The Temuka Leader THURSDAY, AUGUST 12, 1880 LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 280, 12 August 1880, Page 2

The Temuka Leader THURSDAY, AUGUST 12, 1880 LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The reduction in the police of the whole colony will leG3 i i the South Island and 42 in the North. In Canterbury two sergeants and eight cons:aides will he dispensed with.

A paner laid on the table of Ihe House shows that (here are 82 ion-p;iying telegraph offices in r,he colony.

The Hon Mr Ro le'ston has introduced n " Cemetery Bill." Ti.eie is a provision in the Bill to legalise cremation.

r J'he Maori members in the House o'f Representatives are opposed to the passing of 'he " Deceased Wife Sister's Bill." They "bjeel to the measure on the ground that it will enable peisons to revert to an ohl Maori custom.

A genial neighbour of ours (Tuapeka Times) asked us on the i ail way | latf'orm the other day : " Why is Ned Kelly like pork intended for bacon ?" and he supplied the answer. "Because he is being cured to be linMj 1"

In addition to the usual notices of Birthb, Marriages, and Deaths, we find in a New York ppppi a list of 'Engaged.' This \s a novelty. The visit of the Li coiushire delegates to this co ony cost- the Government £505 Is Gd. In addition to this the delegates had free passes wherever they went. The Aye states that from first to last the pursuit and capture of the Kellys lias cost Victoria £40,000.

Our fanner friends (says the Mataura Ensign) will be glad to learn that in Dunedin and elsewhere, oats are in active demand and the pri e has an upward tendency.

Tue Westporfc Chariton road (says the Westport Times) has got into such a fearful condition tliat Mr Hubert Flyrin, who drives a learn along it, has for tlio past few weeks been compelled to carry a shovel, pi k, and axe, iu order to dig out Iho dray here and there and chop manuka and scrub to put into ihe numerous bog holes in order to get his team over them. The question of payment of members of the House the other night reminded Mr George Jones of a ' Yankee yarn,' which lie related to the House. It was this :—A. man went into a Yankee store and said, ' J3oss, do yon want a man?' ' Yes,' replied the storekeeper ; ' what pay do you require f ' IVeiity dollars a month and found,' replied the needy one, I tr four dollars a month and the run of the till.' There seemed to be an analogy between this man and our representative institution. There were plenty of men who would even pay a premium, to get into the House and have tho 'run of the till,' and therefore he believed in paying member? fairly.

The appointment of another Sergeant at anus (says the Veto Zealand Times) formed the topic of conversation in the lobbies, and some rumours were current, and many more surmises were hazarded, as to the identity of the party who was to be placed in charge of the bauble. The appointment lies with Mr Speaker, and it was said had been tendered by him to somebody in Auekland, and that the somebody had Accepted, and was en route, for the South. But the most astounding of all the ruu)ou''s, and one of ear-ting-ling purport, was that no fewer than three hon members of the Lower House had applied to the Speaker for the vacant position. If this is true, it accounts for the motives of at least three of those who voted so sturdily for the honorarium and nothing but the whole honorarium. Possibly it may also be regirded as indicative of serious misgivings ou the part of the three members as to the likelihood of their return to Parliament at the nest election, and so they, acting on the principle that half a loaf is better than no regarded the £ioo a year s laiy-of the sergeant at arms as something to be desired. We are, however, not prepared to give the rumour credence, for it presents a really too humiliating a phase of New Zealand legislation. It cannot be that there is even one member of the hon Lower Chamber so needy as to covet the " billet' ' of the poor Sergeai t at arms, upon which such a great deal of opprobrium was cast during the u.emorable debate upon the honorarium. [f there was such an "one, we can only that his Parliamentary career was not induced by motives of patriotism, but by mercenary considerations—to give it another name, the dictates of social expediancy. If there was any truth in the rumour,.we should strongly urge the various messengers to mind their p's and q's, for who dare say in what degree the tenth commandment is being outraged by the destitute and needy of the people's representatives 1 The subject opens a wide field for meloncholy speculation, and it also has its funny side. Imagine ex M H.R.'s running about the House with glasses of wafer cm salvers \ \

The Fost giv(s the following account of au extraordinary scene which happened in fche Masterton Resident Magistrate's Court the other day:—"A strapping young f -.Dow named Franklin was sued by a Mr Kvvingtoii for debt, and pleaded 'infancy.' The Court won'd not accept th« plea, it being unsupported by corroborative evidence, and ga,e judgment for plaintiff At the conclusion of the case a little excitement was created by Mrs Ewington, the wife of the plaintiff, marching up to tin; 'infant ' in the box and solemnly presenting him with a child's rattle. Of course this little jo.ee, perpetrated under the very nose of the Bench, could not be tolerated. Mr Wardell therefore had the offender removed from tho Court, and later in the day lined her one pound for contempt. Mrs E.vington will refrain in future from paying these delicate little attentions to any other ' infants ' she may be brought in contact with —at any rate while they are in the witness box."