LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 283, 19 August 1880, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The appointment of Mr B. D. OTlailoran, of femuka, as registrar of births, deaths, and marriages, and vaccination 1 inspector for the Temuka district, is notified in the New Zealand Gazette.

The remairs of the Intn G Ireland M.H.R. for Waikiia,. arri eel at Lytteltou from Wellington early wr Tuesday by the Government steam'r Hinemna, and was forwarded 'through to Dunedin- by the 2.lo'train. We believe the body will be interred at Lawrence. After the morning sitting on Monday the House adjourned until the evening, as a mafk of respect td the deceased member. It is stated in Dunedin that there is some probability of Mr Horace Bastings consenting to stand for W-dkaia.

The other dny a Geraldine fanner, on visiting a friend in Temuka, happened to meet with n copy of the lns-t number of the 'Xe.«v Zealand Illustrated Times.' Some remarks were made by the bystanders about Ned Kelly's armour, Jtnd its bcintf so gi'eat a protection to him. ' Well, sure enough, there were no farmers among the f olice that were after them, anyhow/ observed the farmer, 'How do you know that/ remarked a by-stander. 'Well,' replied th>e first speaker, ' we farmers have to adopt means to an end, and often have to turn the most unlikely instruments into practical use. If nny farmers had lieen umongst the police they wou'd have taken Nel Kelly's armour, and with it, as a protection, gone and "hot clown them other fellows, instead of roast ug tl em, as- if they were s:ngmg pgs.' Another proof that our detective force- is deficient in brain material.

J.t has been wisely suggested that, as our Railway Commission has stopped the Ox-ford-Tumuka railway works, which will nut likely hi resumed again for several years, the best thing that could be done with the bridge, that cost nearly £SOOO, would be to deck it over and make it available for dray traffic. Numerous settlers in the Kakahu district would take this route it) crossing to the Railway Station instead of going further about. It wonld he useful also- in time of floods, when the river is impassable fur her down.

Tho Otarjo Daily Times of Tuesday last, in referring to the death of the late Mr Ireland, M.H.R., says:—'Ourreaders will have read with sincere regret in out telegrams ve-terday of the death of Mr Ireland, a member who, kindly, and unobtrusive of men, possessed many sterling fluidities', and a far share o' common sense than m ny of his colleagues iimre fayortrd in birth and fortune. He was not called likd from his plough to rule his country, but he was called from his miner's claim to represent his district ; and for thesaiuereason —that his simple honesty and p.-obity compelled confidence in him. We do not mean to write his panegyric or pronounce his funeral oration ; hut there is something exceedingly pathetic in thi- sudden illness and death of one who a few days ago was, with far more thoroughness than many around him, serving his country ; something which wont 1 extort froin his bitterest enemy, if Mr Ireland ever had one, a kindly sentiment.'

At a meeting of the Education Board, at Nppier, on Monday, the question of children under age again cropped up' Mr Lee stated that the capitation was being ifegally paid for three thousand children under age which meant n dire c t annual expenditure of £12,000, and, indirectly, owing to accommodation and other appliance* provided, £BOOO. He thought the Board should remonstrate with the Minister of Education on this illegal expenditure, in the present state ot the colonial finances. Mr Tanner gave notice of a motion on the subject for next meet.

The Wellington correspondent of the Lyttelton Times telegraphs :—'l have just heard that Government has withdrawn its circular issued to Civil servants and others re'ative to the teduction of 10 per cent, with the intimation that the circular is to l>e i onsidered as not haviug been issued at all, pending further instructions. It is understood that this action of Government is consequent upon several threatened actions for damages in consequence of th e proposed reductions having been made applicable to pensions and salaries under permanent Acts.'

The Otago Daily Times, of Tuesday last says:—'Various rumors tire aflo.it to-day, the chief being that all the fin-n cial bills of the Government aro to bo abandoned, including the Property Tax Amendment, B'erDuty, Succession Duty Kitting Act Amendment, and Local Public Works pills ; and that subsidies will be continued this year out of tho Land Fund bo far as it will go, distributed pro rata ; also that the prorogation ia to take place on Friday next. These rnmou* , B contain a little truth, with much exaggeration and and sonic asolute falsehood. The Duty .Bill is to he passed, and the Property TaT Amendment Bill "'ill he left to the

House to carry or tejeet. If it is rejected then the Governwewt veil! eoll'c-ot £40,000 more by taxing peflJSJtali effects whid'v the Amendment Bill exempt*; btrfc in- any case the property tnx will be «reWewl!ed r and probably the amendment bill will'pass. Thrj time for sending in the property tax return, which expires on the 31st inst., will be further extended, probably to the 30th of September. Some of our townsmen (says the IJruee Herald) are said to know of a good deposit of gold not f.-ir from town, in the direction of Canada. We have been informed that two men worked some 11 or 12 hours one day this *'eek, and obtained nearly an ounce and a half of gold. The precise spot is kept particularly t'ark at present, hrtt why it is so we cannot tell. In connection with this- we may me tion tint we have heard of a gold-benring quartz-reef having been found 1 somewhere near to the nunicipnl endowment rererve; this js in the direction of Canada. It ia said to be likely that the reef runs through the reserve, but as yet r of- course this cannot'be positively known. Should this turn out to be ns represented, the value of the innnioip«,l land will be much enhanced.

The Counties Amendment Act (introduced by the Premier) is now published in the form in winch it was amewded by the whole House on Friday night. The Bill provides that the expression ' public works ' in the Counties Act, 1876, unci any Act amendii gthe name, shall iuch'de works for the purposes <.f wa'er nupp'y. irrigation, and drains of hind ; it also provides for repair of banks of dividing rivers of counties, for est;ib!ismcnt of pounds ; that a road district included in. two or more counties may merge in sucfe counties. Power is given to lease ferries without submitting same to arrction ; power to contract for building; of bridges ; power to several comities to uftite in building" bridges ; and provision is made for construction of tramways.

In the. course of n discussion on religious instruction at the Wellington Education Board last week, tin. Chairman (the Hon C. J Pharazyn) is reported by the Chronicle: to have dwelt on the inconsistency of the proceedings in P-irliainent I eing opened with prayer, while iwitlung of the sort was allowed in the State schools, Mr Blair asked if the Legislature was any hatter for the prayers 1(A. laugh.) The Chairman : ' I they seem very attentive.' Mr B'air ; " They don't exhibit it in their daily life at any rate" At this covert "dig," the Board fairly exploded:, and Mr Pharazyn did not pursue the subj ;ct furl her.

The Morning Herald says a couple of gaily dressed bullocks paraded tlie streets on Saturday, evidently very muelj against their \vi 1. They were fit prize anim.-ils—- " The Tairri Beauties " —belonging to Mr Shand. Their disinclination to walk may lie easily conceived, when we state that they weighed 20441 b. and 19881l>, n-spec-livoly, Tiicy were afterwards submitted to auction by Messrs Wright, Stephenson, and Co., and were knocked down to Messrs Shand and vVorth for £65.

The following is a letter sent '!■-* the Town and Country Journal l>y n Mr T. Werner, being an extract from a letter written by him to the Minister of Lands, Queensland ; —" Having read in the papers of this i olony that your offer £IOOO for a remedy ajjainst rust in wheat, I her. by offer my experience, which is derived from practical use during 64years lam a native ot Sweden. My father was possess d the S-vartsjoeEsfa'e, 18m : les west from Stockholm, th; capital of Sweden, and ho has this remedy since 1816. He generally sowed about 400 bags of wheat yearly, and it is now used by my brother and has never failed. I arrived in this c lony in 1853, an I have never kept this jecret The cure is as fallows :—lhe evening before you intend to sow your wheat, spre d it out on your barn floor, and sprinkle over it oidinary brine, which can be done by a whisp of straw. Throw afterwards over it some slacked lime, and shovel the whole thoroughly, so that every grain receives its fair share of the lime. The quantity required for 20 baes of wheat is from one to two gal'ons of brine, and about two bushels of slacked lime This remedy is very simple, and may therefore be looked upon with contempt, but, if properly applied, is infallible."

Now that the troubles w.th the Zulus and Boers are at an end, there is no doubt (says the Home * T ews) that the colonisation of South Africa will rapidly progress especially a* great temp'afions are held out by the C ip<; Government to surplus humanity to go to ilioso parts. Any man with a few pounds can become a farmer there. This is what the Cape Government offers to re£po'-t..'ibl<} agriculturalists married or single, not over 4) years oM, desirous of emigrating to Cape Colony : A free passage for the settler and family ard land in the finest agricultural and grazing district of the Cape at 10s per acre ; the payment to be made in 10years, at Is the acre per year. In some districts, were iho poor rates are heavy, tho means of relieving the burden suggests itself to the-• advantage of all con.ers. Perhaps laborers will however, want a sprinkling of diamonds in the soil guaranteed