LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 248, 27 March 1880, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The duck shooting season begins on Monday, 29th inst. Why it has boon altered from Ist April, no reason is given, hut the alteration appears to give groat satisfaction. Had the season been altered to the 15th April wo believe it would have satisfied all, as what appears to be the reason of complaint at present would have been, to a certain extent, remedied. There can be no doubt that in this district at least a large proportion of the birds wilj be unable to fly by the 29th, but most of them would have been by the middle of April. Last year, when they proposed to alter the date of the commencement of the season from the Ist April to Ist May was agreed in the leading journals, it was adm'tted ou all shies that the Ist April was too early for Canterbury, and the only objection against the alteration was that it was too late then (viz., March) to make any alteration. Our Volunteers left by train yesterday morning for the Christchurch Review Over 600 from South also passed through. For a parcel of 30,000 bushels of wheat a landowner in Oamaru was offered 4s per bushel, cash ; but ho declined,— holding out for a higher figure. Pleasant Point Races. —A meeting of the Committee of the Pleasant Point Racing Club was held last Monday evening' to consider the protests which had been lodged at the late meeting, and to pay over stakes. The protest lodged by Mr Goodman in the Hurdle Race against Mr Bourne’s Milo, on the ground that the owner had not declared to win with him, was upheld, and the stakes wero awarded to Alma. The Committee also decided that Mr Stock’s Deceiver was entitled to the Publicans’ Purse, and Mr Mcßratney’s Billy to the Trotting Sweepstakes. The following amounts were then paid over ; Mr Storey, L3O ; Mr Goodman, L 25 ; Mr Stock, L 22; Mr Hinkl-y, Ll 5; Mr Ll 3 ; Mr Mcßratnoy, L 9 ; and Mr Ravenhill, L 5. The District Engineer for the New Zealand Railways, Middle Island, adverlises for tenders for the Kakahu section of the Temuka-Rangitata section of the interior main line. In England portal >le gas is now sold and deliverer everywhere. Country residents receive k from the city in coppcrcylinders Just so!

A man i aim'd W'. iiam J-mes B«»wd<-n a-i-w Billy the C<mk, was arrested lately at South Rnknia by Constable Bouse on a charge of stealing clothing from a swag belonging to I>. G. Monteith, at the Rail"iv}' Hot'l The Concert ‘mid at fie suit Point on W.xluosd.-y lest. In aid the Irish Relief Fund, w/ik a gmat su cess, the room bring crowded. Over L2O was taken, and tins sjeaku web for ih-* liberality of the Puait people. Sale -Mr Gray will sell to-day, at the Caledonian Hotel, Temuka —Wined and spirits, leer and porter, and all the household furniture. Sale to bo held at one o’clock'. The Temuka Cavalry Corp left for Christchurch on Wednesday instead of Tiiursday. On their way they were joined by Ibe Ashburton contingent. In the liboi cane Stead v. Otago Daily Times and Witness Newspapers Company, none of the defendants except Mr G. Fenwick, managing director, showed up. The case was, however, withdrawn against them, and Mr Fenwick was committed for trial. At a special genera] meeting of the Temuka Mechanics’ Institute, held on last Monday, tlie following resolutions were passed: That it is desirable to build a second fireplace and chimney ; that the President, Messrs McKay, Menddson, and Storey form a Sui-Committeo to carry out airaugemcnia in connection with the building of same ; that smoking be allowed in the reading room after G p in., and that this rule come into force after the completion of the second fire [dace.” Mr T. G. Smith, late of Kaia ol isl.-md school, has b<eu appointed to tin- Asidoy school, vice Mr J- Thompson, who takes charge of Pleasant Point School. Mr Jonas Woodward is about to resign his office as public trustee at Wellington, and take tlie position as Manager of th Wellington Trust and Loan Company The District Surveyor at Naa»*by has ho-n instructed by the Government to select and report in reaper t to a block of 3000 or 4000 acres of land in the Mount Lbi district. It is intended to open the land in question for application under the deferred payment system. The Hebrew School at Dunedin has just ha l Its annual examination. A dialogue in Hebrew was rocitod by two scholars, by way of entertainment, John H. Pratt, an eminent London lawyer, died recently. His wifedDd from grief at her loss Honey was so plentiful in Queensland in form«r years that people didn’t know what to do with it. It is now both scarce and dear. Prof. Lockyer Is of opinion that human life onjthe planet Mars is very much like lib* on the earth. It is stated that the young Maharaja, of Ud«ipur, the acknowledged head of the princes of Kajputana, haa ordered all official business In his principality to bo conducted in Sanskrit, which has hitherto been as much a dead language in India as Latin in Italy. It is resolved to establish a company in Melbourne to export every description of food suitable for human consumption which requires to be frozen prior to transit. The Dunedin police force has been increased by six nu-n. The Chief Harbormaster, Melbourne* advises the Government that there is no necessity for the Australian colonies to search the Crozota for survivors of the Knowsley Hall, »s the Comns has been ordered there. If a provision depot were established it Is probable thatscalerswould carry off the provisions. The islands might be visited periodically by mon-of-war on the Cape station. The Melbourne Exhibition buildings can he seen from Mount Ma-edcm, a distance of 40 miles, without the aid of a glass. The Russian Government subsidises an Orthodox Mission at Japan, ostensibly for tlie purpose of propagating the religion of the Greek Church, but really, it is said, an engine of political intrigue. The amount c f the subsidy has lately been raised from 9000 roubles to 55,000 a-year. We suppose 1 the priests earned the increased remuneration by their zeal for a Kingdom which aims at being 4 ‘ of this world ” with a vengeance. It is a fact not generally known that Hie Bank of England supports a rifle corps of its own, which, in time, it is intended shall do away with the necessity of drafting a force vvery night from one of the household regiments to guard the national money-chest. The Indian Budget presented on the 24th February, is considered highly satisfactory. The Estimates show an anticipated surplus of L 417.000, after paying the charge of the Afghan war, famine money, and construction of frontier railways. America requires 70,000 feet space at the Exhibition. If this is granted it will be necessary to erect a fresh building. The name of Sir Henry Bulwer, Governor of Natal, is mentioned in connection with Tasmania, and it is suggested tiiat Sir 1:. Ord may bo sent to Jamaica• Mr Pope Hennessy’s term as Governor of Hong Kong is nearly completed and it is believed he succeeds Sir Arthur Kennedy as Governor of Queensland. vS : , | ...

The Deutsche Hjoijj Zoituug insists strongly upon the ahsuiuto necessity of the acquirement by Germany of foreign naval stations, and suggests that in the Pacific the Samoan Islands might ba annexed. A singular case of malformation came under the notice of the honorary surgeons of the Hospital recently (states the Ballarat Courier) A woman from a country district brought info the institution a young male child, about 14 days old, and apparently healthy, “to see if the doctor could do anything for it,” On examination of the infant it was seen that it had no thighs or knees. Pert it possessed and portions of legs up to close bol»w the knee joints, but at what would bo railed the calves of the legs they were joined on to the body. In al! other respects the child was apparently perfo'-tly developed and healthy. The doctor could do nothing to it to Set it right ; and it is hardly poisible that any artificial contrivance can he made to supply the defect. The telegraph was interrupted on Monday north of Christchurch, the lino being down at some point near Blenheim. Sly-Groo selling Is practised so much in Dunedin, that th« licensed vituallcra have made a special appeal to the City Council for more vigorous suppression of illii it trade. Dcjring 1879 16,000 emigrated from India to the colonies. Henry Irving’s clear profits from The Merchant of Venire at the Lyceum, London. was LI2OO weekly. There is considerable suffering among the small fanners of Ulster, who are too proud 10 complain. The foundation stone of the new Anglican Ca'hcdra ; jjm||M’dliourno will l>o laid on the 13th April. The first Russian Consulate in India has been established at Bombay, A youthful Maori Indy SJat Olma last week jeered and jibed her spouse of 60 summers into climbing a karaka tree to gather some berries, with the result that the poor man fell and broke Ids back. At any rate the Manawatu Herald has it on the best authority that the natives regard the jlters and chaff of Mrs lioani Hnarau as !ho|primc cause of her husband’s death. We regret Rsays a Wellington paper) to hear that business has been so du'i during tlie past month that a number of largo mercantile and wholesale houses have had to dismiss several| of their employees. Messrs Napper and Lumbonrno, Auckland, announce a weekly jonrnd and commercial gazette, to ho devoted to commercial interests. tjjiThe new journal will be neutral in podtics. The Minister for Education for Victoria is energetically endeavoring to include “ gutter, in the benefits of the Act. The German press recently condemned the attempts made last spring by (h» Rus. sinus to negotiate nn alliance with Franco and Italy, but there are now distinct signs of a better feeling between Germany and Russia At the Orakol Parliament a resolution was unanimously passed condemning the Government for detaining the Maori poll* tical prisoners iustead of bringing them to trial at once. Tub Coursing Season— The secretary of the Christchurch Acclimatisation Society has been notified by the Undersecretary at Wellington that the coursing season for the entire Canterbury distric t will commence on the Ist of May. All dogs intended for coursing must he licensed it the office of the Acclimatisation Society for North Canterbury. On the night of the 13th of December a logging camp on Yakima river, Washington Territory, caved in on a party of men, crushing them to the ground and severely injuring several. John Allison, one of the party, was crushed beneath the weight of a heavy wall log into a large open fire. It became necessary to saw the log off in order to extricate him. While this was being done he lay upon hot coals, and w» B literally roosted alive.