LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 269, 10 June 1880, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Tv* Thames Advertiser, in support o the proposed Thames Valley railway, ha* compiled a mass of statistical information, ahowing a population of 24,517 souls, 760,000 acres of land availabln for settlement, and an assured annual goods traffic of 27,609 tons, exclusive of dairy and a host of subordinate and' ulterior advantages. OooASXOIUXLY fishermen at Lytttriton have reported hauling up in their nets something octopu«, bjiiton, a; re«*nt for«,noon a young gentleman at Port got,,.a sc*re from one of , thes« - eight-fanned monsters he will not readily forget. It *• pears, say the Press, that he was gather-; tag mussels on the racks nearly opposite to the Lyttelton Orphanage, and was in the of breaking some oflihe shell, fish • off the side of a rock when a boy standing behind and above him drew his attention to a peculiar fish close to the rock' on?' Whieh th« young man was scan-lintf. Turning round, th« gather of. rouawl bait beheld what appeared to be a Wad as big 'as a Kunock , Br*havTn|f~nv»nstroiisttr If rge eyes. These orl»a of >i»'w»i «b mad t>| be glaring wildly -.wildly' * at' him, >nd simultaneously several arma were towards him. Each on* appeared to be several test in length, as near a« he could Judge during the very brief exsmihajtion held. Before retiring from hie r>osition on the rock- which it is needless to ; say he did hurriedly-r-he observed that there were rows of suckers, resembling egg imps in shape and awe, covering the unfriendly arms of the stranger. The moment he stepped back from the rook the. octopus coiled itself up and sank. The spot at which this occurred is adjacent to the > bay frequented by bathers at Port. " How are thereat fallen/' The Rangttikai Advocate says :—Upon entering • hotel at Bulls lately, we were struck with the extraordinary rhetorical talent played by a fine-looking.young -.-an, apparently about 90 years of age. who was reciting in fine style some selections from »'The Merchant of Venice." We fOuud his name to be Gotty., a Maori half-caste, whose father at one time owned a station n*ar WanganuL This young fellow, who now occupies his time And talents in no bettor way than splitting posts for the Maoris, among whom he lives, gained high honors ut Oxford, and at Loadon University took the first prize for, elocution against all comers. The prize, * costly volume of "The Lays of Ancient Borne, bears the autographs of Bighir Selwyn snd the Hon Mr Gadstone, by whose han-ls it was presented. It would be interesting to know where Mr Warden Woed " hangs out " when in town On Tuesday last, when detliug in his capacity as Chairman of the Rivertori Lieen«ing Court, with an *p| lieat ion-for a renewal «>f the license of the E>ig]e Hotel Orepuki, lie is reported by the local p*per to have said that he had "inspected the house and found it the cleanest hotel he had been in in the colony* H« wished none of the publicans in Inven-argiU would ; takf example from Mm Wilson in the wny she kept her beds." Thk Thames Advertiser s-tys that a Mr Brassy has given a perambulator as a prize to be fired for by-thn !*!.■• m>B Scottish Bt>t>tlit»u. 0 ly single men are to compete for this prize, and the winner..is allowed ' .«ix months within which he-must n.arry.or | the prii" falls to tho company, to bo again competed for* We understand that u member of -ihe Broker's AsHOciation Ju»s dso given a buby'ij cradle, to be fired for on the i aame condition 'as- the per'ambula"tor. ,

J Yew plain spoken istheOamaru Maij lat timrs. In a re< ent issue it writes : We hare received from the publisher a 16py of a publication entitl *d, *• A New Work by FatVr Chiniquy, the Pri<*ai, the W' man. and the ConteaiionaL Fearful riiselttsurea of an ex-Roman Catholic Prieat.". The work, savours more strongly of '• The Police News" or " The Day's ltoings," titan a work professing to eflVt religious reform. The prurient m«y rend thi* book nnd revel in the Apocryphd and eminently ch»rACt*riric' Chiniquy statements which it «?biit»ina, but it is not ikely, we think, to be any more success* ful in wincing proselytes than were the lectures of the'• Pas'or." We rank this work with'*The Mysteries of London" and "Jack Sli't'pard," and recommend that it should be labelled " poimiu." M You rnnst be an idiot." Such waa the complimentary remark with which a resident of Appleby greeted the statement of a well known evangelist who stated his belief in the genuineness <»f the prophetical portion* of the Old Testament. The otterer <»f this unparliamentary expression did not Bt«y to argue the question. A market- g irdenet named Ptmberton got full up"'(>f life., and tried to cut hia jthroat. The., eau-e ia a-signi'd- to that 'ecourg«^»r—Auckland paper. Mb f' Fanner lias forwarded to > eck-' land Sl*M<-unt from London a rase content*. ~ tug 60 differ»>at epeviea of grasssa enitable for arable land. ■■.... v • ' '■ A petition the Ptepe^yTrthaa been largely signed in Timarn, And will be forwarded to Wellington at oneev Evmn Japan baa got ita agitators and reformers ... The Government .Gasette -;©f that Empire la informed, on good euthority. that General Toriwq, an officer who did good eervi<« during the Satauma rebellion, has reeigned liia pout b-eause he insists that the ..solemn promise of the Mikado to grant constitutional forms «»f Government to the, people,of Japan should be catried out wit.iout. further delays. There la a growing excitement .amongst the people, and, if the agitation for the promised rights finds lead re, the txyit. ing oligarchy will have no alternative but to yield, compliance to the popular ~ Tan depot (n eotfaection with the soup kitchen'waa opened on Saturday morning to receive donations of food and clothing. Several let*' were received during thh day. The fret distribution of beef tea and eoup took place tide evening to necessitous caats brought under the rotice of the Committee. The .Mayor baa already, received oret 13200 in subscriptions, and Eromisea of liberal donations of a •oesaajrief ave been made. Amongst the rest one donor gives SO tons of potatoes and: 60 tons of-coal. • *' v ■ ■'• • Thb Prcts of Wednesday saya:—A aeeond meeting of the unemployed w-s held yesterday morning in the square, when the proposed petition to the United states 06,Ternment asking it to afford aid to thf unemployed here to rn*ch America, waa brought up, read and adopted., It Waa reaoHed to request the United | States Consul here to forward it to the Government at Washington, and also that copies' for idgnature ,ehould be placed in various parta-of the -city. The meeting then adjourned until Saturday it being mooted that a monster public meeting should be got up at an early date. THBBpia still no sign *»fvthe missing schooner, Colleen Bawn.' The Hiiieiuoa failed to find au**Jra<»e of her, and has; returned to Wellington. It ia now belie*ed the achoeaerrhas foundered at all bands lost. f - I j A very'palafnl, and at-the aame time eurioua, accident befel a boy at MarlborougnV TSctErpreas aaya tl»at the ; lad on dismounting from a hares, took; the reins ih mVnsnoyend wvs juat in the fact of dipping it over the poet of a tehee, 4»b*nV something frightened the causing it to shy back. The reina in nome ueaccountabre n»pn*r. got • twiatexl refund the lad's third finger, of which the i last! joint waa pulled right off. The mostjj ex- j traordinary part of the affair is that] the joint has not yet been found. j | What was, in part at leaat. a parallel to ntn~e"Damon viA' :Pythia»~tnctdcp»,- {took | place- in the Sy Iney Police Court thedthf r day. ; One John Alexander waa appro bonded drunk on Sunday, and at 10 a.m. waa, admitted.. to called in due course at the Police Cpust, waa responded to, and the mau, pleading not guilty, waa ordered to pay 5c or to be imprisoned two days. A lynx-eyed policeman, however, discovered that the! man who pleaded waa not the, real defendant. JYiih prosaic contempt for,the example sot by Dionysiusi tyrant though he. ia reputed to have been, the sub-inspector suggested to the Bench that the Impostor should be dealt with for* contempt of Court" Their Worships di<» not take the {hint, bu|rel < ominendeq|iim to let the real defendant kWow that it would be well fori him to anawer hia bail bond pretty soon. Not long afterwards Alexander made hia appearance, pleaded, guilty, and waa . orderedto pay 10s, on pain of two days' imprisonment. Drjßiifo til* hearing of an application for a renewal at the sitting of* the Inver* cargill Licensing Court, Inspector Fox remarked tliat he was not aware if the applicant had carried out his intention to become a benedict. The Chairman : Did he promise to get married ? (Laughter) Mr Perkina (to applicant) . Have you got married since the fast application ? Applicant : No, your honor, but I apon will, I •xp-ct. This aaauracce waa accepted aa •• iafactory, and the application waa ae-c-rdl'gly granted.