The Tumeka Leader TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 1881. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 376, 19 April 1881, Page 2

The Tumeka Leader TUESDAY, APRIL 19, 1881. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Resident Magistrate’s Court. —No business was transacted at this Court yesterday, being a Government holiday. Parish Meeting —The usual Easter meeting of parishioners will be held at St. Saviour’s Church, this evening at eight o’clock. The Te Aroha Murder. —Procoffy, indicted at the Auckland assizes for the murder of a Maori at To Aroha, has been acquitted. Temuka Sparrow Club.— An adjourned meeting of persons interested in the formation of a Sparrow Club for the district will be hold at the Crown Hotel Assembly Rooms, on Thursday next, at 7.30p.m. The Electoral Rolls. —The Clerk to the County Council intimates that the electoral rolls are now open for inspection for the various ridings in the Geraldine County at the following offices: —Levels Riding, Mr J-. Granger’s office, Timaru ; Temuka, Road Board Office ; Mount Peel, Road Board Office ; Mount Cook, Road Board Office, Burke’s Pass.

The World’s Post-office.—' The simplest post-office in the world is in Magellan Straits, and has been established there for some years past. It consists of a small oak cask, which is chained to the rock of the extreme cape in the straits, opposite Terra del Fuego. Each passing ship sends a boat to open the cask and take letters out and place others in it. The post-office is self-acting, therefore ; it is under tire protection of the navies of all nations, and up to the present there is not one case to report in which any abuse of the privileges it affords has taken place.

Arrest of a Lunatic Asylum Superintendent —On Saturday last, at the instance of Government, John Henry Whitelaw, late superintendent of the Wellington Lunatic Asylum, was arrested on the charge of ill-treating a patient named William Macintosh, for ‘‘taking him from Ins bed at ten o’clock at night in winter, stripping him, taking him across an exposed yard and placing him in a confined shower bath, and there keeping him under a continuous shower of cold water for the space of ten minutes. He was to have been brought up before the Courtyesterday, at Wellington.

New Drapery Establishment.— Messrs

Coy and Drummond, of Timaru, announce that they have opened a drapery establishment in premises next Mr K. P, Gray’a auction rooms, for one month. Silver Mine in N.S. W. — In London, recently samples of Bum ok silver ore have assayed and three.sixteenths, 53J, and ounces respectively per ton. The news has naturally created some excitement in that Colony.

Civil Service Reductions. —The latest information in respect to the reduction of salaries in the Civil Service is to the effect that the 10 per cent, will be continued until Parliament meets, and an opportunity thus afforded of re-arranging the salaries. Tobacco Smoking Reform. —A smoker’s pledge-card is being circulated in Auckland. It pledges to abstinence from tobacco, the evil influence of which on health, it says, is attested by the “sallow and pinched features” of youths who smoke.

Absentee Holders of Soil. —Mr Vincent Pjdce at a meeting at Clyde lately stated that the whole of the land in Vincent County, about a million md a half acres, was in the hands of twenty persons, all whom were absentees. A Committee was appointed to memorialise the Government on the subject.

Insure Your Stacks. —If a statement made by the North Otago Times, be tme then surely all farmers should rush to the Insurance offices within their reach during harvest and insure their crops. The journal in question states that a sufferer from one of the late stack fires who was insured, realised something like 10s a bushel for the portion of his crop which was destroyed. Wesleyan Church. —At the Wesleyan Church, on Sunday last, the Rev. Mr Fee, the new ly appointed minister to this circuit, officiated for the first time at the services, preaching heart-stirring addresses—in the morning from the 6th chapter of the Epistle to the Galatians, 7th and 8(h verses, and in the evening 11th chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel, 28th and 29th verses. Bowled Out. —The "Now Fork Era” has discovered a curious instance of almost miiatim copying from another author in Lord Beaeonsfield’a novel of “ Endymion.” In Joseph Irving’s “Annals of Our Time,” published in London in 1876, is a passage descriptive of the railway king, Hudson’s enormous transactions, which is repeated almost in the identical language in the novel.

The Irish Land Bill.— The Government Bill now before Parliament provides for the amendment of the Irish Land Laws. Its principal measures are for the establishment of Courts of law to fix rents which are, to remain unaltered for 15 years, and to regulate the land tenure and sales, it being left optional to both landlords and tenants to invoke the aid of the Courts. A commission will a ! so be appointed to make grants for emigration, to assist tenants to purchase their holding and to buy land from those willing to sell.

Narrow Escape.—As the late tram from Timarn was leaving the local railway station on Friday last, a stray horse stationed itself on the line, and galloped in front cf the train. The engine-driver, observing the animal, did all in his power to stop the train, which he succeeded in doing when within a few feet of the horse, the latter being unable to proceed further owing to an open culvert Had it not been for the promptitude of the driver and guard, the result might have been not certain death to the horse itself, but the train might have been thrown off the line and the passengers seriously, if not fatally injured. The Recent Gift Auction.— In our advertising columns the Committee of the Presbyterian Church desire to tender their sincere thanks to each and every one who so generously contributed towards the bazaar and gift auction ; also to the ladies who presided over the stalls, to Captain Young for the unsolicited services of the drum and fife band, and last, but not least, to Mr K. F. Gray, the auctioneer. The Committee themselves, and Mr D. Mackay, the hon. secretary deserve, also, the thanks, of the Church members for their active zeal in the cause in which they had for some time past been engaged. Amongst the names of the donors in our last, that of Mrs Lyons, who contributed a bag of apples was accidentally omitted. The total amount received as the product of the gift auction and bazaar was £IPS.

Illustrated N. Z. Herald. —We are in receipt of the current number of this periodical, which is more than usually interesting. The only illustration of New Zealand scenery is that of Arthur’s Pass on the route from Canterbury to Westland. The supplement contains some well executed portraits of the Executive and Past Grand Masters of the Grand Lodge of New Zealand, 1.0.0. P. The front page illustration is that of the Cerberus torpedo accident at Port Philip Heads. This is followed by a variety of scenes in the Melbourne Botanic Gardensj the stranding of the ship Hereford ; Melbourne Annual Regatta ; St Valentine’s Day in the Melbourne Post-office ; New Bridge over the Yarra, at Richmond, Victoria ; The lost track ; A Country Rifle Match, and the Warnabool Potato harvest. The general news contained in the reading matter is also of considerable interest.

Too Much Law. —The Lyttelton Times, remarking on Governmental economy, says that during last year the fees received at the Supreme Court, Christchurch, amounted to £2524, sufficient to pay the whole cost of the offices, and also the Judge’s salary. “ Pok Blood is the Life.”— Apparently the march of science has contradicted this saying which we have been led to believe in for many years past. It appears, now, however, that this expression will have to be qualified in the future, for, on the authority of Professor Edward A. Sohafel, we have it that a German professor has found out that if the blood of an animal be removed, ai d the blood-vessels bo filled with milk, or a weak solution of salt, tho animal continues to live without any apparent inconvenience. Two Sides to the Question, —Recent cablegrams from Ireland intimate that at a conference of Land Leaguers, held in Dublin, a resolution was passed declaring the Land Bill now before Parliament to be inadequate to meet the demands of tenants. It is also stated that a meeting of tenant righters has been held, who passed a resolution “ approving ” of the provisions of the said Bill. As the latter more materially affects the tenants themselves, this augurs well for the efforts Government are ranking towards ameliorating their condition.