The Temuka Leader SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 1881. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 373, 9 April 1881, Page 2

The Temuka Leader SATURDAY, APRIL 9, 1881. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

R EVENING OF THE SCHOOL.— The Tem,uk,a school will re-open on Monday next p.t the usual hour. The- Christchurch Library. The Public, Library at Christchurch will be open to the public to-morrow for the first time under the mw regulations. Russia in- Distress. —The Russian bear has appealed to several European Governments to. assist her in crushing, the organisation which under the use of infernal machines is increasing seriously. England and Russia. —The well-known friendship.existing between the new Czai and] the Prince of Wales is considered likely to. ensure more cordial relations between Russia and England. The. Bible in. Schools.-- Returns from 86 schools ip, the principal parts of Otago, , show 2966; parents, representing 10,255 children, in favor of the introduction of the Bible in Schools ;• and 412, representing 1175 children, against it. Shooting Tame. Ducks.— Mr Dickenson, of the Temuka Mill is justly annoyed at having several of his tame ducks shot and through our advertising columns intimates that tpe spoisman can, have them on application., A Fatal Panic. —A terrible catastrophe has occurred at the French town of Nice. The Onera House, while occupied with a large audience, was discovered to be on fire. A panic ensued, and a rush took place to. escape from the building, when, one hundred persons perished. Auction, Sales. —Messrs Maclean and Stewart announce that they will sell at their Horae Repository, Tim am. to-day, horses etc., a.nd; on Monday next at If a.m, the live, and dead stock, the property of Messrs Mathews and Trszise, on. their farm at Whitohi., Messrs JWildie, Allen and Stumbles will sell at their yards at the Washdyke, on account of various owners, cattle and sheep, at noon. The “Hercules” Crane. stated during a meeting of the Timaru Harbor Board on Thursday last, that Mr Anderson’s claim, against the Board on account of the crane, had been abandoned.. The Temuka School. —During a sitting of the Board; of Education on Wednesday last, a letter was read from, the Temuka School Committee applying for increased accommodation, and suggesting ha,t a, building should be erected on the new site to be used as an, infant school. Mr Barclay supported the proposition, and ultimately it was resolved to obtain, a design for new schools, showing an infant school capable of accommodating a sufficient number of children to relieve the crowding of the main school. The revised list of the tea*hing staff, forwas confirmed

Geraldine County Council. The usual monthly meeting of the Council will bq held on Tuesday- next,, the 12th instant at a quarter past eleven, a.m, of Australians “ Kipiasi's. It is stated that an Australian team of footballers will leave Melbourne on a tour through New Zealand on 14th June next.

Turkey- “Stuffing ”—At. Constantinople a cartridge, manufactory, with American, machinery,, turning, out 300,000 cartridges per day, has just been put into operation.

A New; Licensing Bills. —lt is statedthat one feature of the Licensing Bill to be introduced this session will he the raising of the bottle license to the same figure as the publicans pay.

An Archbishop on. the Land League. —ln bis Lenten Pastoral the Archbishop of Dublin assails the Land League, and also the ladies who,are associated with the movement. The, latter are intending to reply thereto. Another Inquiry.— ln all probability an official-inquiry will be made in regard to certain extraordinary proceedings that have taken place in the Dunedin gaol, the Visiting Justices having forwarded to, the Minister of Justice a strong protest against such.. Breach of Promise;— An. interesting case for the ladies will in all probability come before the Law Courts of England. Mr Ashm,ead Bartlett, who married Miss Burdett-Coutts, has been threatened with an action for a breach of promise of marriage. Mr Stout on the- Land Laws. —At Invercargill, on Tuesday evening last, Mr Stout delivered a lectur on the Irish Land Question. He contended'that the Colo-, nists had to guard,' against the growth, of a land class, whose existence in the Colony was due to the unwiseuess ; of earl}' legislation. Ho also held that (he remedy for Irish unrest was Home Rule, the establishment of a kind of Provincial Parliament, and reform of the L;md Laws.

The Recent Pig Dealing Case.—Our readers will recollect tliat during tlie sitting of the Resident Magistrate’s Court on Monday last, evidence was taken in regard to the purchasing of pigs on behalf of Mr Dickon sen. The case w.aa heard in Christchurch afterwards, and : the magistrate gave judgment for defendant, remarking at the same. Ump that he thought the evidence was very conflicting, yet it showed that the pigs were aot ; wh f at had been stipulated fog,.

Coming Events, &a. —The Press’■ Wellington correspondent states: —“I am positively' informed on good authority that Sir George Grey is determined to place himself at the head;of the Opposition next session. He will assume the lead, and act as leader. Those who do not choose to follow him can do,as they please, but he will lead the Opposition whether the party like it or not, and notwithstanding his, formal deposition lust session. Working Men’s Club. —Evidently the Resident Magistrate of Wellington has but a poor opinion in regard to the present method of carrying on these Clubs. In giving judgment in a sly-grog selling case against the proprietors of the socalled Thorndon and Te Aro Clubs, His Worship said he looked upon these “clubs” as a fraud to the name of Working Men’s Clubs, and said it was time that legitimate tradespeople were protected. These spurious “club?”' were only opened by the steward for his own benefit. Mr Strike of the Thorndon, Club, was find Is, and Strike, of the same Club, £2O and costs. C. Lewis proprietor of the Te Aro Club was fined £2O and costs ; in default, six weeks’ imprisonment.

A Narrow Escape. —On Wednesday last, a man working at the Temuka and Geraldine A. and P. Association’s ground had a very narrow escape under the following circumstances : —lt appears that a cow, whose calf had just been taken from her, was being driven along the main road from Winchester, when she espied the person above alluded to, who had just fastened the entrance gate to the grounds, and whose mate was driving a dray in the road, and called to him to jump in. Too late, however, as directly’ the cow saw him she rushed at him, and he, after dodging ‘the animal in a very plucky manner to the opposite side of the road, fell into a ditch near a hedge. The cow ran into the hedge and, happily at this juncture a dog came up, whereon she left her intended victim and made for the dog. As we might surmise the man felt very grateful at his narrow escape. Gift Auction. — The gift auction, in aid of the Presbyterian Manse, fund, will take place in Mr Gray’s auction rooms on Wednesday next, and great prepara-, tions. are being made in order to render it aa successful as possible. The stalls for the. sale of fancy and useful articles will bp presided over by the ladies of the congregation, a refreshment stall being also provided. The sole of live stock and produce will be held at Mr Gray’s yards at eleven o’clock of the same date We understand that a large quantity of goods have been promised, sp that m all probability a handsome sum will be realised. 1 All articles must be. sent in to the Committee on the previous day and live stock yarded early. on Wednesday. It is to he hoped that the weatlmrwill be propitious the

Civil. Service Reductions. —Apparently the Government will ere long eflect further sweeping reductions in the Civil Service of the Colony. Messrs Batkin anc Seed, the- Commissioners appointed to enquire into, the- matter, have already reported* feu; the North Island, and have commenced their southern tour of inspection. For the. North Island they show the practicability of saving some £II.OOO or £12,000; A Female Lawyer.— Mrs Laura de Force Gordon, the first female lawyer who ever addressed a jury in California, defended not long since a man accused of murder. The San Francisco Chronicle in speaking of the occasion, says .—‘'Mrs Gordon wore a black dress,, and her only ornament was a rose at her throat. Her appearance caused excitement, and she was several times applauded. Her client was acquitted.” A Good. Spin. — A very laughable event happened in Smith’s paddock, recently (says the Inangahna Times). A number of intending, competitors in the forthcoming foot races were taking their daily exercise, and amongst the many spectators were a number of Chinamen. At the close of the training a number of amateurs started racing round the course, and one young man who evidently fan-, cied himself not a little, after doing a spin, went up. to the Chinaman and dial leuged one of the number,-to run, John, at first declined, hup being, hardly pressed, by the challenger, who, counted on, a certain, win, the Chinaman eventually yielded;, and, divesting himself of ail superfluous do.lung, he stepped into the ring, looking as ferocious as a, buck rat, wliilp.his European opponent wore a smile, of confident success. A good start was effected, hut John rapidly drew ahead, and in spite of (he most desperate exertions of his opponent won the race hands down, amidst the greatest storms of applause ever heard' on the. ground. The young man, went homo the back way, and on, the. next Sunday night when the people in church looked round and saw the empty pew they just winked at each other-

T. and G. A. and P. Association. — A, meeting of the members of this Association was held at the Star Hotel on Thursday evening last, R. A. Barker, Esq., the President, occupying the chair. After the minutes of the previous meeting had been read and passed, a letter was read from Mr G ( Cliff, intimating his willingness to, give, up possession of the groundsbelonging- to tjie Association, and that ho did not desire to stand in the way of the Association making permanent arrangements to, utilise the ground for the benefit of the district at large. After spme discussion, the following resolutions wege passed “That a Sub-Committee, consisting of Messrs Gray, Ackroyd and Quinn, should wait on Mr Ciiff on Friday, (he Bth iust., and make definite arrangements for the Association entering into possession of. the land.” “ That the president take th<3. necessary steps to bring the Association under the .Agricultural and Pastoral Associations Act; o£ 1877.” “ That the annual subscription be changed from one guinqa to ten shillings, per, member.” “ That Mr Gray be appointed Treasurer pro tern, until, the next meeting of the Association, and that Mr Wilson's attention be drawn to a resolution passed on the 18th March last with reference to furnishing a statemenl of accounts at the next meeting.” The amount in hand, £8 iGs, was handed to Mr Gyay, and tffe meeting terminated.

Cricket Match.—A costume cricket match was played in Geraldine on Thursday last, and owing., to, the oddity displayed, there was a large attendance of spectators from far and near. The characters, were pourtrayed to the life and caused considerable merriment. A procession was formed in the township headed by Mr Fox, representing a Choctaw Indian, riding on a diminutive pony. Then came the Temuka Brass Band,, the members of which played appropriate aim en. route. Tljie. players, in costume followed, the rear being taken up by a large crowd of townspeople. On arrival on the ground' sides were chosen, Mr Muff, in the character of Falstaff, acting as captain for the one, and Mr R. Taylor, as an English clown,, for the other side. Mr Muff s party went first to the wickets, and; eventually came off conquerors with the large score of one. The proceedings were, considerably enlivened through the soul-inspiriting, music of. the Band, who, performed several pieces of music in a very creditable manner. In the evening a ball took place in the Oddfellows’ Hall, when about fifty couple tripped the light fantastic, Messrs Levens and Burrows, as. the musicians, giving the greatest; satisfaction. Dancing was kept up till past the small hours, when the company broke, up, highly pleased with the who)e proceedings. The following is a liat'of tlip characters represented at the match ; Darkies, Messrs Trengrove, Stonehouse, Lechner, Gore, and Billy ; harlequin, Mr Bpughton ; Falstaff, Mr Mufftwin, baby, Mr Johnson } English clowns, Messrs McAllister, R Taylor, and T. Primmer ; Choctaw Indian, Mr Fox ; French clown, Mr Pye; burlesque, Mr Ward ; Spaniard, Mr Cook ; Peruvian, Mr Shiers ; Irish washerwoman, Mr Kennedy; Toodles (father of Dark Wattie, who goes in search of his son and is supposed to find him on the cricket groujjfiJ, Mr G. Levens: Pa'rk Wattie (a truant schoolboy), Mr

Frozen Fish. —Tlie trial shipment; of frozen fish by the Lusitania has arrived in Melbourne in excellent condition. Cricket. — A match between the Ashburton and Geraldine Cricket Clubs will take place at Ashburton on Monday next. Tije San Francisco. Maxi, —The Terauka portion of the San Francisco mail arrived by train from north last eyening at the Post-office. Nomination or Synodsman.—Nominations for the election of synodsman for the parish of Temuka will be received by Mr F. Tavendet, Returning Officer, at the parsonage on Friday, April 22nd at 12 o ( clock, noon.

The Templeton Shooting Case. —At the Christchurch Supreme Court on Wednesday last, Walter Pringle Gibson was acquitted on the charge of muydeying one William K'errison, on the ground of insanity. His Honor ordered him to be confined in Addington gaol awaiting thepleasure of the Colonial Secretary..

The Dandelion : Its Uses.— Many persons know that the dandelion,-is-useful in medicine for man, are not aware that it has a very beneficial effect on the health, of - our horses, the black becoming sleek and shining like a mole, and the. dappled, like a deer. A Wedding. Gift, A cheque for £225,000 sterling to a young lady on her wedding day must by a very agreeable surprise, yet a cheque for this amount was recently given to a young lady on the day of her marriage' The bride was Miss Alice E. Tayler, and the bridegroom, who had it in his power io be thus generous, Mr John H. Shoenberger, a Pennsylvania gentleman, son of a Pennsylvanian, iron m amjfacturer.

Inspection Parade, —The usual monthly inspection parade of the No. 1 Temuka Rifle Yolunteers was held in the Volunteer Hall:last evening, there being;a h?rge attendance. Captain, Young was the inspecting o fficer. The drum and fife band opened the proceedings by playing a few selections in a manner-which showed that their new instructor was no, novice, at his work. Hfter the parade had 1 concluded, the Volunteers headed by the. band, marched through the town, and on re-, turning to the hall a meeting was held, Captain Young in the chair, when a meeting was held to consider the question in regard to joining in the Easter Encampment at Oamaru.