The Temuka Leader THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 1883. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1097, 26 April 1883, Page 2

The Temuka Leader THURSDAY, APRIL 26, 1883. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Wanganui Gun Accident.—At the enquiry held on the death of the boy Kirkwood, who was shot by his father on Saturday, the jury found a 'verdict of accidental death oaused by a gun-shot wound. Inquest. —An inquest touohing the ; death of one George 1 'was held in Timaru yesterday. The evidence was to the effect that on tho mgho of the 17th inst. deceased was traTetlling with a farmer named John Cromie towards Kingsdown. They had bottles of whiskey with them. Deceased was ridiEg a horso, which bolted and threw him. A verdict of ' Accidental Death ' was returned. Fire in Christchurch.—At 3 a.m. last Tuesday, an oyster saloon in Manchester street, ocoupied by Thiel and Marks, was burned down. Tbe shops on either side, ocoupied by Kenneth (bootmaker) and Steinmetz (watchmaker), were; gutted. Thiel was not insured. Steinmetz's stock wa? insured for £2OO in the Transatlantic office. Kenneth was insured, but it is not known in what office. The cause of the fire is unknown.

Pbogbessing.—The movement in favor of marriage with a deceased wife's sister, a London paper says, is making progress. A •' beautifullyrprinted book, bound in red morocco, richly gityraqd lined with white watered silk" was lately sent to' Mr' Glad . atone, on behalf of from thirty to forty Chairmen of Liberal Associations in the United Kingdom. It is inscribed " The Liberal Party and the Bill for Legalising Marriage with a Deceased Wife's'Sister." It contains copies of resolutions passed unanimously by 200 of the largest Liberal Assoeia turns in the country, It sets forth that, wi'h the exception of the Lord Chancellor, the Government are united in support of the measure, and it famishes tho names of a number of large Boroughs, the lo<al Parliaments of whioh have passed resolutions^in support of the Bill.

A Quick Passage. —1 he t'oromahana mudo the run from Auckland to Sydney in four days ana one hour from wharf to wharf..

A SKBIOOB Loss.—Mr Foster, a new arrival from Home, a farmer at Tokomairiro, has lost 1400 bushels of oats in stack by fire. It is supposed to have occurred from harvest hands smoking. Mr Foster had insured upon the Ilome principle of so much premium foi live and dead stock, but has only ascertained to its cost, sinoe the fire, that dead stock does not include grain. • Lb: asikg Native Exsbrveb. .■— Ke the leasing of Native Reserves at Hawera, of 70 sections, comprising 7590 acres, at upsst rents,vangi g from. 2s to 15s per acre, were tendered for, comprising 4190 acres, at rents ranging from 2s Id to lis per acre, and for which 101 tenders were lodged. In somo cases there were six or seven lenders for one particular section. There still remains 26 sections, comprising 3400 acres, which are now open for application at the upset rental.

Advkntuees of a Statue.—An Ohinehiutu correspondent telographs to Atiokland —" An event affordiug considerable amusement and consternation occurred here on Bit urday. The statue of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, lately presented to the Arawas was being placed in p sition atTamatakapu, when a cart arrived with an escort of police, who took possession of the illustrious figure and carried it off to the lock up, to keep company with the Maori deity Matuatonga, whose term of imprisonment has not yot expired. No reason was given for this proceeding."

Tebeiblk Accident.—At about 2 p.m. on Tuesday morning, a man named Richard Bowen, -whilst' oiling the oog-wheel of a threshing machine belonging to Mr Prebble, of Tai Tapu, was dragged into the machinery and sustained severe injuries. The left arm was torn completely away from the trunk, the brachial artery being fortunately com pressed by the surrounding bone splinters and tissue. The right arm was also so bad!y fractured that amputation was deemed necessary, and performed at the Christchurch Hospital. The poor fellow, in addition, to these injuries, also received a compound fracture of the right pelvis.—A man named Charles Christy, whilst chaffcutting, near Dunsandel, received rathsr a severe cut on the foot, which necessitated his removal to the Christchurch Hospital, where his injuries were attended to. —Press.

Temdka Be ass Band.—At a practice nice! i;;g oi the members of the above Band held in the Oddfellows' Hall, Main South Road, Temuka, ou Tuesday evening last, it was decided that a cordial vote of thanks be accorded to the Chairman and members of the Temuka School Committee for allowing the Band the use of a praotice room for so long a time. It was decided that the Band should play two overtures at the forthcoming Church of England concert. The following gentlemen were elected as trustees of the Band proporty, subject to their consent being obtained, viz, Messrs Meyer, Bayner and J. Brown, and, Messrs E. Brown, Harrison and Rutland were appointed a deputation to interview theßo gentlemen. The attendance was a large one. All serincd pleased with the change. It is to be hoped t'liu feeling will continue, and the Band make good progress. The Land. —It has been reported to the Waipawa Mail that another gigantic and fradulent " job " has taken placa. ' It is said that Messrs Whitaker and Russell have " acquired " a block of native land 1,000,000 acres in extent, bordering on Kawhia and between that place and Taupo, at the, ridiculous pric3 of from Id to 2d per acre It is further stated, though the statement seems and ought to be inoredible, that a well known Native Lands Court Judge, receiving a yearly salary from the G-ovornment of nearly £IOOO, and bound by his position to bo continually adjudicating upon native lands, is also in receipt of £IOOO per year from Messrs Whitdker and Russell, to "watch the in threats" of the latter in native laud speculations. We sincerely hope the report will turn out to be ill-founded, although we are bound to' confess that our hopes are not sanguine enough to confer any great degree of confidence. If this has taken place it does not need a very acu'e intellect to di ceru the bearing it probably had oh the pardon of Te Kooti. The Mr Whitakor alluded to is not; we believe, the Premier himsolf, but his son, and' the Mr Russell, of the Bank of New Zealand. We sinceroly hope, for the credit of the country, and for the prospects of the rising generation, that the report may, turn out to be without foundation.,

Rkd-Tapkism.—Red-tapeism is not unknown in New Zealand, but the following paragraph from Vanity Fair shows that we cannot compete in this respect with the Old Country :—" It may interest some readers to know the roundabout way in which some small articles are supplied to Her Majesty's ships at the dockyards. A little while ago the Channel Fleet arrived in England. Tho flag-hip wont to Portsmouth, and tho other three ships to Plymouth, to undergo necessary repairs. The other day the copying machine in the paymaster's office in one of the Plymouth ships was worn out, and the paymaster at once set about gotling a new one. To begin with, he made out on a form a demand for the article to be surveyed, and signed it himself. (2) After this, the captain of the ship signed it, and the papir was (3) sent to the admiral, who, in his turn (4), signed it, and (5) forwarded it to tho dock yard officials, who in turn (6) surveyed the article and pronounced it deficient on a special form. (7) This form was sent to tho caplain, who (8) gave it to the paymaster. He at once (9) made out a domand for a new one, and signed it; the captain (10) then ngain signed the form, and (11) sent it, with the report of the. dockyard officials, to the admiral. He in his turn (12) signed it, and returned it to the captain, who (13) gave it to the paymaster, who (14) sent it to the storekeeper of tho dockyard, and so obtainod the copying-machine after several days' correspondence. This machine is valued at tho sum of two shillings.

Discovery of a Maori Q-od.—A settler at ilnrdering Beach, near Otago Heads, a place which takes its unpleasant name from the murder by the Maoris located there many years ago of a whaling boat's crew, ha? unearthed, in ploughing, the: greenstone figure of a Maori god named Tiki. It is about fire inches in height, and is a grotesque looking object, the god being represented in a squatting position with his legs joined together, his arms akimbo, and with big staring eyes. In the top of the head a hole .has been drilled for the purpose of putting a string through, so as to suspend the

Honesty Rewarded.—A correspondent sends the following incident of generosity to the Auckland Herald :—The astonishment wi h which one of our Queen street merchants received yesterday ■& cheque in hi? favor for £IOO, which in Short land street, and speedi y afterwards handed to him by an honest little boy, may be moi'e easily imagined than described. Having with an air of intense bowilderment viewed the cheque, which without his leave or knowledge had been absent fiom hu po-session for vor< many hours, the lucky merchant, prompted no doubt by a generous impulse which ani mated him at the moment, tendered to the honest little fellow the munificent sum of fire shillings! The same little boy not very long ago found a bunch of keys, to which was attached a steel label bearing an inscription generally intimating that whoever found them would be rewarded. The boy hastened to the owner (one of our merchant princes iii Queen street), who, having placed the keys in his pocket, proceeded to redeem his inscribed promise by simply thanking the little finder with the scantiest possible courtesy I forbear to mention the names of'the Merchants referred to, but the name of the honest boy, William Leaning, deserves ,to, be recorded;

Temperance Meeting.—A well-attended meeting was held under the auspices of the Good Templars last Monday evening in the Templar Hall. Bro John Cooper, W.CT., presided. The Rev Mr. Hamilton opened the meeting with prayer, after which some Good Templar odea were sung. The Rev Mr Hamilton delivered a very able address on the benefits of temperance, and also on the evil effects intoxicating drink had on the system. He also referred to the Blue Ribbon Army, which he said was making headway aow. He had written for the rules of the Society, and if he foun I then) in consonance with his views, ho would make an effort to establish a branch in I'emuka. He was once in favor of temperance, but !at«ly ho had come to the conclusion that total abstinence was the only safeguard against strong drink" Temperance was a narrow plank over which it was not possible for some to pass without falling into the river ; total abstinence was a strong substantial bridge to pass over which there was no danger. He would advise them all to take the bridge, as there was considerable risk m going ovor the planks. He thought the best thing would be to try to get the upper classes of society to take up total abstinence, and try to make it fashionable. If once total abstinence became fashionable the masses would join, Mr Moore gave three excellent recitations, and songs were given by Messrs Coltraan and Brown. The following address was then presented by Bro Coltman, on behalf of the .Lodge, to Bro .McCann, who is leaving for Southland :—" To Brother William McOann, —Dear Sir and Brother— In view of your departure from amongst us wo. the members of the 1.0.G.T. Good Hope Lodge, No 43 Temuka, desire to express our appreciation of your valuable services since you have been in our midst. We would likewise bear tcstimony to the urbanity, singular liberality, good feeling and lofty principles which have cha v acterised your whole conduct since it has been our pleasure and privilege to form your acquaintance. We flarnest.lv pray that whilst you are »triving to impart knowledge and truth to o'hers, you yourself may receive a due portion and be richly blessed. It is very gratifying to us to know that whilst we are losing in you so dear a brother and friend, we are assured that vour presence and com pany will be profitable to our beloved Order wherever you may go. That the Great Lord and Master may bless, guide and protect you is the earnest prayer of, your brethren and sisters of the Temuka Lodge. Signed, on behalf of all the officers and members of the Good Hope Lodge, No 43, T. Turner, WC.T.; J. Cooper, P.W.C.T.; W. Coltman, junr.jL.r). and W.S. Bro McCann replied in suitable terms, expressing regret at. leaving; Bro Morton proposed a vote of thanks to the Rev Mr Hamilton. and others who had taken part in the proceedings, and the meeting came to a close.