LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 200, 18 November 1879, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS .

Milford Harbour. — A rumor is abroad that Sir J. Goode’s report re Milford Harbour has arrived, and that it. is unfavourable to building - a harbour, but the quarter frem whence it is said to have come makes us receive with caution any statement about it. Likely the Harbor Board will have particulars to hand soon, when common courtesy will lead the Board to place the same ■at our disposal for publication. The local journal is entitled to this before it is sent anywhere else. It is possible Sir J. Goode may have given a caution not to run too far, but often professional men are liable to run to extremes. If, however, it should turn out that the Milford Harbour is impracticable, the same reasons which are p aced against it w( uld operate against the Timaru works, and against South Canterbury generally. This would be cause for regret, as without a harbour South Canterbury would never make the progress it otherwise would. Window Breaking. —Complaints have been made to us of windows being broken in the town, the Wesleyan Chapel having suffered most, and of late several more panes have been broken in the same church. We believe that body will reward any person giving information.on the subject that will lead to the conviction of the offenders Mesers Wils m and Sons have also suffered, one of their end windows haying been broken the other night. We would direct the attention of the police to this matter. Special Trains. —A special train passed through here late on Saturday night, having on board a large number of southern visitors returning to Dunedin from the Christchurch Show and races.—A special train was run from Timaru on Sunday,and about 500 people availed themselves of the opportunity to be present at the laying of the foundation stone of the new Catholic Church, particulars of which will be found in another column. A Strange Accident. —A child named Daniel Scully, of Matata, near Auckland, f-ll with a stick in his mouth, injuring his tongue, the hemorrhage causing instant death. The Elective Council. —The Auckland Star, of a late date, expresses a hope that Sir George Grey’s proposal to make the General Assembly elective will receive uncompromising opposition.

Gambling.- Gambling in Christchurch is being put down with a high band by the police in that town. A man named Vaughan was sentenced to 4 days’ imprisonment with hard labour, for playing roulette on the racecourse. Pleasant Point. —lt is proposed to hold a tea meeting and concert in the Assembly Rooms, Pleasant Point, on the 27i1l November. The object is to raise funds to meet the . current expenses of St Alban’s Church. Ashburton Show and Races. —The Ashburton agricultural show will be held at Tinwald. near Ashburton, to-day. The annual races will be held to-morrow and next day. Special train arrangements will be made for the convenience of intending visitor*, single tickets from Timaru and intermediate stations being available for three days. Theatre Royal, Timaru. —Mr D’Orsay Ogden and Miss Beatrice arc at the Theatre Royal,Timaru. They produce a temperance drama to-night entitled “Ton Nights in a Bar-room.” The latest issue of the Gazette contains a new scale of fares and charges for passengers and goods on the New Zealand Railways. A telegram from Wellington in the Dunedin Morning Herald states on good authority that the solution of the redistribution of seats • question will bo the appointment of ten more members as M.H.R’s., including two Maoris.

An Original Idea.— “ Chiapa.” contributes the following item to tlio Ashburton Herald ;— *• In my preregrinations I now and again meet some ‘hal'd cases.’ The oti er day, whilst on the look out for items, I dropped across a new-chum * looking for a job.’ The man looked melancholy. His swag was not done up in that artistic style which at once, to a practised eye. reveals the old digger accustomed to ‘hump’ his gold ; and the whole bearing of the man. from his roofless billycock to his well ventilated watertights, betokened that he wanted a job. Ho'had, however, one feature about him which was an uncommon,one and in these times I should think, a good idea. Under his arm he carried an enormous naval telescope. I couldn’t get at the hang of that spy-glass for a bit, but all of a sudden the utility of it struck me. The man was ‘looking for a job,’ and the originality of using a telescope for the purpose is worth a patent. Why! only imagine the chance that man has over any other swagger. The spy-glass man could see a job five miles oft’, while any other fellow would be limited to ordinary human vision.” The Government Advertising. —The following are the leading items in the return of the Government printing and adv vertising called for by Mr George McLean; Otago Daily Times, £2219 ; Dune_din Herald, £197 ; Lyttelton Times, £1640, of which £IO3B is fur advertising ; Press, £1920, of which £I3BO is for advertising; Dunedin Star, £397; Southland News and Weekly News, £9OO ; Southland Times, £240 ; North Otago Times, £228 ; Oamaru Mail, £3BO ; Timaru Herald, £474 ; Auckland Star, £lOlB ; New Zealand Herald, £1766 ; New Zealander, £B2O ; New Zealand Times, £742 ; Wellington Post, £BO7 ; Wellington Chronicle, £482 ; Napier Te!egraph, £sl ; Hawkes Bay Herald, £258 ; Wanganui Herald, £B5l ; Wanganui Chronicle, £l6l ; Nelson Mail, £217 ; Nelson Colonist, £176. A Teriffic Thunder Storm. —A storm of thunder, short but sharp, passed over Burwash, in East Sussex, recently, when a cottage at the common, occupied by Robert Reed, a carpenter, was struck by lightning, and the top of its chimney knocked off. The fluid entered the living room of the dwelling, lifted a brick from the floor to the ceiling, and tore a boot from one of the feet of Reed’s son, leaving the foot marked across as if .burned with a hot iron. It also forced a knife from the lad’s hand, and the shock stunned him. Mr Reid’s mother, an aged woman who was sitting by the fireplace, had a foot struck and sadly scorched, and a babe left lying there, was found by its mother to have been moved to another part of the room and one of its arms was lacerated. Mrs Reed, who entered tire room at the moment of the shock, bad a dish forced out of her hand by the lightning, but herself escaped injury. One of the doors of the cottage and some earthenware were crashed. That the four beings, who at that awful moment were inmates of Robert Reed’s dwelling should bo now living, and the lad oble to go to his usual work, are facts that fill one with wonder, and in truth, seems hardly credible. The lightning is said also to have entered-the house of Mr ■■ Hallaway, the Railway Tavern, close by, but to have made its exit without doiug any damage. Superstition.— A few more words on this subject. In America, as in England, the player has a superstitious objection to rehearsals on the Sabbath. During tbe rehearsals of Leo and Lotos at Niblo’s Garden there were two Sunday night rehearsals, and at each it was found necessary to lock the doors at 11 p.m. to keep the dancing girls from running away. Even then some got out of the green-room window’s into Crosby street, climbed over (he iron railings, and escaped. It is believed that salaries will not be paid i-egularly during tee run of a piece rehearsed on Sundays, or that the piece itself will be a failure, or that adeatli will occur in the company. This was predicted at the Sunday rehearsals of The Crook, and the croaking of the ballet girls were verified by the sudden deatii of a soubrette. At the Grand Opera House, during Mr Fisk’s term of management, Sunday rehearsals were enforced in spite of the protests of the company. When the great spectacle Lalla Rookh was preparing there were three Sunday representations, and the birds of ill-omen were loud in their predictions of disaster. Mr Fisk was shot and killed before the fourth Sunday night revel, and the piece, though magnificently piesented to the public, did not prove remunerative. Suicide by Proxy. — Can suici.de be committed by proxy 1 Wo are led to ask this question by seeing in Hansard the following sentence from a speech of Mr De Lautonr :—“ If Auckland had wished to commit suicide, it has been done for her to-night ” (!) Mr Pyke, by the way, pointed out to the Government that if they had given a million pounds (as was reported) for four votes, they were very bad marketers, for they could have got many more votes for the same tnlxney.

The Ballance of Parties.-—The Parliamentary correspondent of the Wanganui Herald says—“l am much inclined to think that the existing balance < f parties will be maintained until the close of U.e session, somewhere about the beginning or the middle of December. There are those of the Opposition who—foolishly I think —aro taunting the Ministry with an eight or ten day’s longer‘enure of office. By so doing they are weakening their own position, because when upon the expiration of these eight or ten days Ministers find themselves still in power, it will be their opportunity to turn the tables upon their opponents. Fortunately there are a few 1 still strong men’ among the Opposition who can foresee, and are quite willing to abide their time. What's in a Name? —Someone has been at the trouble of analysing the roll of the House of Representatives, and shows thau some of the names only are sponsorial, there being Andrews, Adams, Stevens, Harris, Stewart, Oliver, George, Seymour, and even more familiar as Kenny and Dick. There are three colours —Brown, Whyte, and Grey. Fish are not plentiful, there being one Pyke and a Finn, and yet there are two Fishers. Of quadrupeds, says a contemporary, there is only a Bunny, and yet there is a Driver, and a Shepherd. Tim only other trade is a Mason, and yet there is only a MoorImnse with a Hall. Of English towns there is a Lnndun, and its environs Richmond and Sutton, Hurst, and Wakefield; while Irelahd is in its entirety. There is only one Wood and a Pitt, but no plants except. Moss. Locomotion if oob suggested by Shanks. One party will have Wright units side,and m*.y be All Wright but measures can be weighed there being a Ballance on the premises. The House should have good nerves, there being onlv one Trimble amongst them. Rank is represented by a Barron.