The Temuka Leader. TUESDAY, MAY 9, 1882. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 948, 9 May 1882, Page 2

The Temuka Leader. TUESDAY, MAY 9, 1882. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Native Meeting. —Nothing of any importance has taken yet place at the meeting held at Whatiwhatihoe. Assessment Court. —The Assessment Court for the Mount Peel Road Board district will take place in the Mount Peel Road Board ofiice on Saturday the 20th inst. Licensing Act. —The quarterly meeting of the Licensing Committee will be held in the Courthouse, Temuka, on the 9th day of June next for the purpose of considering apapplications made in accordance wtih the provisions of the new Licensing Act.

The Putter and Cheese Factory.— The result of a canvass made by Mr Sando amongst some farmers yesterday was, wo understand, very satisfactory. He got promises Of support from all sides in the shape of a supply of milk, and also in the taking up of shares. A sufficient quantity of milk to cany on the work has now been guaranteed.

The Wreck or the Duke or Sutherland. —There is scarcely a trace of the above wreck to be seen now', she having sunk almost out of sight in the bay opposite Whales Creek. The inquest on her terminated las*' Saturday, but nothing new was elicited. The only conclusion that can be come to is that the vessel was berthed in shallow water, and that she struck the ground. Appearances Against Him, —ln the Supreme Court Hew Plymouth, on Saturday, the case of Parnel, for indecent assault on Mrs Daniells, occupied the whole day. The j ury retired about half-past five, and after two hours’ deliberation brought in a verdict of not guilty. The Judge in discharging the accused said it was the first case of a man being found unlawfully in a strange woman’s bed w'hom he had heard of getting off so easily. R,M, Court. —At the above Court yesterday, before Julius Mendelson Esq., J.P., two men were brought up on a charge of being drunk and disorderly, and fined respectively 20s and ss, or the usual, alternative. James Edw'ards was charged with the larceny of a pair of scissors belonging to the hair-dresscr, Mr Charles Reid. It appeared that the accused got the scissors to grind from Reid, and instead of returning them took them to Ashburton, w'here he was arrested. He •aid he put the scissors in his pack with his other things and forgot all about them, He was dismissed with a caution.

Rathkb Despotic.—A private letter received at Auckland from Tonga states that gome of the young chiefs had petitioned the King to remove the Premier, the Rev W. Baker. The King vras at Habau when the movement took place, but he returned on hearing of it and arrested the young chiefs, and threatened to hang some of them as a warning to others. Ho was remonstrated with, and it was shown that these young men had only exercised the right of petition given by the constitution, but the King still threatens to hang some of them. Mr Baker recently left Auckland for Tonga. The difficulty has probably been settled peacefully ere this.

Boil.—As tbs Eer Mr Gordon was driving to church last Sunday evening his horse bolted in front of the Temuka Hotel, The rev gentleman not anticipating any such contretemps was off his guard, and when the horse bolted he was thrown to the ground. The wheel of the vehicle passed over his foot, which was slightly bruised, his shoulder was hurt, but excepting a severe shaking he sustained no serious injuries, and he was able to walk with a little assistance to the church. We are glad to learn that he has quite recovered, excepting that his shoulder is painful yet. Mr Gordon’s man and maid servant were in the trap with him at the time, but they were powerless in stopping the horse as the reins fell to the ground, and it continued its mad career along the street. Beyond St Saviour’s Church some distance, however, it slackened speed, and it was caught Mr Smith, without the occupants of the trap, the trap, or the horse, having sustained any injury. At the time the bolt took place many people were on the street on their way to church, and it was a matter for thankfulness that no one was hurt.

Accident. —At Greymouth last Friday a shocking accident occurred in the quarry. While Patrick Fogerty and Richard Owen were clearing away the results of a shot, a flake of stone weighing about 5 cwt fell, striking Owen on the side of the head and serering his left arm between the elbow and wrist. Fogerty was wounded in the skull and otherwise much bruised. There are no hopes of Owen’s recovery 5 Fogerty’s symptoms are more favourable. Both are steady men with wires and families. They were taken to the Hospital.

An Old Offender. —At Christchurch last Saturday an old man named Hamblin Was brought up as a rragrant. He had been discharged from Addington only the previous day, where he had been doing a month for misbehaving himself at the Ashburton Home The police and the Bench both appeared at a loss what to do with the old scamp, who is quitt blind and must be looked aLer in some way. At Ashburton he misconducted himself towards the females, and at the goal he was bo unruly that he had to be punished. As the best way of getting out of the diffi" c ulty, the Bench sent him to goal again for a month, in order to give time to consider what should be done with the old man. Timuka Contingent C.Y.0., B. Troop. —The members of the above contingent held a meeting at the Royal Hotel on Friday last. Present —Lieut Lewis (in the chair), Sergt Waddol, and 12 troopers, Lieut Lewis having explained that he had resigned as a member of the 0.Y.0. retired, and Sergt Waddell took the chair. The members then considered the most desirable course to pursue' in the event of Lieut Lewis’ resignation being accepted. It was proposed by Trooper Mackay, seconded by Trooper Woodhead, and carried unanimously—“ That Captain Wright be written to asking him, in the event of Lieut Lewis’ resignation being accepted, that he would use his influence for a candidate nominated by this contingent as Lieut Lewis’ successor.” It was resolved—- “ In the event of a favorable answer being received from Captain Wright that a deputation consisting of the following gentlemen, viz., Sergt Waddell, Troopers Hayes, Pitt, Woodhead and Mackay wait upon Mr Alfred Cox, and ask him to accept the position rendered vacant by the resignation of Lieut Lewis; and failing to obtain his consent Mr Francis Barker be asked. It was arranged that foot drill be held in the Volunteer Hall on Thursday, 11th inst, at 7.30 p.m. all members present agreeing to attend.

The Missing Link. —America is a wonderful place. Recently some sort of an old skull was picked up in the Big Horn river, and a Professor Cope recognises it as the skull of the missing link which puzzled Darwin. This is the way the learned professor gloats over the discovery “The skull is remarkably similar —in miniature, of course to the human skull. The brain space is remarkably large, and is, in fact several times larger than the brain space of any of the skeletons of animals of the same period ' of time. The characteristics of the formation of the human skull are clearly defined —so clearly as to be remarkable. The teeth are nearly the same as human teeth, while the jaw has many strong points of similarity. I consider this skull as the earliest indication of the existence of man: It is a new species of a familiar class, and has hitherto been unknown to scientists. The connection between man and this animal, it seems to me, must hare been very close, although of course, nine men out of every ten would raise a dispute. Ho animal at that time, except this peculiar species, had a head like that of a human being , and the brain space, contrasted with the brain space of other animals, or even of the monkeys of today, shows a vast superiorly of intelligence.” It was of course reserved for America to find the missing link. Suspicious Fire. —A fire occurred in this town about 1.15 p.m. last Sunday which passed off with comparatively light damage beingedone, but which at one time threatened to prove most disastrous. At about that time Mr Buss, who was standing in the street, noticed smoke issuing from Mr Hayhurst’s Wallingford Hotel, and at once concluding that it was on fire he ran and rang the firebell. Immediately the streets 'Were alive with persons alarmed by the bell, and soon a large crowd had assembled in the street in front of the house on fire. Amongst the first to arrive were Messrs M. Quinn and K. F. Gray, who burst open one of the street doors, forced an entrance into the hotel, and thus made the way smooth for the fire brigade, who arrived in a surprisingly short space of time, and went to work with commendable promptitude. The fire brigade, under Captain Ollivior, soon got a couple or three hose to play on the fire, and the way in which they worked was commended by everyone who witnessed the efforts they made. In about half an hour they had the fire well under, and at about 2 o’clock all danger had passed; the fire having been completely extinguished. The origin of the fire is at present shrouded in mystery, but persons as they discuss it, seem to agree that it was a case of incendiarism, and we must confess that it had all the appearance of it. There is a rumor afloat that the room* were besmeared with kerosene, and the fact that the police found a kcrosine tin on the premises, and took possession of it, gave strength and color to this report, but Mr Gray, who was about the first to cuter the building, thinks that there was no sign of kerosene on the floors. He noticed some wet spots on the floor, but on a test they proved to be water. Others say they smelled kerosene, but it is probable that they mistook the smell of burning paint for it. Besides, if there had been kerosene laid all over the place the fire would have spread more rapidly than it did, and it is doubtful whether the fire-brigade would have ousted it, notwithstanding how well they worked. All the circumstances taken together, we think that no kerosene was there, and that the fire must have been smouldering away inside for a considerable time—perhaps since daylight—before it was discovered. It was |

evident from the appearance of the place that the fire originated in a room m the centre of the upper storey of the building. Here the wall between two rooms was completely burned, and it would appear that it was from this the fire spread ; burning the ceiling over head and running along the whole of the roof from end to end. At the time the fire brigade arrived smoke was issuing from all parts of the roof, and only for it was taken so timely, and the day was so calm, no effort could hare saved it. As it was the most of the upper storey suffered. The papering in all the rooms will have to be renewed, and the greater part of the ceilings are blackened with' the smoke,'while a good deal of it is charred. The roof and ceiling ove r the 3’oom where the fire is supposed to have originated has been completely burned, and the papering on the lower storey is destroyed through the water pumped to put out the fire having leaked down on it. On the whole the amount of damage done is estimated at about £SOO- The building was insured in the New Zealand Insurance Company’s office for £ISOO, Mr Hay hurst lived in the hotel until he removed to Green Hayes about a fortnight ago, and since then it was completely empty, there being not a bit of furniture in it. At the next meeting of the Licensing Court it was, we believe, intended to apply for a license for it, as the vote in favor of an increase of licenses had been carried at the last polling day, and it is very vexatious to the proprietor that it should have been burned down just immediately before the date on which a license was to be applied for. When the fire took place not a single particle of furniture was in the house; not even matches, to which so many fires have been attributed, and, therefore, the natural conclusion which every-one has come to is that the house must have been set on fire, but for what reason it is impossible to say. The doors of the hotel were all closed, and consequently no one can understand how entrance could have been effected. At present the whole affair is shrouded in mystery, but we believe that an inquiry into the fire will take place, and if the conjecture that some one set it on fire is true, we sincerely hope that it will lead to his detection and punishment. A wretch who could be guilty of such an action deserves the highest penalty the law could inflict, because not alone was much valuable property destroyed, but lives might have been lost if the fire had occurred in the middle of the night,and there had been much wind. As it was the residents in the immediate neighborhood sustained some damage by the removal of their furniture, and only for the day being so calm there is no doubt that several of the houses in the neighborhood would have been destroyed. The thanks of the community, and the greatest praise are due to Captain Ollivicr and the Fire Brigade for the way they worked. It was not expected that it could be saved, and it was a matter of surprise that the ;fire was extinguished with so little damage being done.

Mr Marcroft invites tenders for lioleing ground for trees. Mr A, Kolman offers £1 reward to anyone giving such information as will lead to the recovery of a horse which strayed away from him.