LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 937, 13 April 1882, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Pbejubt.—The charge of perjury against Baseley who gave information in the case against Messrs McCaskill and Tlooney will be heard in Timu.ru next Friday.

The Weather. —It continued to rain up to Wednesday morning, when it cleared up. Rain fell in torrent* in Duncdin.where a good deal of damage was done by floods. In one bonded store alone 113000 mirth of sugar was destroyed.

Oddfellows' Sports, G-kraldintc. —Ths above sports which were to hava been lisld last Monday have been postpone! til the 24th of May.

The Exhibition.—Over 7000 psop'e "arrived in Christehurch by train last Monday, and 15,000 people travelled on the tramcars to the exhibition. A Righteous Judgment.—Four students of Wacousta, Wisconsin, stole a farmer's gate. The college Faculty condemned them to expulsion, or the alternative of whatever punishment the farmer might inflict. He sentenced them to chop four cords of his wood and deliver it to a poor widow. They did it to the music of- a band and the plaudits of a crowd that watched the operation. The Local Post-office.—" With regard to Mr Miles's letter which appeared in our last issue, Mr O'Halloran has asked us to explain that the Post-office was open for one hour after the arrival of the English mail. It is against the regulations to open the office on a holiday, in fact he would not be allowed to open it, and hencj his reason for not delivering letters. We feel confident that everyone who has had any business to do in the Pottoffice will agree that Mr O'Halloi-an is a most obliging officer, and that it would be against his will that he inconvenienced anyone.

Statistical.—Mr Hayter's statistics in the Victorian Year Book for 1880-81 gives the following as the proportion of illegitimate births to every 100 children born in 1880 in the several colonies :—'Victoria, 4 - 86 ; New South Wales, 4'51 ; Queensland, 4'31 ; and New Zealand 2'30. The mean rate for eight years in New Zealand is only l - 87; while in New South Wales it is 4"17. The rate even in Victoria 19 lower than that prevailing in the "United Kingdom, the following being the figures for tha various divisions of the country for a period of eight years; — England and Wales, s'o ; Scotland, 8"8 ; and Ireland, 24;

City of Glasgow Bank. —The London correspondent of the Age -writes s —" Those shareholders of the City of GHasgow Bank who bravely suffered martyrdom rather than attempt to evade their responsibility are likely to be rewarded for their constancy. The assets have increased so steadily in value that they are likely to be sufficient to satisfy every outstanding creditor, and leave a handsome surplus. A company will be formed to take the assets, so that they may not be forced into the market before jhey have reached their matured value, the company providing the funds required to pay off all existing liabilities. The bad management of the bank is thus strangely contrasted with the admirable way in which th 9 winding up has been accomplished.

" Sold " . —An amusing incident at New Plymouth is reported A gentleman residing there got up rather early in the morning, and found a cow tresspassing in his flower garden. He was greatly enraged, >nd drove the animal at once to the pound. TJnfortu - nately, in his hurry, he had not examined the animal closely enough, but took it for granted that it was a neighbour's cow. On returning and seeing that his own cow was out of the padock the truth dawned on his mmd that he had imprisoned his own cow ! He im* mediately retraced his steps to the pound, and finding the cow was his own, tried to persuade the poundkeeper to liberate the animal without charging the pound fees, but we understand that his pleadings were all in vain, and he had to pay for his mistake. —Ex-

change,

The Patetebe Block. —Say 9 the Wanganui Herald : —lf it be true that Mr Halcombe has received a bonus of £15,000 for negotiating the sale of the Patetere block to an English Company, what must have been the amount transferred from the exchequer of the colony to the Auckland land ring ? The Piako Swamp swindle will hardly compare in magnitude with the Patetere job. It cannot be said that any improvements have been put upon the Patetere" land. In its primeval richness or nakedness it stands out as onu of the most corrupt transactions a land-sharking Ministry has been capable of in the history of the colony. For without a color of an excuse a rich block of land was hanc'el over to a few private but powerful individuals, and not only the colony, but ♦•• he Natives have been injured in the transaction. When the available agricultural land has been squandered, and the day of reckoning comes in a progressive land tax, the Patetere is one of the cases that will be remembered. It is also a further illustration of our doctrine that the due protection of Native interests by the State is best for the colonists.

Skobeloff's Famous Speech.—The'follow, ing are the remarks by General Skobeloff •which haring been made in receiving some Servian students in Paris, created an immense sensation en the Continent: —" If Russia does not show herself equal to her patriotic duties in general, and to her Slav role in particular, it is because both within and without she is hald in check by a foreign influence. We are not at home in our own house, The foreigner is everywhere and his hand is in everything. We are the dupes of his policy, the victims of his intrigues, the slaves of his power. We are dominated and paralysed to such an extent by his innumerable and disastrous influences that if we are to deliver ourselves from them, as I hope we shall some day or other, it can only be done by us sword in hand. And if you wish to know the name of this foreigner, this intruder and intriguer, this enemy so dangerous to Russians and Slavs, I will name him. It is the German. I repeat it, and I beg you will never forget it. This enemy is the German, A struggle between the Slav and the Teuton is inevitable. It will belong, sanguinary, and terrible, but the Slav will triumph.'' General Skobeloff added: —"If any one attempts to molest the States reeog nised by treaties, thank goodness you will not be alone. If fate should so decide, we shall meet again on the battle field fide by I side against the common enemy." I

The Licensing- Act. —A notinctioa appears elsewhere to the effect that a poll cf the ratepayers in fcke Temuka Licensirg District will be held in the Resident Magistrate's Courthouse on the 2nd of Mav next, to consider whether the number of publicans' licenses, etc., maybe increased. A New Medicine —The Spanish physician, Dr Olive, deducts the following conclusions from 119 observations :—l. The cobweb, when taken as a powder, eures daily or tertian malaria fever. 2. When administered, by 2 gramme doses to men and 1 gramme to children, it stops fever, usutl'y after the second attack. 3. Its action is not so rapid as that of sulphate of quinine, so, until further researches, cobweb powders ought; not to be used in cases of pernicious fevers. 4. The powder being tasteless, ifc easier to take than quinine, especially for children. 5. This remedy is a very good preservative. To make cobweb powder, clean the eobwebs, wash them thoroughly, dry them in the sun, and pound in a mortar, One gets thus an ash-brown powder, insoluble in water and hardly soluble in aleohol. Not Bad. —The following yarn is told in the local Star: —"A saddler's shop in the Wairarapa was the scene of an amusing I episode the other day. A certain churchwarden was conversing with a saddler when he noticed the incumbent of the church, with stick in hand, bearing down on the establishment. " He's after that harness, and ' blow me *if it's finished," said the man of saddles in a tone of mortification. Then a thought struck him, and he exclaimed, "Tell the Bey I'm not in. That I've just gone out," and he ducked his head and crept beneath the counter. " Where's So»and-So ?'' asked the clergyman, naming the proprietor. "Oh, he's just gone out," promptly replied the warden, " Ah, won't be back soon, eh ?" '• No, I think he's gone lome distance," replied the other. The" clergyman, who seemed in no hurry to leave, began casting his eyes over the premises, when some straps and fancy buckles caught his eyes, " Perfect beauties these are," he continued, as he walked behind the counter to examine them. Then as he turned his penetrating eye he saw the crouching form beneath. As the saddler sprang to his legs the warden coloured up, and then nearly spooned, whilst the incumbent provided music for the tableau in the shape of loud screams of laughter,

The attentiun of our readers is directed to a " lost" advertisement.

Tenders are invited by Matthews and Trezise for reparing fences and cleaning ditch. Mr Mahr.ke advertises that he has sold his business as a boot and shoemaker, and that al} accounts unpaid to him by the 22nd inst, will be placed in the hands of a collector.