LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 263, 29 May 1880, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Winchester Lodge, 1 727, E, C. —The usual monthly meeting of this Lodge was held on Monday, May 24th, the chair being - occupied by Brother J. King, P.M. The routine business of the Lodge being finished, the Worshipful Master called upon the brethren to elect officers for the ensuing year, and on the ballot being taken, the result was as follows :—Brother George Taylor, W.M. ; Brother John Paterson, Treasurer ; Brother William, Sh dLr.l, Tyiei. The Lodge was then closed in duo form.

The Opihi —-The river Opihi was considerably flooded yesterday, and the ford across it at the Main South Road was a good deal altered. Travellers must therefore exercise greater caution in crossing it just now. Alderman Gatehouse, of Melbourne and some friends, while mi a visit to Gee' long recently, marched round town carrying in their hands dilapidated nmbre las and penny buns. After almost drowning an old swagsman with beer, they 7 conveyed him to a hairdresser’s shop and during t e absen c of the proprietor shaved one side of Ids beard and clipp’d oil Ins hair on the opposite side close to the s.-alp.

Tub Western Star says the last rail of the W.daui.i Plain-' railway was laid on Monday. The North Otago T mow midlands that it is contemplated by Government to abolish the Oamaru Engineers’ Office, and to distribute the gentlemen at present employed there in the larger centres of Dunedin and Christchurch.

The Secretary to the Canterbury Agricultural and Pastoral Association has (the Lyttelton Times says) in his possession at the Society’s offices a crown containing 70 stalks grown from on® grain of Hunter’s white wheat by Mr J. Sowden on his farm at Dunsandel. Each head yielded the average of 56 plump grains of excellent wheat, or a total of 3929 grains from a single seed. In the same paddock there were several crowns containing over fifty stalks. The Auckland members intend to make a combined attack on the Government early in the session, regarding the stoppage of railway reclamation. The “Vagabond ” in one of his letters to the Ovens and Murray Advertiser, tells a curious story as to the way in which some of the prizes were alloted at the Sydney Exhibition. The display of toothpicks at the Exhibition was a gra d one Hundreds of bundles from different marufactures of different countri s were sent in to judges of that department of applied science to which toothpicks are held to belong. What i ould they do ? Try each pick; select at random ? — to go through which would take a year. Besides, whai suits one man’s teeth will not suitanot ler’s So to solve the difficulty— (the judges in this instance being honor-able men, unamenably to palm-oil, an application of which has in many instances decided equally knotty points)— each toothpick exhibitor received a ‘ first prize.’ The bill to legalise marriage with deceased wife’s sister in Canada has been passed by the Dominon House of Commons by 149 votes to 20 against it.

Tub Waitem ■ta County C mncil h.\ >■ been notified by Mr Whitaker that L WOO will be appmpr ac-d out of the LGS,(J.'U voted for North An kla <l, <m the undertaking by the Uh-druian that the mmioy will be expended on'y on works of contemplated by the vote.

Antiquarians and churchmen are alike interested in a rec-ut discovery of lw.< fragments of the original epistles of St Paul written, that is to say, by the hand of “The Apostle of Gentiles” himself. These original !o uments whose authenticity is undisputed, are in the V atican library, at Route ; the fragments are in a volume of the St. Ambrose library at Me. A tiros, have been compared with the eirstles in the Vatican, when they were found to til in perfectly to the torn pages of the Vatican manuscript. A special meeting of the Pleasant Valley School Committee was hold on Saturday last; present Messrs W. Guildford (Chairman), A. Lysaght. A Best, and G. Gale. Correspondence was read from the Board of Education, advising the Committee that a grant of LlO had been made for planting purposes. Prom same, enclosing Inspector’s report on examination of the school. After considering ways and means it was decided to invite tenders for fencing and preparing the land previous to tree planting, and Messrs Guildford and Best were appointed to draw up specifications The Inspector’s report was read, and was considered satisfactory The meeting then adjourned.