LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Te Aroha News, Volume XIV, Issue 2086, 17 March 1898, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The- permanganate process is reporter! to have worked satisfactorily in connection with the Great Barrier Gold and Silver Company's ore, .85- per cent of the gold having been extracted. The military entertainment given by the Ohinemuri ’Company, No. 1, on Saturday night last, proved a great success. On Friday night last a concert and dance took place at the Public Hal', Komata, Under the lead of Mr Charles Lawn the local band gave two selections, which were well received, and Mr Lawn himself contributed one or- two cornet solos with fine effect. The proceeds of the concert and dance were devoted to the reduction of the debt on the building. About seven hundred natives from the Tanranga district will proceed to Te Aroha next week, from thence they will take train to Huntly. They have already sent nebont ten tons of dried fish, and a hundred kits of dried shellfish: This meeting is expected to be the largest held in New Zealand for many years. —Bay of Plenty Times.

Driven desperate, it 'is alleged, by her husband’s neglect and worry about her children, Mrs Thos. Flannigan, the wife of a laborer on the Thames-Paeroa railway, sucked the heads off some lucifer matches with the intention of committing suicide. She was found lying in a paddock by some neighbours, who administered an emetic and sent for a doctor. Subsequently she was removed to the Thames Hospital,

The Waihi output of 2880 tons yielded £11,241.

-v jQ-wing to pressure on our space the report of the Town Board’s usual monthly meeting is held over until Saturday.

Captain Grant inspected the T-A.V. corps at S nardon’s Hall last night. Over fifty Austrians, en for the Northern gum fields arrived from Sydney by the s.s. Waihora on Tuesday morning. We are requested to state that the Social at Waiorongomai, announced to take place to-morrow night, has been postponed to Friday, 25th inst. Full particulars of the clearing sale to be held by Messrs McNicol and Co. (in conjunction with Mr W. J. Hunter) on behalf of Mr .H. Wright at Clements’ Park, Cambridge, on Wednesday, 30th March, will be found in their usual column. The sale will commence at 12 o’clock sharp> and thevarious lots will be offered without reserve.

From all parts-, of Waikato have come reports of the destruction by fire of wheat and oat stacks. In some instances the traetion. engines-have been responsible, but in- most cases spontaneous combustion has. done the damage. The latest addition to the list of the unfortunates ia Mr F. D. Vickers, of Tuhikaramea, who had threelarge stacks- of wheat burnt on Friday. A number of people called at Jthis: office yesterday in search of particulars about to-day’s- railway arrangements for the Ngaruawabia Regatta. It was noticeable) by the way, that no two of the applicants pronounced this, one of the most beautiful of Maori names, alike, one well-known resident in particular delivering it with a. most appalling twist. After reading the : N.Z.R., Aucklaud section, arrangements for , St, Patrick's Day, in search- of information on the subject of excursion fares, we at last discovered a paragraph requesting us to see unobtainable separate handbills specially devoted to- the subject. The ordinary excursion rates are Id a mile 2nd:, and 2d a mile Ist, single fare for double journey. Distance from Te Aroha to Ngaruawahia, .41 miles, the fare consequently will be 3b fid. Excursionists; for Ngaruawahia will leave Te Aroha this morniagby the- ordinary train at 7.40. arriving- at Frankton at 9,55, and at their destination at 10;25. A return special will leave for Te Aroha at 5,45. p,m. The authentic remains of Ptolemy IP Philadephua, King of Egypt; Antiochua - Soter, King of Syria, and Alpina, wife of Seleucus, Queen of Babylon, will come under the hammer. These were imported from Egypt thirty-five years, ago, and sketches; and hieroglyphics- taken from, tombs were brought with them, but they are now lost. However, two letters go with this imperial lot, No. 232 in the cata* logue, certifying to>the genuineness of the mummies. One letter is from Dr Birch of the British museum and the other is from Professoi Benoni, The latter says he considers them so valuable that they ought not to be allowed to leave the country. The owner wanted £I,OOO for the three, for he is a democratic- collector, wJho holds that one mummy is as good' as- another. There are also two rolled Egyptian mummies in coffins just asithey wore found.. They have no pedigree, and in this respect the levelling power of death’ is; shown by lot No. 237, which, though it consists of an anti* que Egyptian mummy in a fine decorated ! case, is yet nameless; The mummy of a 'Peruvian woman will also be bid for, as well as- some Egyptian second-hand coffins;

According to ‘ Oivis ’ the universally papers lost in the Matauracost £1686 19s 3d, paid to examiners; £1393’ 9s 5d expenses of examinations;; £3OBO 8s Bd. But that is the smallest part of it. Into those papers 250 students had' put the labor of a year and the hopes of many years. Yet, he remarks the care the university toot of them was less than a shipping agent takes of a bale of rabbit skins. We have much pleasure in announcing that the Rev Joseph Campbell, M.A., has kindly consented to deliver the inaugural address a* the opening of'the Te Aroha Literary and Recreation Society, whose announcement appears in another column, to-morrow night,, as the Rev E. J. McFarland’s, now absent on a tour for his health, representative. The subject of Mr Campbell’s address will be the uses and advantages of Literary- Societies. ■ ' ‘ '. ' '■.-••• ' * ’ ,• . .. The trial of Heinrich Pohlen, an old settlor of about 78 years of age, for the murder of Patrick Corcoran at Harapepe-, Waikato, occupied the Supreme Court last week. The Jury returned a verdict of not guilty on the ground of insanity, and His Honor ordered the prisoner to be committed to the Avondale Lunatic Asylum and 1 ' detained there till the Colonial- Secrepleasure should be made known-. The people in the neighbourhood of Harapepe need not be under any apprehension that Heinrich will be allowed to return to hie farm. ’ It is the almost invariable custom when a man is sentenced as a criminal lunatic for murder to keep him in confinement for the remainder of hie natural life. The Cheviot correspondent of the ‘ Lyttleton Times ’ writes that matters are looking exceedingly well in that settlement. During the past three weeks fully 10,000 fat lambs have been sent to the factories and though the rape, of which there has been some grand crops, is nearly done the turnips are promising welt. Threshing is now in full swing, and a second plant has just arrived. The yields in most parts of the district are exceedingly good, several of fifty to fifty-five bushels per acre having been recorded by the threshing machines, During the past ten days Mr Briggs’ mill has threshed over 14,000 bushels. There is considerable excitement over a couple of reserves which are to be balloted for in Christchurch on Monday, and the Post Office is fairly besieged with amdieant-s I already over 400 applications having I bses lodge*.

The level of Lake Rotorua is again very low, owing to the continued dry weather, and the passage into Lake Rotorua is blocked as far as the steam launches are concerned.

We (the Argus) learn that the considerable rise in the price offered for wheat during the past few days is due to the operations of agents from large speculators in the South. On Friday Mr Martiu Butler sold his wheat to Messrs I. H. Hall and Co. s representative at 4s 6d per bushel. The same offer was made for considerable lines, but holders now ask up to ss.

On Thursday two young men who had been employed on the drainage works at Rotorua were brought down to Hamilton, suffering from typhoid fever. On Sunday morning, about eight o’clock, one of them, James Irwin, about 25 years of age, died in the fever ward. Nothing appears to be known at present, regarding his friends or relatives.

The detectives of Melbourne made a raid on Wren’s tote shop recently one afternoon. The premises were stoutly fortified,, and the detectives had to beat down two heavily-built doors before they could effect an entrance. They then found the place deserted. There was a large crowd outside watching the operations, and they groaned and cheered the officers while the latter were breaking their way in. Trap doors lead from the premises into, neighbouring yards, and a look-out is always kept on the top of the building The police retain possession, of the premises..

The other day a unique incident occurred in Hokianga. A family named Webster met from the ends of the earth, and were photographed in a group, three brothers and two sisters, having in their united ages just totalled to the exact, number of days in the year—36sv Having enjoyed their brief period of social intercourse, they went their ways,, and to-day some of the members of the family are thousands of miles from each other.

Mr Goschen, First Lord of the admiralty, in introducing the naval estimates, made a resolute speech. He asked for a total vote of £25,550,600 for the navy, which is an increase of about £4,000,000 over the vote of last year. The naval power of the Empire is to- be strengthened in every department. There still seems to be dangerbetween the United States- and" Spain in regard to Cuba. The Americans are much gratified at the message sent by the Queen to President McKinley. In calling attention to {a movement among Victorian farmers in connection with combatting the wheat ‘ bears ’ ('a bear is a dealer who contracts to deliver, at a specified future time, stocks, wheat, in this case, which he does not own and it:is his business in: life to depressthe market), the Waikato Argus says as regards the prospects of the wheat market, if tho present embroglio with Russia, should result in hostilities, there would unquestionably be a sharp rise, and judging from the latest reports from the English papers, even if - peace be maintained, a rise, rather than a fall,, on present values may be looked forj as there: is now no doubt-but that the world’s supply is. considerably below the average.