The Temuka Leader. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1879. LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 205, 29 November 1879, Page 2

The Temuka Leader. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 1879. LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

/ ■» Presbyterian Church. —We are requested to remind members and adherents of this church that Sunday first a call to a /minister will bepiesented for signature in the church, at the close of the service. The Rev. Mr Gillies will preach to-mor-row. Temuka School. —The above school was examined by Mr Hammond on Wednesday and Thursday last. Notwithstanding the rather unpleasant weather, 231 pupils and all the teachers were present. Mr Hammond devoted the two days to the work of examination, which, we learn, was most satisfactory, some classes nuking an extremely good show on the prizelist. Bank Holiday.— lt will be seen by a notification in our advertising columns that the Bank of New Zealand, Temuka, will be closed on Monday next, Ist December, in consequence of it being St Andrew’s Hay. Temuka School Closets.— Some complaints have been made by tradesmen at a copy of the plans for the school closets mvt being forwarded to Temuka. They very justly complain that'if is working into the hands of the Tiraaru contractors. W 7 e can only add that the Board had not the common courtesy to advertise in the local paper. This snre’y is not the way to cultivate a kindly feeling. A New Constitution Act.— Sir George Grey has introduced a Bill to amend the Constitution Act. It is understood to | provide fur an elective Governor. j The Session.— lt is generally believed | that, unless “ anything fresh ” tirns up, ! the session will be over within a fortnight. 1 The Lyttelton Mayoralty.— Sir A i! i rigid- was. elected Mayor of Lyttelton on i V'T idav last. The polling resulted .u----iu.'it- A VJ'7 ; • CiuiimefK, 92;

The Late Lain.— North Otago app “ars to be getting a fair share of the vain of late, and, according to the North Ot igo Times, the crops in the district-better,and an abundant harvest is looked for. But what about the caterpillar ? The same journal says that in some parts farmers who had sown rye grass for seed have had their labours rendered useless The ' heat and oat crops have.however, escaped th ir ravages so far 1 ; hut we fear it a bad sign to see these pests appear so early in the season, and if the season turns out wot as, it, from all appearances, threatens, we doubt whether we have heard the last of the caterpillar this season. Childrens’ Entertainment. —The third entertainment will take place on tiie 2nd December in the Volunteer Hall, Temnka. A good programme wiM be provided.

The Weather. —The weather during November has been so different from the last two seasons, as ibis possible to be. During the last two Novembers, nothing but burning noi’-westers, this season nothing hut rain, rain. Already some damage is done, and if it does not clear up soon tiie consequences will be serious to the early crops and to hay-making in general.

A Mystery. — Some excitement has been caused up Blenheim way by the discovery of a swag on the brink of the Liver Awatere. Tn the swag a letter was discovered addressed to James Stewart, care of Mr Thomas S win ton, of Winchester ; a telegram received runs as follows : “ A swag has been picked up in the bed of the Awatere River, containing a quantity of clothing, a pocketbook, and a number of letters addressed James Stewart, care of Mr Swinton, Winchester, Oimterburys and F. Hunt, Esq., Christchurch. The owner is supposed to be drowned.”

A Wilful Murder. —lt will be seen by the telegrams in our issue of to-day that a wilful murder has been commited in New South Wales by a youngster aged 8 years. It appears that three children went out shooting. The youngest, aged four years, dawdled behind the rest, and the oldest, being incensed at his brother’s laziness, deliberately shot the dwadlerand then stripped the body. He also took the precaution of imposing silence upon his sister. Advance Austrcdia.

Captain Mooulighx.— That old saying which has reference to a man’s downward career (the lower he gets the more he gets helped down) seems to be strongly exemplified in Captain Moonlight’s case. His “ friends” are deserting him and seem determined to do all they can to get him bung. A prisoner in Pentridge avers that Moonlight tried to raise a gang, with the view of seizing the mail steamer during her voyage and forcing the crew to land them with the gold and species at some point on the Australian coast.

The Opiht. —This river remains uncomfortably high for traffic. If a horseman or driver had to cross it on a dark night he would run very great risk of getting beyond bis depth in some hole. The least that the Road Boards could do would be to pub a flag at the place of entering and leaving the river, and a light put up at night at these places,and a person to watch carefully the shifting of the fords ; but it is no use giving a warning, as, until some serious accident happens nothing will be done. Why should the Government not carry out the extension of the bridge here as at the Rangitata, where there is comparitively less traffic ? M.U.1.1.0.F. —At a meeting of the members of the Arowhenua Oddfellows’ Lodge, bald on November 16, e contract was entered into between the lodge and Doctors Cummings and Hayes, who were appointed medical officers to the lodge. One of the clauses in the agreement entered into was to the effect that the doctors should attend upon members, members’ wives and their families for 35s per year, each member.

How Y EiiY Truk ! — “ Young man,” said a stern old professor to a student who had been charged with kissing one of his daughters, “ young man, don’t get into that habit. You’ll find that kissing is like eating soup with a fork. ” “How so, sir?” asked the student. “Because,” answered the stern old professor, “ you cau't get enough of it.” He Wanted Exercise ! The Otago Daily Times says “It takes a good deal of knocking about to kill a heal by colonial boy. One Sunday morning,as a youth of about 15 was returning from church,he beheld a building in course of erection, «nd was immediately seized with an idea that a little gymnastic exercise would improve his appetite for dinner. Acting on the impulse of the moment he mounted the scatfolding, and was soon running at the rate of five miles an hour along the top of an unfinished brick wall, a Bible in one hand and his hat in the other. Unhappily, he made a false stop, and fell heavily to the ground, a distance of about 20ft. Happily, he alighted on his head, which appeared to be composed of tolerably substantial material, for, after crawling to a log and seeking the consolation of religion by the perusal of a few pages of the Sacred Book, to which he had held fast in his sudden descent, he arose and walked briskly homewards. How Exquisite ! —Observes the New Zealander We have all heard of the squatter 'who built a library, and then ordei’ed from his town agent a ton of books, and two tons of best coals. We have heard how the owner of an inland palace, who had sent an indent for a pair of globes, gave them away after an inspection because he couldn’t find Hopkinshill on the celestial globe, which he took to be the Southern Hemisphere. _ But it has remained for an advertiser in a daily paper to place pictorial meait in quite a new light. This is his intimation —“ Pair oilpaintings, good, heavy framed, 4 8, nearly new.” That “nearly new ”is delicious.” They don’t recommend Port wine or Sevres china that way. The Pyramid Sensation. Pyramid sensation ” (says the New Zealand Churchman) is just about played out in Dunedin, and is now starring in the country, and there the too credulous audiences still enjoy a little spice of terror when they learn that the world is to come to an end in about four more years. Each generation (and they succeed each other rapidly) produces a fresh crop of those who believe anything, if the hocus pocus is deftly managed. It must be allowed that t e possession of an authority like Piazzi Smith afforded a capital base for the Great Pyramid juggle. Perhaps if this deception was not successful some other and more absurd one would take its place. ’Tis an excuse often made for less innocent fUlies. The Chilian army defeated the Peruvians and. Bob via us with*; givatjjloss near 1 unique.

A Romantic Sxoiiy. —A week ago today (says the “ Figaro ”) one of the most celebrated surgeons in Paris was stopped in the street at a late hour of the right by tlu’ee men armed with pistols, who compelled him to enter a carriage and submit to have his eyes bandaged. After some time the doctor found himself in a handsomely furnished room, where a young and very beautiful wouian’was in bed an he was ordered by one of the party wh had brought him there to amputatej he left hand. The doctor at first refused, but r to the threats of the captors were joined the tearful entreaties of the lady herself, who assured hi n it was the only way of saving her life. He, therefore, did as he was ordered. His eyes were reband iged, ar.d he was finally set down in a deserted street, not far from his own house. It. has sinee transpired (says the Figaro ”) that the ladv operated on was the daughter of a well-know French general, who had recently betrotued heiself to onn who, like herself, was poor. Subsequently, under ■ pressure from lior father, slm consented to give her l and to a wealthy Count, huf continued, against the wish of her husband, to wear a ring which her former lover had given to her just as he was setting oat to join iui embassy to which he had been appointed, and which siie h ‘d sworn never to take off the hand which should “ always be his.” The count’s jealousy was increased by a letter from the duke -which fell into his hands, and in which his late “ fiancee ” was reminded of her promise, and wrought up to a pitch of madness by the persistent refusal of his wife to give up the ring, he swore that he would have her hand cut off and sent to her lover, and the above is the means he took to. carry out his threat. The affair has been hushed up as much as possible, and the count has relired with his wife to his estate.

The Property Tax. —The following is a re-print of a letter, which appeared in a late issue of the New Zealand Times : “To the editor of the New Zealand Times. Sir, —A property tax of one penny in the pound does not appear at first sight a very serious matter, and as it is stated that no less a sum than L 370,000 per annum will be raised by it, there is a disposition to submit to the apparently moderate sacrifice in consideration of the amount ga ned. It would, therefore, be well for the public to consider what this tax,when putinto figures, means. I tbink it will be admitted that either the valuations of propert.es on which the estinate is based must be enormously reduced, and thereupon a ve *y much less sum ban estimated levied ; or, if the valuations are maintained, the tax will prove to be so heavy in proportion to income as to be little short of ruinous. It is notorious that the late valuation for land tax purposes was made at a time when all property had attained a ficitious and speculative value, based ’’n most cases, not on the income deiivaMe from it, but on the idea that the “ unearned increment ” would more than repay the immediate loss of interest on purchase money, and therefore prices of proper ties were forced up to a rate which would not even allow a profit at 5 per cent, on tie then prices of produce. The serious decline in all properties since then is such that it may be safely said they do not exceed 4 per cent, average on the valu'idion, then maae. Therefore a property valued at LIOOO will return now only £4O a year, while the tax will he IOOOd., or L 4 3s 4d., which is a little more than 10 per cent, on income. Of course this proves that valua'ion must he reduced considerably, but in that case nothing like L 370.000 will be raised. In the case,too,of properties greatly improved by building and planting, each improvements being not being of a nature to bring in income, the tax will bear an enormous proportion to profits. On the other hand, it is proposed entirely to exempt incomes,so that the wealthy classes will escape, while the industrious settler improving his property will be half ruined. Surely such a scheme, when fully considered, can never be given effect to, particularly when it is seen that the object is to escape the nessity for retrenchment, that our enormously expensive system of government is to be carried on without change. The country quite recognises the necessity for making income and expenditure balance ; but it is to be hoped that something better can be devised for this purpose than a scheme like this, which cannot be enforced without most serious consequences. am, etc., AZ. Wairarapa, November 24. ”

A Fragrant Stomachic- A well-known fragrant garden favorite,the sweet scented or lemon verbena (Lippia citrioclora), seems lo have other qualities to recommend it than those of fragrance, for which it is usually cultivated. The .author of a recent • work (says Scientific American) entitled “ Among the Spanish People,” describes it as being sytematically gathered in Spain, where it is regarded as a fine stomachic and cordial. It is either used in the form of a cold decoction, sweetened or five or six leaves are put into s teacup, and hot tea poured upon them. The author says that the flavour of the tea thus prepared “is simply delicious, and one who has drunk his Pekoe with it will never again drink it without , a sprig of lemon verbena. ” And he further states that if this be used, one need “never suffer from flatulence, never be made nervous or old-maidish, never have cholera diarrhoea, or loss of appetite.