LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1021, 24 October 1882, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Rise im Coal. —The Grreyraouth Coal Company have decided to raise the price of coal to 12s der ton, f.o b., from November Ist, being an increase of Is per ton. The Tiitaiux Show. —The annual show, under the control of the Timaru Agricultural and Pastoral Association, comes oft' to-day and to-morrow on their grounds, Wai-iti road. All the sheep are to be on the ground by noon to-day, in order that they may be judged, and all the cattle, pigs and poultry by 9 o’clock to-morrow morning ; the horses by 10 o’clock. A special train leaves here for Timaru to-morrow at 11.15 a.m. calling at intermediate stations. The ordinary single fare tickets will be available for return up to Thursday next.

A Lady Preaches. —Mrs Judge Ward has turned preacher. She preached last Sunday in the Primitive Methodist Church, Timaru. The church was densely filled with worshipders.

The Mackenzie Country. —Last winter was the finest that has been experienced in the Mackenzie Country for the last ten years. The sheep are in excellent condition, very few lambs have been lost, and the clip is unusually good.

Auckland and the Contagious Diseases Act. —The City Council have refused to take a poll of the burgesses on the question of bringing into operation, or otherwise, the Contagious Diseases Act. At its last meeting several Councillors expressed the opinion that legal proceedings should be taken against the so-called religious paper, for printing an obscene advertisment, intended as a skit on the Act.

To His Friends and the Public. —The following has appeared in the Waipawa Mail as an advertisment. —“Notice. —To the kind friends and neighbours who have persistently made attempts to burn me out.—This is to give you notice that I hare taken out a policy «f insurance for my property, and that should a fire now take place the loss will not fall upon me, but on the insurance company. Fatal Accidest. —A fatal accident happened on Wednesday at Adams’ Flat, near Milton, John Paskell, a settler, was at work stripping a seem of coal, when a large quantity of earth, ten feet in height, suddenly fell upon him. His son immediately rushed to his aid, and after doing what he could, sent for further assistance. Death must have been instantaneous as Paskell’s skull was literally shattered to fragments. Practical.—The following somwhat curious circular was recently sent round the educational district of Balcairn, in Canterbury :—“ Mr Are you satisfied with the progress made by your children during the time they have attended the Balcairn School ? Yes, No. If satisfied scratch out ‘ No,’ if dis3atisfied scratch out ‘ Yes,’ and return the paper. — W. C. Fendall, Chairman School Committee.” It is stated that in only two instances was the “ Yes” scratched' out, a circumstance that must be highly gratifying to the teacher and Committee.

Inclusive. —Many an amusing dialogue, remarks the Dunedin Star, might be heard in the streets if it were courteous to listen to what passes in conversation between couple* or among groups. Sometimes a lit-bit falls in the way without the hearer', intruding upon the speakers. Thus one morning a friend, tempted by th« bright sunshine, walked towards the Stuart street jetty to enjoy the freshness of the gentle breeze, which scarcely rippled the the surface of the harbour. He reached the jetty about the same moment; as a boat loaded with fish arrived. Awaiting it were an Englishman, a Chinaman, and a negro. The Englishman and the black seemed to understand each other ; the Chinese stood apart. The black hailed the ciew and the following colloquy took place : —Black ; rat urn take for fish ? Crew; All sold. Black ; All sole ! Who buy ? Chinese . You buy ? Fishee mine. I sell you fishee ? Black : Fish um yours ? Chinese : Yes ; want buy ? I sell. Black to (Englishman): Cum long, Jack. Urn’s done by d— Chinee. ‘ White’ man no chance when d—• Chinee cum. (Exunt Englishman and black.)

Too Much for Them. —Mine host of an hotel not a hundred miles from the Market Place, Christchurch, proved himself fully equal to an emergency the other day. Three men (reports the Lyttelton Times) having had sundry drinks afe his bar, one of them produced a crossed cheque for £BO, and asked for the ehange. The landlord naturally declined to cash the cheque, when the men said they had no other money and could not pay for their drinks; Mine host, who had been holding the cheque in his hand, then pu fc it in hispoctet, and told them to call again in two days, when, if the cheque were good, they would get their change. “Give me my cheque, or I’ll fetch a policeman,” said one. “ Fetch away,” replied the landlord, “pay for the drinks and you shall have it.” A constable was called in, but he saw he could do nothing and speedily retired. Away went the men out of the house vowing vengeance, but presently one returned with some silver. “ There,” and,'give me my blooming cheque.” Said the landlord, “ Right you are : there’s your cheque. You don t travel on me, my man, with cheques you know I can t cash. So the men were disappointed in the. hopes of getting their drinks on the cheap.

The Stnod— At the Synod in Christchurch last Friday the report of the Commission appointed by the Bishop to consider the best means for providing for the insurance of church buildings was read. The Commisssioners recommended as followers . “ That it be recommended to trustees to undertake, as the present insurances expire, the assurance of all churches, parsonages, schools and school-houses vested in them, including the Cathedral and Bishops Court, at the current rates charged by the Canterbury Fire Insurance Association, provided the trustees reinsure either wholly or in part with some substantial Insurance Company in the case of all buildings involving special risks or exceeding the maximum insurance of £I2OO. That the Trustees be instructed to raise by loan, if needful, upon the security of church property, trust or general estate, such sums as are from time to time required to meet the losses by fire of church buildings assured bv them, and to pay interest and sinking fund for such losses out of the premiums received from several parishes and district applying ; the remainder of such premium to go towards the accumulation of a fire insurance capital or reserve fund of at least £IO,OOO. The Commission think it probable from the experience of the last thirty years that the course thus recommended will result in a considerable yearly income, which may be applied in aid of the Clergy Widows and Orphans Fund, or some other church object in which all the parishes insuring may be fairly taken to be interested ,

Missing.—An Oamaru chemist named Coggin "who tv as staying at the Bluff is missing, and as he was of weak intellect it is feared he has committed suicide.

The Christchurch Levanter. —Hempton, the commission agent who absconded after committing numerous forgeries, was arrested at Springfield last Sunday afternoon.

Sudden Death. —Stephen Campbell Brown, ex-Postmaster General, a well-known solicitor and a member of the Legislative Council of Hew South Wales, died suddenly on the 16th while engaged in examining an insolvent in Court.

Found Drowned. —From information received (says a Christchurch paper), Constables Flaherty and Sinclair proceeded at about three o’clock on Saturday afternoon to the Domain, where, lying in the River Avon, about two chains above the Domain bridge, they found the body of a man named James Alexander, a compositor recently employed in the Lyttelton Times office. The body was lying face downwards in the water, about 2ft from the bank. The sum of 2s 6d was found in the pockets.

Tory Wit. —The Greeks having sent the marble for Mr Woolner’s bust of Mr Gladstone, the following appears from the pen of a Tory bard : Employed by London, Woolner’s art To shape the Premier’s pate is ; Hellas, to take a graceful part, Sends over Glad —stone gratis. Well might Great Britain, stone for stone, Return the gift genteelly, And doubly grateful send her own Gladstone to Hellas freely.

Division of the Temuka Parochial District. —At the Christchurch Synod on Friday last the following motion was carried . —“ That the application of certain Church members residing at Pleasant Point, Albury, and neighborhood, to be formed into a parochial district separate from the parish of Temuka, which proposed alteration has been duly enquired into and recommended generally by the Standing Committee, be now granted by this Synod.”

Embezzlement. —A young man named Francis James Hodgson, formerly clerk in the National Bank, is wanted on a charge of stealing £SOO from the bank about 12 months ago. When transferred from Nelson to Christchurch about 12 months ago it was found he had taken it from the reserre safe. He joined the armed Constabulary after having been dismissed from the bank. He admitted taking the money, and had planted a portion of it in St. John’s Churchyard, Christchurch. £250 was unearthed, and the Bank, after delaying some time, ultimately decided to prosecute, but the thing getting wind Hodgson has evaded the police.

Clever Escafe. — A daring escape was made recently from Birmingham borough gaol by a young man named Andrew Kenyon sentenced to three months’ hard labor. He-was sent to Winson Green to serve his term, and,’being a painter, was engaged to paint the front of the governor’s house. A warder was placed in charge of him, but, during his temporary absence, the prisoner went into the house unobserved, put on a black coat, changed his hat for a smoking cap, and taking up a silk umbrella, left the beuse. Thus attired, he sauntered through the yard and to the jn’ison gates, and after wishing the attendants good day, made the best of his way towards town. On the discovery of his escape, a telegram was sent to Birmingham, where Kenyon was shortly afterwards apprehended in the street.

Mb Cx-xpfobd Lloyd. —Telegrams from Home a few weeks ago stated that some commotion took place owing to the Limerick Race Committee refusing to accept a subscription from Mr Clifford Lloyd. No doubt a great many are curious to know what sort of a man Mr Lloyd is, whose subscription would not be accepted. Race Committees, as a general rule, are not particular as to the character of subscribers, and their refusal is, therefore, a matter to excite curiosity. The proceedings of the House of Commons show that Mr Lloyd is a Resident Magistrate, who administers justice with a vengeance. Many Members of the House stated that his fearful harshness is sufficient to drive any community into rebellion. He goes about surrounded by an army of policemen, and has them about his house. His unpopularity is the cause of the Limerick Race Committee refusing his subscription.

Railway Accident Near Dunedin. —The following are the facts of the railway accident at Blueskin; —The 4.15 p.m. train from Dunedin to Oam aru, had reached the bottom of the incline within a quarter of a mile of Blueskin station when the engine ran off the line. This was just before reaching Waitati bridge, and between the embankments. The engine immediately struck one side of the embankment and turned on its side, being very seriously damaged. The goods van next to the engine is broken to pieties. Fire passenger carriages containing, probably, 80 passengers, are all badly wrecked. A passenger named Guy, employed in the Dunedin goods shed, was badly cut on the temple (he is now in the Dunedin Hospital, but is not thought to be dangerously hurt) ; a woman was cut about the head through being propelled through one of the carriage windows ; and a man somewhat severely hurt about the legs. Dr Maunsell went in a special train from Dunedin to attend to the injured. The Express passengers were transferred, and got into Dunedin about ten. The passengers by the wrecked train were all sent on. The effects of the accident are miraculonsly slight. Fifteen yards further and the engine wou'd have gone over Waitati bridge, when pro bably the most serious railway accident that ever occurred here would have had to be chronicled. The engine-driver and fireman Jumped off and escaped almost unhurt. Why the engine left the rails is quite unknown at present. It is possible that some of the engine gear broke and got beneath the wheels, or the line may have been damaged at the spot, or something may have got across the line, but at present, all is conjecture.

The Auckland Library.—Sir George Grey has promised a further gift of old manuscripts to the Auckland Library. Another Dairy Factory.—The preliminary steps towards establishing a diary factory at Hampden hare been taken, and the necessary information has been gathered. Respited.—Young Worth and the girl Davis, recently committed for indecent behavior in the Botanical Gardens, have been released, pending the result of an appeal that the evidence adduced did not warrant a con viction in point of law. Local Industry.—The Oamaru Barbed Wire Manufacturing Company, which has now only three machines in operation, have called for tenders for the erection of a building capable of holding ten, so great a demand is there for their wire.

Mixed. —The following story from the “Revue Anecdotique ” is a good illustration of the French journalist’s ingenuity i A gentleman goes to consult a solicitor as to an application he wishes to make for a legacy to which he thinks he is entitled, and in answer to inquires as to his exact position in the family, clearly indicates his position thus :—“ You see, sir, lam married to a widow, who had, by her first husband, a grown-up daughter. My father fell in love with the daughter and married her. Thus he became my son-in-law. I had a son who was my father’s brother-in-law as well as Ins grandson, and at the same time my uncle since he was the brother of my mother-in-law My father in bis turn had a son born, who was my brother and my grandson, as well as the son of my step-daughter. My wife was also my grandmother as she was the mother of my mother-in-law, and I was her grandson as well as her husband. Moreover, as the husband of a grandmother is necessarily a grandfather, I was my own grandfather. Thus you will see, Mr Solicitor, my rights in the matter are perfectly clear.

Mr Chas. Story notifies that lie has laid poison for fowls in his garden. Mr J. D. Slater late of the H. Z. Clothing Factory, Timaru, notifies that he has purchased the business lately carried on by Messrs Cowan and Foster, Timaru, and will in future conduct it on cash principle. He intends holding a clearing sale for the next 21 days.