LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Te Aroha News, Volume XIV, Issue 2090, 31 March 1898, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The weather in Te Aroha during the last few days has been perfectly beautiful.

20,000,000 cartridges have been distributed among the British volunteer forces.

To-night a social of a pleasing character is to be held in Smardon’s Hall, the occasion being to mark the esteem in which Miss Nellie Gibb, who is leaving Te Aroha, is held by her numerous friends in the district.

The Martini Henry rifles, with which the Napier volunteers are ' supplied, which have now had a fair opportunity of being tested, are voted very inferior weapons and all to pieces.

W© have to* direct -the attention of those of our readers whom it may concern to a notice convening a meeting of the Gordon Special Settlement Association.

This afternoon the junior eleven of our noble wielders of the willow journey to Paeroa by train to play a friendly game with the under-graduates in that community.

Shooting season opens on Monday, Mav 2nd. Rangers are being sent out by the Acclimatisation Society to stop shooting before commencement of the season.

An unusual incident occurred at Morrinsville races on Tuesday. While one of the events was being run off a horse belonging to a local owner bolted from the course •* among the spectators. Messrs JBatten, Devey, Bew and Brown, the latter of Cambridge, were amongjthose with whom the horse, which had completely mastered its jockey, collided. They were knocked down, and each received several severe contusions. Within the last 48 hours two fires have occurred in Paeroa. On Tuesday the premises occupied by Parker, the tinsmith and plumber, were gutted, and yesterday we hear at 4 o’clock a.m a blaze occurred in a grocer’s store, situated in the main street. We are unable to ascertain the extent of the damage, or whether the building and stock destroyed were insured or not.

‘ Ivorinc,’ - the new boot and shoe dressing, prevents them from cracking and becoming hard. May be obtained ■from Ai-W. Edwai’ds.—Advt.

We are promised a third wnmon’s political society. The seceders from the Women’s Liberal League instead of joining the Democratic Union have' decided to from a new society under the title of the Women’s Political Reform League. We are informed that the main object of this Society will be to stand together as women, apart from all consideration of class or party. It is stated that a membership of 40 has been formed.

A gentle and affectionate clubman, who came home at rather an unearthly hour the other night, was asked by his wife what time it was, ‘ Halfpast eleven, my dear.’ As he spoke, the time-piece rang out three o'clock. ‘ What’s that?’ said the justly indignant wife ‘ Coming in at this unearthly hour, and then telling a story about it!’ The clubman sighed and trembled with unshed tears. ‘To think,’ he cried, with upraised hands, ‘you'd believe that little twenty - shilling French clock before you would the word of your own faithful husband I’ Mr Dickenson, Inspector of Schools, has been visiting the T® Aroha add neighbouring scholastic institutions. With regard to the question of providing better educational facilities for the Manawaru youngsters the authorities do not appear to have arrived at any decision yet. It was suggested that theTe Aroha West School, might, with advantage, be removed nearer M.mawaruj but the progress being made by that settlement is such as to justify the claim of the settlers to be made an independent district with a school of their own.

Mr Duncan HcNicol’s, of Wairakau, who met with a painful accident some six weeks ago, many friends will be glad to hear that the stiffness superinduced by his injuries is gradually leaving him. He attributes much of his improvement to the course of treatment he is being subjected to at the hands of Mr Gustave Roth, resident masseur, Te Aroha.

An interesting application of the use of electricity for driving laundry machinery is to be seen in the laundry of the Duke of Northumberland, at Alnwick Castle. The washing machine, the wringer for rinsing tubs, and the centrifugal dryer, all of which are of large size, are driven by one electric motor.—lnvention.

An invention is being put on the market at Birmingham, which, it is said, will cheapen the price of cycles. It has been found possible to stamp out the whole of a bicycle frame. The frame is stamped in two parts out of a sheet of steel, and the halves are Jthen clamped together. A frame which hitherto cost 50s can thus be made for Bs. ■ •

Mr James Pearey Hargraves, ledger-keeper at the Bank of New Zealand, Timaru, while walking in his sleep, clambered out of a twostory window, at two o’clock one morning. He fell on the asphalt pavement, cutting his head and face badly. Fortunately, he was found soon after by .a constable and attended to. He lost much blood, but no permanent injury is anticipated. The dispute between the Maoris and the Tamahere Road Board over the removal of gravel Ifrcm a pit on the native land near Tauwhare has been amicably settled.! The Hamilton police, with a number of assistants, proceeded to the scene of action, and, after some korero with the natives, who seemed more kindlv disposed, the latter decided to allow the work to proceed without further molestation, and another start was made on Monday morning. Without a doubt A. W. Edwards keeps one of the largest, best and cheapest stocks of boots and shoes in the colony. New shipments now coming to hand. - Advt. To-day a big crowd will probably meet at Jackson’s, paddock, opposite the Te Aroha West Creamery, the occasion being the Te Aroha West and District Creamery Picnic. The road from Te Aroha to the scene of festivity is a. delightful one—the approaches to Mr Jackson’s paddock affording many charming rural pictures, besides a view of the Te Aroha chain of mountains, Visitors to Te Aroha will find the excursion a pleasant one, and we feel sure Mr. Whitburn and his committee will extend a hearty welcome to such as may be tempted by the present glorious weather to sample one of our open-air social gatherings.

Some of the more zealous members of the T.R.V. are hard at it every Tuesday and Friday night in the Domain preparing forcarap under those experienced officers, Lieuts. Wild and Scott The company is being put through a useful course of guard mounting and attack formation. Tomorrow night, we are informed, the last drill before camp, takes place, when extended order work, field firing will be gone through. Blank ammunition will be served out to the men. To the Deaf and those troubled with Noises in the Head or other Aural Troubles Dr Nicholson of London, the world famed Aural Specialist and Inventor of Artificial Bar Drums, has just issued the 100th edition of his illustrated and descriptive book on Deafness and Aural Troubles, This book may be had from Mr Colin Campiell, 160, Adelaide Road, Wellington, N.Z, Mr Campbell was cured of his deafness by Dr Nicholson’s system, and takes pleasure in spreading the news of the great specialist n Zealand. A little boob on the cure of Rheumatism; Corpulence, Lumbago, and Indigestion by the samo author, inay be had from Mr Campbell, also free.—Advt..

The Premier is expected to visit Hunfcly on Monday next. 1 Mr J. Miller, the Victor Ludorum of the Auckland Amateur sports, is a schoolmaster and a brother of Constable Miller, of the Thames. He is 21 years of age, and is an athlete and scholar of great promise. The Tutanekai experienced remarkably fine weather on Saturday, and actually succeeded in laying the new < 'ooks Straits cable, nearly 40 mile* in length, in 24 hours* work, which was expected to take the best part of a month.

The forthcoming edition of “The Resources of New Zealand” promises to be a very fine work and much larger than at first anticipated. We understand that the orders for the work are being received by the publishers greatly in excess of their most sanguine expectations. All.the leading Auckland houses are suppor iug it in a most handsome manner. Many of the illustrations for the new work, which we have seen, are perfect works of art. An enquiry into the origin of the D.S.C. fi> e and the method of suppressing the outbreak was commenced on Saturday morning at the Metropolitan Hotel. Mr E. Baker, Coroner, presided, and C. G. Daley was chosen foreman of the jury. Mr C. J. Parr appeared for the Underwriters Association, Mr H. Campbell for the owners of the block and the D.S.C , Supt. Hughes for the Fire Brigade, and Sergt Kelly for the police. Evidence was given by Mr Win Beehan, manager of the clothing department of the L> S.C., who expressed the opinion that the fire originated in the top storey of the building. Mr B. J. Roberts, proprietor of the Central Hotel, was also examined as to the origin of the fire and the means adopted by the firemen to cope with the flames. He gave it as his opinion that the flames were driven back towards his hotel by the firemen playing the hoses on the front of the D. 8.0 building. He considered that the running of a hose through Prince’s window and down the alley-way at the same time as the fire was attacked from Queen-street would have prevented the fire from spreading to the hotel, and might have confined the flames t® the D.S.C proper. Mr A. Ellyefct, foreman of Messrs Glanville and Ellyett’s grocery shop, also gave evidence, but knew nothing about the fire, having left the place at 6 o'clock the evening before. The Rev JV Mackenzie, M.A., on Sunday initiated a new series of services atTararu. A fair number of residents joined’ the scholars and teachers at 3 15 p.m. and the rev gentleman conducted a short preaching service which was evidently appreciated. It is intended to hold these united services on the last Sunday in each month, so that Tararu people will now have two opportunities of public worship, as the Rev Dr O’Callaghan preaches every second Sunday in the month.

There was a good turnout of the Waikato Mounted Rifles at the parade at Hamilton on Saturday afternoon. Col. Bauks was present, and a good afternoon’s drill was put in at the ground adjoining the rifle range, and the various movements were all executed with as great precision as could be expected considering the short time the corps had been formed. It was decided to attend the encampment at Takapuna at Easter time, the corps going, into camp on Thursday, 7th April

A very striking illustration of the endurance of dogs has, an exchange says, lately been brought-to light at Lyttelton. One day recently the Customs officials had occasion to open the kerosene bond, when they discovered that a dog, the property of one of the officials, had bean accidentally shut up in ihe bond since the previous visit. A reference to the records of the office proved that the lapse of time was exactly eleven days, and from the nature of the building there would be no possibility of the dog’s having partaken of food of any description durduring that time. The bond is a brick and concrete building, and from the nature of its contents it doss not entice mice and rats within its wads. The dog had fallen away to the proverbial shadow, and had scarcely eufficent strength Lfc to crawl out of the door upon its being opened. If, as has been said, the litigation of a country reflects with startling truthfulness and exactness the social habits of the people, at what conclusion would the visitor to New South Wales arrive after a study of the proceedings in the Divorce Court for .the past few weeks 1 asks the Sydney Morning Herald. In the bulk of cases the parties to the suits are units in the moving mass of working people; the litigants are rarely numbered in the ranks of higher-class labour. An average of 10 cases per day is disposed of, despite that Mr Justice Simpson peers with the maximum of minuteness into every suit in order to assure himself of its genuineness.

The Daily Chronicle’s correspondent at Washington reports that Mr Edison announces a discovery which may revolutionise the iron business of the world. It is a new metal, which, ad mixed with iron, renders cast iron as tough and strong as wrought iron. Mr Edison declines to go into the details now. Heis about to begin a series of exhaustive experiments to determine the condi:i >ns most favorable to obtaining the best results.