Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 1898. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Te Aroha News, Volume XIV, Issue 2086, 19 March 1898, Page 2

Te Aroha AND Ohinemuri News SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 1898. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The School Committee will meet on Monday night. L 62 was taken at the Te Aroha station on Thursday.

A number of "Maoris from Tauranga passed through Te Aroha for Huntly on Thursday. They were entrained down at the Pah yesterday morning; Prom an advertisement in yesterHerald we observe that the tenders for the new Hot Springs Hotel are extended until noon of Wednesday, 23rd inst, Mr J. Currie is the architect.

Owing to the storminess of the day and other causes the meeting of the Bible Society, arranged for Thursday evening had to be postponed. W. Shepherd Allen, Esq. sent- a generous contribution of £5 towards ihe funds of the Sobiety. Another meeting will he held af an early date. At the 24th annual meeting of the Auckland Rifle Association we notice that Walter Maingay (Te Aroha; ? made 30—only 3 points fr >m top score at the 200 yards range. The weather could not have been much worse. The Herald Cup was won by Lieut Cox, with 46 points, and among the next best scores we notice J. Comes (Te Aroha) 41. Mr Henry Lawson, the well-known Australian poet and author, accompanied by hie wife and-, child, left Wellington on Saturday by the Tarawera for Sydney, after a year’s sojourn in this colony. It is understood that his experiences in New Zealand will be embodied in a book of short stories, which he is about to publish. Mr Lawson’s ultimate destination is Lon lon.

We should like to congratulate the Te Aroha Rifles on securing Mr Fred Wild as their Lieutenant, he is decidedly an acquisition. From a good source we learn that in 1894 tho T.R, V. were in their prime ; at least so far as their drill was concerned. Their work at Otahuhn in ’94 was made the subject of'very favorable comment by all the infantry officers assembled at that noteworthy camp." In advancing and retiring by section in extended order the form displayed on that occasion, by the Te Aroha boys, can only be described as excellent. They ware also, it should net be f rgotten, first in volley firing both in’94 and ’95; ahd second in ’96, and this high state of efficiency was attainrd under the Captaincy of Mr John Oochraoe, assisted by Lieut. Fred. Wild. The Te Aroha Literary and Recreation Society held its first meeting in their room at the Town Hall last night. Dr Gilbert Smith occupied the ehair, and in the unavoidable absence of the President (the Rev. E. J. McFarland) read that gentleman’s inaugural address. Mr Smith was followed by the Rev. Joseph Campbell, who made a few appropriate remarks on the subject of literary societies. Various members • subsequently contributed selections in prose and verse, which were duly appreciated. The Hon, Secretary (Mr Claude Watson) is to be congratulated on the success attending his labours in connection with tho society so far. A full report of the meeting will appear in our next issue.

The Ohaupo correspondent of the 1 Waikato Argus,’ writesße the late murder case,'not only considerable comment, but indignation, is expressed at the verdict; insanity is said to be all moonshine. If every person who commits a murder owing to bad temper gets off under the plea of insanity, we shall soon have our asylums full. It is considered the verdict will have a bad moral effect, as there are many men who would think nothing of taking humau life to gratify their revenge if they, thought they would not get hanged. It is poor satisfaction to the widow and orphans to see their father shot dead -before their eyes and the cold-blooded murderer let off, to b* woM ■

The Mariposa, with English mails aboard, arrived early on Thursday morning.

The natives belonging to Rangawaea, Motuhoa, Matakana, etc., have be n bringing a lot of wheat into market during the past week for the purpose of raising funds to travel to Huntly with.

Mr W. S. Evans, piano and organ fcnner, is now in Te Aroha. Orders left at Mr Robson’s pharmacy will receive prompt attention.—-Advt.

Mr Wm. Hobbs, surgeon-dentist, of Paeroa, will be in Te Aroha as usual on Wednesday next, 23rd inst., when he may be consulted at Mr Robson’s Pharmacy. Owing to the inconvenience caused by contractors placing tenders for several jobs in one envelope, the Ohinerauri County Council has decided that separate tenders must be in separate envelopes. Contractors please take note. 1 ;

Mr John Chambers, of the firm.of Messrs Chambers and Son, electrical engineers,-" Auckland,, has been at Waihi with a view of proceeding to the Waihi beach to ascertain ) the cost of installing there an electrical plant for distributing power to the Waihi Beach, Waihi, Waitekauri, and,. Karangahake. " - - , : -.

The ex-Empress of Mexico, Widow of the murdered Maximilian, still survives, but in the sad white-haired woman of 57 it is impossible to see any trace of the fair young bride who accompanied her husband so many years ago to his kingdom The strain of the terrible time when Maxmilian was deserted and ruthlessly murdered destroyed the young Empress’s reason, and in this "pit ible condition she has remained ever since. She still imagines that she is an Empress, and her medical attendants propose, as she is a little stronger, to take her to Mexico, in the hope that the sight of her old surroundings; ynay have a beneficial effect on her brain.

An extraordinary incident is 5 ported from Melbourne. Miss Roberta Walsh, daughter of Judge Walsh (so long and well-known as a Crown Prosecutor in Victoria) awoke on a.recent morning to find her head shorn of a wealth of lovely hair, which had been a source of great natural pride. The hair was found by the girl tied to the end of the bed, with a paper attached hearing the words, * Who did it t The hand-writing was quite unfamiliar to any member of the household, and up to the time the time the mail left no clue whatever had been obtained. jWheri Miss Roberta Walsh made her debut in Melbourne two seasons ago the beauty of her hair made almost a sensation. British Australasian. ■ • B ;

Messrs McNicol, and Co. have received instructions from Mr Re- .F. Lascelles (who has disposed of his farm), to sell at Kauroa, Raglan, on Wednsday, 6th April, at; 11.30 sharp, without reserve, the whole of his live stock:, farm implements, furniture, etc. Particulars of the sale will be found in their column. ' The failure of the Auckland fruitgrowers to supply even a few cases of apples for the trial shipment to England shows their utter lack of energy and business capacity ( Orchardists profess that a profitable export trade would benefit them enormously, yet they will not take a little step towards securing such a trade. And more—when the Government try to assist in the development of such a trade, Aucklanders metaphorically coldshonlder the Government.

is one sign of rain that has never been known to fail. ’ Spiders sometimes make fchteir webs iii exposed situations, where the falling of rain may injure them, and when this is the case, at every approach of bad weather the spider whose web is thus exposed will cut the ropes, let the web fall, and then carefully roll it up and stow It away in as small a compass as possible, out of the reach of falling drops. Whether the action is instinctive or the result of a reasoning process it is hard to say, but that the rain always comes after the spider has made ready for it has been often noticed.

An Aberdeen minister is telling a story of how a (cycle scorcher was scorched. The cyclist was tearing along the road when he saw a couple of lasseS" in front walking four or five feet apart. He thought it would be v good fun to rush through between (hem,and on be went. It did not come off. The gloaming shadows had bid from him the fact that they were carrying a pretty sizeable clothes chest between them, and when that cyclist did his rash through he went flying, and lit on his dome of thought.

Here is a curious advertisement from the ‘Sydney Daily Telegraph’ “ Missing Friends n column :

‘SEDDON—John Seddon, Late of Bolton, Lansashire, last heard of at Hokitika, Now Zealand. Communicate with your son John.’

The following comes from Roto-iti : —A tourist visited the iake, and asked if there were any good fish there. “Oh, yes,” was the reply. “ What did the largest fish you ever caught weigh ?” “Well, we don’t take weighing machines when we goes fishing, and lam an honest man and wouldn’t like to say how much that last trout I caught won! 1 weigh. But X foil ; T ; 7 •*.