Local and General.

Poverty Bay Standard, Volume I, Issue 48, 24 January 1884, Page 2

Local and General.

— Our Trees.—Most people will commend the action of our Town Clerk in making an example in the Resident Magistrate’s Court yesterday of the delinquent who destroyed one of the poplars which serve the double purpose of grateful shade and ornament to our main We hope the present example will act as a salutary warning to drivers, and make them more careful. The poplars are certainly much exposed, and it is a pity that, in forming the streets, the pathways had not been constructed of sufficient width to take in the trees, in the same manner as that adopted in most Continental and European towns. If this had been done, drays and traps could have pulled up close to the kerbing without any risk to the leafy adornments. There can be no doubt but what they are a great inconvenience to business premises, on account of preventing traps pulling up elope to the footpath, and enabling their owners to step on the walk. This inconvenience is more especially felt in the winter time, when the roads are in such a bad state of sludge as to make it a very unpleasant experience for a lady to alight from her buggy, and takes off a great deal of the enjoyment experienced in the delightful and absorbing occupation known as “ shopping.” Setting aside all these objections, we hope no effort will be spared to protect what are almost the only ornaments of our little town, and without which our thoroughfares would look naked and unsightly indeed.

Wharf Dtnss.—As a proof of the ground, lessness of the report which gave rise to the question asked by Member Joyce at the Harbor Board meeting on Tuesday, re the collection of wharf duos, the secretary announces that the usual weekly return of the same was made by the wharfinger on Wednesday morning. If any proof were wanting to demonstrate that the collections are carried out in a prompt and efficient manner, we need only point to the last annual balancesheet for ample confirmation of the fact.

Rowing.—-The first heat of the senior fours will be rowed to-morrow (Friday), and the final one on Saturday. Barnes and E. H. Pavitt will contest the first heat on Friday, and the winners will row Ward in the final heat on Saturday. The race on both days will start about 5 p.m.

Kawhia Township.—As will be seen by reference to our telegrams the sale of this little but promising township has realised upwards of four times the upset price. There is little doubt but what before long purchasers will have good cause to congratulate themselves upon their speculations.

Auction Sale.—Times are very dull.—there is no doubt that money is scarce at present, and, therefore, bargains are open to the enterprising public, as was evinced at the sale held yesterday by Messrs. Carlaw Smith and Co., auctioneers, Gisborne. Mr. Gibb’s leasehold interest in a portion of section 373, near the Club Hotel, together with the counter, jewel show-cases, and other fittings attached to a jeweller’s business, were sold to Mr. Ward for £l9, which was a bargain rarely met with, and, no doubt, some of our townsmen will regret not having attended the sale.

Sale at Bushme re.—Messrs. Graham, Pitt, and Bennett’s sale at Bushmere proved most satisfactory. The furniture and other things sold realised fair prices and went off well. Some of the best blood, including Herculaneum, were bought in.

Announcement.—Mr. D. M. Orr announces in our advertising columns that he has for sale potatoes, tea, sugar, soap, flour, maize, oats, Ac., and, being consignments, prices are exceptionally low for cash.

Tm migration and Emigration.—The immigration and emigration returns for last month are completed. The arrivals were Auckland, 363 : Wellington, GI9 ; Nelson, 1; Westport, 1; Greymouth, 13; Lyttelton, 5} Camara, 8 ; Dunedin, 792 ; Invercargill, 429 . total, 2,231. The departures for the same period were:—Auckland, 180; Wellington, 97; Napier, 8 ; Nelson, 1; Greymouth, 10 ; Lyttelton, 46: Timaru, 1; Dunedin, 27; Invercargill, 384; total, 753, Balance in favor of the Colony, 1,478. The total arrivals for last year were :—Auckland, 5,385 ; Wellington, 4,409; Napier, 17; Nelson, 80; Westport, 22 ; Greymouth, 53; Hokitika, 5 ; Lyttelton, 1,325; Timaru, 10; Oamaru, 9 ; Dunedin, 3,643; Invercargill, 4,309; total, 19,215. The departures from the Colony for the year were; —Russell, 10; Auckland, 2,637; Wellington, 1,670; Oamaru, 9; Napier, 33 ; Nelson, 5; Greymouth, 92; Lytteltoh, 981; Timaru, 12; Oamaru, 2; Dunedin, 160; Invercargill, 3,626; total, 9,186 ; leaving the balance in favor of New Zealand, 10,029.

Jjonppn Enveloped in Total Darkness.-— I “On Thursday morning for upwards of two hours the Metropolis was enveloped in a tog of extraordinary density. Residents in the suburbs arriving in the city between seven and eight o’clock found that the usual autumnal morning mist was hanging over it; but this was soon after followed by a mid-night gloom similar to that which is said to precede an earthquake. The streets themselves were comparatively clear, but over the highest buildings heavy clouds hung through which no ray of light could penetrate; After a time the dense blackness was slightly relieved by the thinning of the canopy, and a lurid, ghastly light struggled through. The street lamps were not lighted for some time, and traffic was rendered dangerous—the drivers of vehicles having slowly and cautiously to feel their way along, shouting to indicate their whereabouts to each other. Shops and offices were lighted up, otherwise foot passengers would have found locomotion exceedingly difficult. On the Embankment, in the side i streets where there are no shops, in some of the squares and courts, and in the neighbourhood of large public buildings like the Law Courts, where no lights were displayed, the danger of collision was very great. In Holborn, Cheapside, and on the bridges, the electric light was immediately turned on, and messengers were sent to the residences of the City lamplighters to summon them to duty. It was, however, nearly half-past ten before they got to work, and by that time the fog began to lift. At eleven o’clock but little of it remained. As soon as the character of the morning was perceived, the reserve men at the different police-stations were sent to various points to regulate the traffic. There were numerous blocks in Cheapside and the neighbourhood of Blackfriars, but vehicles were not as seriously delayed as might have been expected, and no collisions or street accidents have been reported. AU the railway trains were delayed, and on the river the steamers ceased to run.”— Weekly Times, Oct. 4th Pampas Grass.—The San Francisco correspondent of the A T .Z. Herald- sends the following interesting item:—“Pampas grass, so like the toi-toi of your country, is gaining special notice, and the cultivation of it is now a feature in one part of our States. The demand for the beautiful plumes is steadily on the increase, and New York, Boston, and Philadelphia monopolise almost all grown here. In Paris, London, and other cities in Europe, whence these plumes are shipped yearly, they command a large price—that is, £1 a pair, Think of it 1 How little we think of the wonderful waving crops that grow all over New Zealand, stuffing the beds with it, and looking on it more as a weed and a nuisance than anything else, though the plumes here are so much more beautiful that you would hardly know the grass; this, of course, being due to cultivation. Last season there were exported 250,000 plumes, and still the cry was for more. The estimate of the present year’s crop is £BO,OOO. One gentleman lias twenty-eight acres of grass, and others have ten, eight, and so on, The industry is attended by women. I should think the grass in your country could be utilised in a like manner.”