LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1030, 14 November 1882, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A Prolific Cow. —The Wanganui Herald is informed that Mr Russell, of Goat Valley, possesses a cow -which had fire calves within 23 months. The cow had twin calves sue. cessively, and all are thriving well. Otago Tract and Bible Society.—The above Society kave now a shop open in Temuka. The stock of books, Christmas, and other cards, etc., is very large. As the stay is limited to Monday next, intending customers should not defer paying the shop a visit. R. M. Court. —At the above Court yesterday, before S. D. Barker and J. Mendelson Esqrs., J.P's., Peter McCaskill was fined 5s for allowing one cow belonging to him to wander on the railway. James Cain, charged with having made use of abusive language, was fined 20s or the alternative of 14 days' imprisonment. Where Did it Come From ?—The Hokitika Star says :—" A great quantity of pitch has been washed up on the south Spit, and the people living in the neighborhood have pieces sGolbs in weight. It is hard outside, and soft inside. The finders are at present using it to light their fires. Where it came from is a mystery. Martin Weibkrg.—Martin Weiberg, who got five years for stealing 500 sovereigns from one of the P. and O. steamers, is about to be released from the Pentridge Stockade, Victoria, During his three years and ten months' incarceration Martin has been very well conducted. He comes out, it is hinted, to live on his money. Mb J. G-. Bennett. —The wealth of James Gordon Bennett, and his sensible lavishness, have made the curious desirous of knowing what the condition of his financial resources is. We learn from an authority that he is worth over £1,200,000, and there is no one to spend it on but himself. The Herald, which is Avholly his, is of move value now than ever before. He is said to have refused an offer of £BOO,OOO, for it. Sunday Labour. —A Philadelphia pastor, who recently preached against Sunday newspapers, stated there were no Sunday papers in London. He advocated the entire cessation of Sunday labour in the offices of the dailies, and said that the Monday edition could be prepared without doing any work between Saturday midnight and Suuday midnight. He said he knew this could be done, for he had filled every position on a paper, from compasitor to managing editor. Sir George Grey.—The opinion of the New Zealand Times is that it is not at all likely that the Knight of Kawau will ever take his seat in the House again. The generous gift of his valuable library to the people of Auckland was accepted by many persons as a sign that Sir Q-eorge meant to break up his home, and it is now generally understood that he intends to start for Groat Britain in a few months. It is very doubtful whether he will ever return to the Colony, and rumor even goes so far as to say that he hopes to find a larger field for the exercise of the talent which he undoubtedly possesses in the settlement of the great Irish difficulty. Singular Fatal Accident. —A death from a peculiar cause is reported in a recent London paper, which states that Dr. Thomas held an inquest at the Maryleboneroad on the body of Alfred Harrington, aged four years. The ]cbild's grandmother placed him upon a folding bodstead, and covered him over with a thin sheet to keep the flies off while she was dressing in another room. The grandfather returned home, and finding the bedstead down, shut it up without noticing that the child was there, and the boy was suffocated. The evidence showed that the man and woman were sober and respectable people, and the jury returned a verdict of Death by Misadventure. Lynch Law. —American papers report the lynching at Perham, in Minnesota., of a boy named John Tribbetts, for murdering a surveyor and another person, evidently for the purpose of robbery. After his arrest the young ruffian conducted himself with a good deal of effrontery. On the following night a party of citizens broke into the gaol at Perham, battered down the door of Tribbetts cell, seized him, conveyed him a short distance down the railway track, and hanged him to a ladder placed in a standing position against a telegraph pole. It is stated that "the lynching was well done, and that there were no baulks." Before he was turned off Tribbetts made a full confession of his crime. Attempt to Rescue a Nihilist.—A daring but unsuccessful attempt wan made the other day to rescue from the prison of Saratoff, a political prisoner who was immured there, pending his trial. During tho time allotted for daily exercise in the prison yard, a cart containing two men drove up to the outside wall, and while the prisoner throw sand in the eyes of the warder, one of the new comers shot the unfortunate mam dead with a revolver. All three men then jumped into the cart and set off at a furious pace. They were pursued by an infuriated crowd, which, attracted by the shots came up to the Nihilists, and so greviously maltreated them before the police arrived to rescua them, that one died on his way to the hospital. Signs of the Times. —-A Home paper writes :—" The greatest good of the greatest number is the politician's gospel, but, strangely enough, whilst the politician theorises the rich grow richer and the poor grow poorer. In fact, as John Morley observed on a late oc" casion—'Our present type of society is in many respects one of the most horrible that has ever existed in the world's history : boundless wealth and luxury at one end of the social scale, and at the other a condition of life as cruel a 3 that of a Roman alavt, and more degraded than the South Sea Islander's.' No great wonder, then, that the toiling millions are every where discontented. Little wonder that the students, men of letters, men and women of all classes sigh for a change, and take their stand on revolutionery | platforms." I

The Oajiaru Show.—The number of entries received this year for the Agricultural and Pastoral Show is 645, being 127 less than last year. The Gaming Act:—The proprietors of the totatisators at Dunedin s of which ther e are two kept going on almost every racing event, have been summoned to the Police Court for Tuesday (to -day) over the Melbourne Cup. The Rebuilding of Alexandria.—Some English speculators see a chance of making something out of the misfortunes of Egypt and are preparing a scheme for rebuilding Alexandria on a much more splendid scale than it was built before. As soon as Arabi need no longer be counted with, there will be a good opening in Egypt for enterprise. Destruction of Forests.—During last season it is stated that more than seven billion feet of timber were cut in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. The quantity of '< pine timber now standing in these three States, according to the latest reports, is 81,500,000,000 feet. The supply, at present rate of destruction, will not last more than twelve years. The War Canoe Rack. —At the Auckland regatta the Maori war canoe race was rather a hollow affair. Entries were Omapere (Bay of Islands) 30 men, Aparangi (Waikato) 70 men, and Tateraka (Waikato) 40 men. Te " Wheoro's Omapere went off with the lead, and came in an easy winner, over a two miles course, by 400 yards, which distance separated the Aparangi from Tateraka. The first prize was £IOO, the second £SO, and the third £25. The Waikatos protested against the Bay of Islands' canoe, on the ground that it was not a war cauoe, and should be disqualified. A war dance wound up the proceedings in the presence of some 4000 persons. Gratful. —A Polish journalist, M.Fryz published in the Kuryer Potanny, of Warsaw . an account of an interview which lie had with General SkobelefE shoitly before his death. Mr Fryze began the conversation by remarking that General Skobeleff had been so much troubled by interviewers that the xerj sight of a journalist must be obnoxious to him. " On the contrary," was the reply <! I owe my present position mainly to the Press, and especially to the English Press. If it were not for the special correspondents —of whom there were alway 3 some with me during the Turkish war—l should have remained a Major-general, and no one would, have heard of me." New Mode of Locomotion.—A new principle of locomotion is biug tried in Philadelphia. ;The tramcar, before starting on its journey, is wound up like an eight day clock, and then despatched. Steam is used for the winding up, but for no other purpose. The car being full of passengers, there is force enough in the spring to proprd it for five miles, and a speed can be relied on which _ would accomplish that distance in 35 minutes. -- At the necessary intervals along the line there are half-stations where the machinery necessary for " the winding-up act" is set up. Thus speed is secured, immunity from accident, economy in the saving of horse-flesh, and the advantage of the absence of the smoke and noise of an engine. Action toe Damages.—By the Christchurch papers we notice that the case of Rooney v. The Union Insurance Company was before the Supreme Court in Christchurch on Monday the 6th instant. The issues were settled, and the date for hearing fixed for the 14th December, at Timaru, before a judge of the Supreme Court and a special jury. This is a case in which Mr Rooney seeks to recover the sum of £2OOO damages for illegal arrest. It will be remembered that Messrs McCaskill and Rooney were arrested some time ago on a charge of stealing wool belonging to the Union Insurance Company and that after having been tried the case was dismissed. The present action has been brought by Mr. Rooney against the company in consequence of that arrest. Worth Knowing.—Under the heading " American Blight," the Christchurch Press has the following :—As the spring season advances, so in a greater or less degree are apple trees affected by the above pest, but a very simple and efficient remedy has been discovered. About seven years ago a resident in one of the suburbs of Christchurch, whose acquaintance with the iron trade has enabled him to know that iron buried in the earth would give off a percentage of oxide, dug some in" around his blighted apple trees, and s >on tho effects were shown m the decrease and ultimate disappearance of the blight. Any refuse iron from the shop of the blacksmith, or the yard of the ironfounder that may be available, will answer the purpose. .It need hardly be explained that the earth thus becoming impregnantcd with oxide of iron the root; of the trees feed on the same, which, ascending in the sap, poisons the food of the insects, and they speedily die away, never to come again whilst the sap contains a particle of oxide of iron. Ouk Boys.—A boy will tramp 247 miles in a day on a rabbit hunt, and be limber in the evening ; when, if you ask him to go across and borrow Jones' two-inch auger, he will be as stiff as a meat-block. Of course he will. And he will go swimming all day, and stay in the water three hours at a time, and splash and dive and paddle and puff, and next morning he will feel that an unmeasured insult has been offered him when told by his mother to wash his face, so as not to leave the ebb and flow so plain to be seen under the gills. And he'll wander around a dry creek bed, piling up a pebble , fort, and nearly die off when his big sister % wants him to please pick up a basket of chips for the parlor stove ; and he'll spend the big- ■ gest part of the day trying to corner a stray 1, : mule or a bald-back horse for a ride, and IL eel that all life's charms have fled when it " ' comes time to drive the cows home ; and . he'll turn a ten-acre lot upside clown for ten inches of angle worms, and wish for the voiceless tomb when the garden demands.; his attention, ~, - : ? * H

A Plant That Kills Flies.—The British Medical Journal contains a description of the accidental discovery of a natural flykiller, which i* worthy the attention of shop keepers whose wares are so much exposed in this hot weather to one of the plagues of Egypt, and indeed of house-dwellers generally as well as of horticulturists and market gardeners, whose plants and fruit trees are literally eaten up by insects of various kinds. A castor-oil plant, it appears, was placed accidentally in a room swarming with flies, which of course came in in hundreds through the open window, but as soon as it was deposited in its place the flies disappeared as if by enchantment. On examination they were found under the castor oil plant or clinging to the under surface of its leaves, perfectly dead. The leaves, we understand, give out an essential oil or toxic principal, which, pos sesses the strongest insecticide qualities, and it would be well worth the while of many persons who suffer from the ravages of flies to provide themselves with one of these plants, which, in addition to their ornamental appearance, resist variations of atmosphere of temperature very well. A Karhow Escape.—The owners of a certain stallion (observes the Yeoman) offered a prize of £5 for the best last year's foal exhibited as his stock. One enterprising individual heard, of the award, and borrowed a foal belonging to a neighbour who was away from home to put in as a competitor for the award. On reaching the yards our hero found out that he was the only exhibitor. He thought he might take it comfortable, and tying up his charge took a seat among the spectators, while the knight of the hammer performed his duties. One horse after another was led forth, and finally the sole competitor for the special prize. His groom, suddenly realising his awkward position, jumped from the seats shouting ''That's my horse ; here let him go;" and suiting his action to the word he seized the animal and looked relieved. "What's this?' said the auctioneer, " don't you want to sell hiin ?" •' No, : ' said the other, " he's for exhibition only, and besides, he dosen't belong to me ; you wouldn't have me transported, would you.?" So saying he led the foal away, and whispered to a confidential friend, " By Jove, wasn't it near a case ? ISTow if I had just gone out for a beer, for instance, that horse might have been fold, and I should j have had to fly the country." I An "Honest Robber."— A story comes j from Paris of an " honest robber," not a j robber who was virtuous in private lifs, because probably many of them are, but a robber who combined honesty and robbery so skilfully as to make a good living out of it. His method was ingenious and simple, like all great inventions, and had the merit of protecting him and keeping him out of the scrapes that beset people who think that it is .necessary to sell stolen property in order to profit by it. In opening carriage doors for ladies he invariably managed to take their purses, sometimes even their bracelets, and then made for the nearest police-station where he deposited thens with his name strictly according to the regulations. He nsver stole, be it observed; he lived on the momentary gratitude generated in a lady who finds her purse at a police-station. He found so many purses that the polic e began to think him scrupulous. At last a lady caught him flagrante delicto, and without giving him credit for good intentions, and despite his assurances that he was only going to take it to the police-station for her, he was given into custody, and is now, no doubt, moralising on the effect of too much honesty. Husband and Wife. —The most amusing story respecting the relations of husband and wife which we have heard for a long time runs ae follows : —The wife hurriedly entered a shop in this town a few days ago, and aßked to be allowed to sit down whil» she composed herself: She is about eighteen stone weight, and though her legs are strongly built they find it no easy matter to carry the huge load, so it was no wonder that she felt fatigued. But it was not of that she complained. Her story was that her husband fell sick about a fortnight previously. She nursed him day j and night with all the tenderness begat of j connubial affection, lavished every kindness : and attention on him, till at the end of the fortnight, by aseiduous and gentle treatment, she succeeded in effecting his complete recovery. The first day I hat he got up off his bed of sicknsss he donned his best, including a snow-white " boiled shirt," which ehe had prepared for him with her own hands, and then, without one word of explanation, walked out, and was not heard of for some hours after. That intense solicitude for his wellbeing which kept her watching through the dismal night and the weary day by his sick bedside and prompted her to boil his shirt, led hor to institute a search for him, with the result that she found him quenching the r thirst which had been accumulating for a fortnight, in a hotel. Gentle persuasion induced him to repair home with her, but no sooner did he find himself inside the house than he diverted himself of his coat and vest, and putting himself in a pugilistic attitude addressed his tender spouse in the following words : "Now, you are eighteen stone weight ; I am only eleven stone —we'll try which is best man." Such cold ingratitude, such an ill return for all the tenderness she had expended upon him, stung that gentle wife to the quick, and she turned on her natural protector with all the energy that her enormous length and breadth enabled her to muster up. The eleven stone weight, how" ever, did not flinch from th« rencontre, and in a few minutes he succeeded in horizontalising the perpendicularity of his gianteES opponent. A neighbor witneaied the scene, but did not interfere, and that neighbor fell very much in the estimation of the eighteen stone weight, who afterwards read his faults to him in very forcible language over the fence. It was after this that she came the shop in Temuka and asked for a seat while she was composing herself, and it was while composing herself she told the above story. i

Messrs Maclean and Stewart will hold a sale of cattle and sheep at Winchester Pair next Thursday. Mr K F. Sando, broker for the Temuka Linseed Oil, Cake and Eibre Cornpanv, can now be seen at the Wallingford Hote)> Temuka.