. Stout attributes to Mr. Pyke. The latter, however, denies the soft impeachment, and justly calls the former to task for “ attempting to unveil the anonymity of the Press.”

Dunedin Benevolent Institution. — A public meeting was lately called by Mr. Pyke to raise funds for this institution, when only about twenty persons attended, The weekly outlay of the institution amounts to £75, the bank overdraft is £l5O, and the accounts owing by the institution reach the sum of £4OO. This is a deplorable state of affairs. The Unemployed Question.—” The Qanwrn Mail nays The unemployed difficulty has reached such a stage in this district that a number of those who are out of work are taking steps to institute a meeting to dis* cuss the situation.”—The Wellington Pont of Friday says!-»“ In view of the great cry that is heard al present—more particularly from Christchurch—r with respect to the unemployed, it ie worthy of note that Mr. McKenzie, contractor, has been in town for some days endeavouring to obtain about fifty navvies for work near Woodville at Bs. per day, and has failed in his object, Messrs. Joseph Jay and Co. also require sixty men for work in the Forty-Mile Bush at the same rate of wages, but are unable to get them. These facts speak for themselves.”