Untitled

Temuka Leader, Volume I, Issue 96, 16 November 1878, Page 2

We have hear! numerous enquiries made lately respecting house a' comnmdation in Temnka, and are perfectly aware that there is not a single dwelling-house to lot fit the present time. So many persons have quite recently taken up their abode amongst ns that it will not bo long, no (h nbt, before enpit li-ts in this distinct will turn their attention to budding more dwelling- houses, However, as the scarcity of dwellings is a sure sign of the rapid progress the district is making, we sha’l not be s'Tvy to sec it always the SMUG.

The second Temnka Fair is to he held next Tuesday, the holidays and other circumstances having prevented its being held on the second Tuesday of the month as previously proposed. AVe hope to see a good colleGion of stock and a large attendance of buyers. If the stock comes buyers will come, and if buyers come stock will come. It doesn’t signify which comes first. So let every stock-dealer who has nothing bettor to do come to this fair on Tuesday. There will be bargains, or wrinkles, or stray notes, or something or other to be picked up.

AWather permitting, a team is coming from Timaru to-day to try what sort of cricketers Temnka can get into the field this year. AA T e have not been favored with a list of the names of the visitors, and it is not quite settled who will compose the home team. It is pretty certain, ho .ever, that both teams w!l he strong enough to make the game an interesting one. If the ladLs of Temnka would hut en’iven the ground with their presence the cricket would certainly be better than would otherwise be the case. Eye and brain become wary of continually gazing after a dull brown leather ball. A glance at smiling faces, flowing muslins, an! things o*"' that sorb afford a wonderful relief to the jaded eye of the ‘Leather burner ” —a wonderful relief. And batsmen £> shine ’ bettor, too, reflecting, in some unaccountable way, the bright glances that fall upon them.

The Cheevers, Kennedy, and Bent Alins trels are annouived in our advertising ■ olumns to make their appearance in this town on .Friday evening next. From reports which have appeared in other papers in parts where they have appeared, the j nhlic may look forward to a treat in genuine minstrelsy. AA r . H. Bent is said to he only inferior to the great Emmett in Dutch impersonation, while the company contains many ready first-class singers.

Yesterday a very heavy nor’-wester swept across the plains, and caused no little unpleasantness in Temnka by the immense clouds of dust which swept all over the (own—hats, paper, tins, wood, &e., being hurled about in all directions. We have not heard of any serious casualty, however, although we may mention that one of the employe's of Messrs Craig and Robinson named J. Nelson had a rather narrow escape, while shoeing sunu- horses, from the falling-in

of a large sky-light, which broke across one of the animal's backs, causing it to start and kno- k the man down. Beyond

a shaking, how v r, nothing a ,-iou happ ned to him. From Timaru, however, wc are sorry t-n he-r that a ivoman ami child were killed by a chimney faking on th m. whi h was blow i over by the force of the gale. The teachers of the Ger ddine D'strict School being deairom of enter aining the children uecidud to h ive a picnic near the bush, and for this purpose distributed suhsciiption cards, and in a very few days old ined a • onsiderable sum. A sub-committee was elecied to carry out the whole affair, winch took place on Friday 1 :st. The children met at the school at 11 a.m., and then inarched in process’on to a secluded spot just above the Roman Catholi. C mrch at the edge of the bush, and we venture to say a more delightful place could not have been chosen. The good things provided were served out to 1 lie children, and games of every description were indulged in until about 4 p.m., when upwards of two hundred children sat down on the grass, in two large circles, to partake of ten. We may remark here that the good things, provided by Mr Williams, were of an excellent chancier. The cliihhvn were afterwards called t«-g dber to receive the prizes which were to be given them on the basis of the Inspector’s report. The Chairman of Committee (Dr Fish) addressed a few words to the children, congratulating tlm-e who would receive the prizes, and encomaging the others to double their diligence and secure the prise next year. The Rev. G. Barchny also gave an nt address, referring to the school being raised into a High School, wlii-h would confer a great benefit upon the s holirs in having the higher bran lies of education taught. Mrs Fish then came forward and gave the prizes out, after which votes of thanks wm'e accorded to those who had so generously contributed towards providing the treat, special mention being made of Mrs Boucher and Mr G day, who came loaded with good things for the children. This being over all wont home pleased with the success that In d attended the efforts of the teachers and their friends.

WhHi is the best binder —the Wood, the APCorndck, or the Osborne? -The last-named is at a dis id vantage, not being so we'l known as the others. It seems impossible to doc'de between the other two. Each obtains high encomiums and valuable prizes, and (lie agon's of each make large sales. There seems to be something due to fashion or imitation in the ■ reference given to one make over* the other, in some districts the Mood, and in others the APCormick, being most fancied. In sever! cases in which one owner possessed a machine of ea-h make the owner coni! not say that he preferred cither. The ‘ Lvttclton Times’ states that a vessel has just arrived in port with 520 ALCorml k machines and 200 tons of binding wire. Anotner cargo of 280 machines is on the way to Dunedin.. Every machine in both cargoes is bespoke. This fact shews the estimation in which this make is held. Wo shall probably hear shortly of similar cargoes of (be M r ood machine arriving. There will be plenty of work for all that are likely to arrive. Labor has been scarce for some time past. 'What will it be dining the coming harvest 1 Labor scarce means, of course, labor dear, but with wheat at the price it is, and the drug il is, the harvest won’t pay for dear lalnr. Welcome then the binders.

It is nnlorstood that Air Andrews, the inventor of the Andrews end Moffalt patent ch iff machiivs. has about perfected an apparatus for taking Ihe wire out off chaff cut from straw bound with wire. The apparatus, we are told, is simple, and can be attached to the larger chaff-cutters for a small sum. It cannot well be applied to the smaller machines we should think. AA r e fancy that within a few yeaia most of the chaff wanted in populous agricultural districts will he cut by itinerant machines of (he Andrews and Aloffat patt -rn, that bag and press the chaff without any handling, and that can eafllv be made to take out the wire so dangeions if left in, and so difti Milt to separate from the whole straw.

“ AH those interested in (lie formation of n coursing club for South Canterbury ’ number—how many 1 May it be supposed that every one who owns a greyhound is to be numbered amongst the “ail these,” &e. 1 If so, and if “all those,” tfcc. attend the mooting ealled for Tuesday next (see advertisement in another column) mine host of the Crown will have to take down some of his partitions to make room. For go where yon will now you come across elipper-lmilt. wire-drawn, greyhounds. These dogs are just waiting, and hungering, whether their owners are so or not. for the formation of a coursing chib. They (the dogs) don’t care whether it be for South Canterbury or South America, so long as something is done to give them a chance to fulfil the one purpose of their slender existenc' 1 . It is a wonder that most of the hounds we see don’t commit suicide in despair of ever attaining to that sf he to attain which they were, apparently, specially made, namely, a state of complete exhaustion through a long and successful chase of a hare. No wonder that some of them seek to approach this ideal by chiveyiug sheep, and no wonder that, in disgust at the mh-erahle pretence at run ling the brutes mnke they mangle and

maul them. They’re in mischief anyway, and may as well he hung for a sheep as a I lamb. Give the dogs a chance to fulfil their destiny, or else fulfil it for them by knocking th m ci the h ad. • The |ah ur lity of keening su-h dogs in their |pr -sent «i ideas condition is vci'ed by t eir urirneanimr fami'y name. J ust fancy ; keeping a piofcs-aomd fox-hound or a wolf-dog, or a kangaroo-dog, about here where is neither fox, nor wolf, n< r kangiroo. Tiie idea is . bsurd It is equaTy absurd io keep hare-hounds if you can’t find flam hares, but the absurdity is not se ui because the dogs are not cubed harehounds. Why they arc not is, most likely, b-c use of the difficulty cf getting areound tiie h’s.

In another column appears a ( hallenge to one of our local men to run the best of three distances for £25 aside. It comes from Timarn. Tire advice we give to tlifi athlete cha’leng.ul is to go in and win.”

A Gr -ymouth t-I gram states that a young m -n who committed suicide lately was of unsound mind through want ol emp'uyment. MiH he sonn mistake here. , Likely Ire was out of employment because he was of unsound mind.

We are sorry to learn that the hou-e belonging to Mr llidham, R.-mgitata, was totally destroys I by fire between Tuesday night and Wednesday iii-rning last. The cause of the fire is not known. The house \v. s insured but its contents A’ere not.

An immense vo’ume of smoke was yesterday afternoon rising' from somewhere about tlie neighbourhood of Waimate, and many were 1 lie conjectures made as to its origin. Few, however, imagined that the

fire producing the ominous cloud was doing the damage that a g mt'eman who came up from W.limits by the express informed ns of. According to his statement, the Waima l e bush had been on lire for a couple of days, but the fire was not spreading nnt'l the gale of yesterday cam-. It then spr -"d wii.h fearful rapidity, and by the lime the express left the Waimate Junction, about one o’clock, the wh'Je of the bush might be said to be gon", and the town its df in imminent

danger, the fire being within half a mile of it. Wo can only hope that <■ ur informant "xaggerated, hut the immense cloud of smoke lunging own- the south gives a fearful corroboration to his statement'. The R nkapuka luu.'i was plainly on lire too, ami it couhl he seen from Temnka that the fire was getting o' - or a good deal of ground. But the volume of smoke arising from this fire was utterly insignificant in comparison with that arising' from the Waimate fi-e. T i'u m y give smiie conception of I he va t d mi -„g .* bvi ig '1 me down south.

“Its an 111 wind that blows nobody good. ’ And a good many are ill winds that cl b'ow somebody good. Of the winds we have had lately itmighfc he said there was none 'good, no, not one. The intermittent nor’-westers tint have filled our eyes with inflaming dust have p .’relied the crops on the dry plains to an i ijmious extent, and if a change docs not come speedily the injury will be a fatal one to many of the young crops on shingle soils. This dry sn< 11, if it lashs. will be wois<*. than the drought of last year, inasmuch as it has set in so soon. The lower country about Temnka has not suffered as yet, the hatter subsoil, and nearness of subterr; neon Hater saving it On the higher gruvi ]]y plains the case is different. Young grain is withering, and young grass is already done brown. The same winds that are drying the life out of vegetation on our side of the I tills arc shedding torents of rain on the West Const. The same nor’-wesfers that have brought ns a too early summer, over there are protracting the severest winter known to old west-coasters.

The c North Omterlmry News,’ published in Kiiiapoi, reprints the article on the Milford Harbor which appeared in the ‘ Timaru Herald’ a few days ago, and gieatly commends the freedom from jealous wliich so strongly characterised tlie artnTThe lone of the ‘ Herald’s ’ article is contrasted with that of “ the journalistic comments which have been bestowed upon (he so-called pretensions of Kaiapoi to he looked upon as a valuable addition to the very few harbours of this coast,” and the contrast tells heavily against the latter. The ‘ News’ confesses, though, that the paragraphs which praise so hiirlily the energy and perseverance of the volunteer Harbor Board would he scaiccdy applicable to their own local body having similar duties.

Latest New Caledonian news is to November 7th. A number of successful att-n ks are reported to have been made against the insurgents lay the troops and friendly native-. Over 100 rebels are stated to have been killed or wounded. No casually In whites is reported. The ‘Wangmni Herald’ is responsible for the following : “ Going a begning.” The high and honorable position of Mayor of Wanganui. \\ ho will accept the seat 1 Can it lie that the lustre reflected on the office by the present holder makes ordinary mortals chary of following ? The Rev Dr John Guthrie, one of the founders of the Evangelical Union, and honorary pastor of Ihe Ebenezer Evangelical Union Church, Glasgow, died on September 18th, in London. Dr Guthrie was about to leave for New Zealand in quest of health ; but the disease under which he has been laboring for some months assumed an alarming appearance a few d iys ago, and ended fatal y on the day mentioned.

The writer of Passing Notes” in the ‘Otago Witness,’ referring to the Holy Land, as a rising rival to the colonies in the East says : “ The railway from Alexandretta to the Persian Gulf wi 1 pass right through the old Garden of Eden, which we will not be a bit surprised to see turned into a people’s park, with building allotments all around it, no 1 ihw adjacent plains'of Bagdad cut. up into deferred payment sections. Only fancy corner lots at Jerusa em. and desirable suburban sections on the Mount of Olives ! What advertisements for the daily press ! What chances for the descendants of the ‘ lest tribes !’ What glowing imagery ! What grand old historical associations about a nice little squatting property on Mount Tabor, on the bills of Gi boa, and 53 sections in the p'ains of Jezreel ! And this is what we are coming to.”

The O Keefe fortune of five millions sterling, which sensational paragraphs every now and then declared to be awaiting a claimant, bps, it seems, no existence beyond an imaginary ane, Messrs J. S. and A. P. Judge, of Lincoln’s Inn, have just investigated tire matter on behalf of a client named O’Keefe, who left his home in America in the hope of establishing his riglit to the money. The teslat'W, or int -state, is said to have died in India, hut th n Administrator-General knows nothing of the man or his property This information may deter others from pursuing a phantom. The anniversary of the battle of Sedan was celebrated throughout Germany on Sept. 2nd by banquets, illuminations, parades, school feasts, and a display of German flags. Bur everywhere a drop of bitterness and grief was mixed with the joy of the day, owing to the repeated attempts on the Emperor’s life and their effects upon German home politics- Most places of business were closen, and gala performances were given in the evening at all the theatres.

The London correspondent of the ‘York Herald’ says: —Some months ago it was stated that there was goo! reason to suppose that the IVme Minister would resign within a short period. It is now said that failing a dissolution his lordship will not continue to hold tne seals of office afler next February, whil ■ sh mid a dissolution take place earlier, his retirement from office will take place at the same time. It is generally agreed that the Marquis of Salisbury will, under ordinary circumstances, succeed Lord Beaconsfkdd. The colonisation of Cyprus is al! the talk at home. “The effects. 1 ’ says an exchange, “are to be seen in the shop windows. We read one da}? that Cyprus furnished an abundance, nay, even a sunertlniiy. of magnificent fruit, .and forthwith the large Spanish watermelons that had been s'o ' r of sa'e had their freshest sides turned round, and were ticketed as importations from our new pos^es'ions.” At one of the th nitres in a town of Nevada the p'ay of the “ Forty Thieves” was lately present 1 '!, Imf in rath r a meagre manner, as may be inferred from the hack of abundant scenery and properties in the Far West. Wnen Ali Baba bad seen the thieves enter and quit the cav ■ he '.vent t > the whvs and brought in a uml 1 , which, having taken grave offence at something, awaited his opjV'i't.nmtv frr revenge. No sooner had Ali come out of the cave with ids bags of wealth and attempte 1 to put them on the back of the beast, than ho began his part of (he performance. Me L-t fly witli Ids heels, kicked the shavings (the supposed riches) out of the bags ; ki ked down the cavern ; kb ked the end of the .bass viol, leaning against the stage, to pieces; smashed the foot-lighls ; and finally doubled Adi up by planting both feet in the pit of his stomach. The mule fairly cleared the stage, and set the audience in a great roar, the. miners laying wagers that he cmdcl ont-k'ck any mule in the State. The qnadruned continued kicking as if he were hung on a pivot, until a rope was fastened around lorn. and he was dragged off by the united strength of the empany. The Nevadans want to g’ve the mule a benefit.''.'; A young mam named David Robcr'son Dewar, about 23 years of age, has just been tidal at Glasgow on a charge of bigamv. It was proved that in November, 1871. the prisoner was m rried to Elijah * h Grant, tin 1 daughter of a weaver at Glasg >w. At that time he was apparently about 15 years of age. The ceremony was performed bv John H. Ball-inline, a modi al practitioner, who stated that he had been in the habit of preaching for many years, although be did not appear to be an ordained minister. On M v Urd last the prisoner was again married in Glasgow to Miss Catherine Cowan Wilson, bis first wife being .‘■till alive His declaration, which was read in Court, stak'd tint at the time he was first married he believed (In l ceremony to bo legal, but he was afterwards led to be'ieve that it was illegal, as it was not performed by a clergyman. He was therefore in the belief that tlvre was no legal barrier to In's marrying again. His advocate urged (hat the lad had been laid hold of by a designing mother-in-law, taken whilst in a state of drunkenness before a man who did i'o‘ oven seriously pretend to be a minister, but a medical man, who made a living by getting 5s from every man who came to him, and hustled him through some ceremony, tnrnmg him out a mar-

ried men in five minutes 1 lime. The jury found the prisoner guilty. Imt on account of liia youth recommended ]iim to nvrcy. On the verdict being dec’ared the pris mer kissed his hand several times in the direction of one of the entrances, where the young woman to whom lie was last married vas stationed. As he had already been four months in prison, he was sentenced to an additional year’s impriso '- m cut.

A 'Wellington telegram of November 12 snvg ;—A hngnla v case has just come to light. It has been found that a settler named Woods, residing at the W; inni-

Omata Valley, seven nvles from the H itt, has had his sister, a violent lunatic nntßr restraint in his own house for over 20 year’s. Mr Mansford, R.M., was authorised by the Government to ascertain the truth of the information, and, on visiting the place, ho found where the him ’ic was habitually kept was a lit'le den ab art six feet square, one side being occupied with a closet, and the other with the creatures bunk. Mr Mansford said the case was a bad one. It is reported the woman has been subject to ill-usage, but upon that point there has been no examination yet. Woods is reported to be a very worthy and industrious ettler. A later telegram says

Respecting the case of the lunatic .kept under restraint at Wainui Oman a for over twenty years, a good deal of sympathy is felt for Woods, -who, it appears, is greatly rosp- ctocl by his fellow .settlers Sin' e he landed! in the colony, about 25 years ago, be has brought up, besides his own family, that of a brother who died immediately after his arrival in New Zealand. It is urged that his only reason for keeping his sister as lie did, was a sentimental desire to have her under his own eye. Her body showed no marks of violence or ill usage. Site has been taken to the LunatiS Asylum. An enquiry into the case übl take place shortly. The ‘Geelong Advertiser’ says ;—“ A marriage in haste was celebrated the other day, and the happy couple did not know each other’s names until they arrived at t' ealtu- It appears that a widower residing a short distance from town went to one of the registry offices for the purpose of hiring a housekeeper. He fell in love at first sight with one who promised to attend to his wants, and the pair marched off to the church, where the nuptial knot was tied. A laughable scene, however, fodowed, when the clergyman gently reminded the bridegroom that the fee of L 7 bad to be paid. The demand was considered excessive, the hi idegroom remarking that he had that morning given exactly L 7 for a g >od milch cow, and lie Wasn’t disposed to pay that sum for the light work of dec aring man and woman husband and wife. The bridegroom reminded the rev. gentleman that the ceremony had been performed, so that there was no necessity for a fee being required afterwards. This was not held to be a good ex l use, and the newly married one promised to pay the fee by instalments.”