LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1141, 19 February 1884, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Shameful, —A number of workmen cm ployed by a city contractor in Auckland struck because one Maori was employed. Walkeb’s Gbain Calculatob. —In another column will be found a list of the agents from whom this handy publication can be obtained. The price is one shi ling, and there should be a large sale for the work. The Tb Awamutu Suicide. —At the inquest on Morgan, who committed suicide at Te Awamutu, a verdict of “ Temporary insanity” was returned. The evidence showed that deceased was jealous because of his betrothed’s flirting. The Roads and Bridges Constkdcxion Act. The amounts apportioned to the various Coun'y Councils and local bodies throughout the Colony under the above Act, are published. Geraldine receives £2938, and Waimate £llOO for bridges. Waimate also receives £7BO for road works as distinct from bridges.

N.Z. 8h Ppisg Cos. Line. —The New Zealand Shipping Company advertise no fewer than three steamers to leave for Loudon during the present month, two from Lyttelton and one from Port Chalmers. The s.s. Doric, leaves Lyttelton next Saturday; the s.s. British Queen, now due at Wellington, follows ; and the s.s. Panstanton goes from Port Chalmers.

Pedestrianism. — The pedestrian match between C. Hulston, of Christchurch, and F. Woods, of Dunedin, for £IOO and the championship of the colony, came off at the latter place last Saturday. The distances were 100, 200, 300, 350 and 400 yards respectively. Woods was beaten in the 100 yards and'won the rest as he liked. Government Retrenchment. —The own correspondent of the Press at Wellington writes:—Jt is currently reported not only ihnt the Colonial Architect’s Department will be among those abolished or absorbed into others, but that this will be done without waiting for Parliament, and that notice has been given to all officers of the department that their services will be dispensed with almost immediately on the usual terms of compensation. It is said that all the officers of this department wid go. Arrival of the s.s. British Queen.— The N.Z. Shipping Co.’s chartered steamer British Queen, Captain Wills, arrived at Wellington from London, via St Vincent at ten o’clock on Sunday morning. Ths passage, which has been a most uneventful one, occupied 49 days 7 hours, inclusive of three days’ detention off St. Vincent. She brings 321 passengers for all ports, including 262 Government immigrants. The health of the passengers throughout has been excellent, and only two deaths occurred, these being infants. No complaints have been made by any of the passengers. Cricket. —The match Tasmania v. Otago resulted in a draw. The following are the scores—Tasmania, first innings, 139 ; second do, 146. Otago, first innings, 186 ; second do, for 4 wickets, 20. The Tasmanians arrived in Timaru yesterday, where they will play a two days’match, commencing to-day. The following ate the names of the players who will represent South Canterbury; —Brisco Geraldine ; Fraser, Godby, Hughes, Laurenson, C. T. H. Perry, and Bothwell, Timaru ; D’Emden and P. Jones, Waimate ; Jefferson and Mannings, Otaio. Emergencies—Raymond and Kay. 4 Grain Buyers’ Ring. A meeting attended by nearly thirty grain buyers and a few others interested in the grain trade was held in Dunedin on Friday, in the Chamber of Commerce. Mr J. Runciman presided. The following resolution was carried, only four voting against it;—“That in ths opinion of this meeting the time has now arrived when it is most convenient and satisfactory both to buyers and sellers that all bags containing wheat, oats, barley, potatoes, chaff, etc., should be weighed in with such goods free of charge in the same manner as is done by the millers with flour and bran bags.” The following agreement was signed :—“ We p edge ourselves to purchase produce, grain, etc., from those who only sell produce with bags included on and after the Ist March 1884.” •

New Lunatic Astlum. Government have purchased 132 acres at Porirua, about fifteen miles from Wellington, on the West Coast railway line, as a site for a new lunatic asylum. The sum of £2750 was voted for the purpose last session. Inspector Grabham considers the site exceptionally suitable. It is intended to erect temporary premises, and draft out therefrom Mount Yiew, now much overcrowded, a number of the most capable patients to work at the erection u i permanent buildings. Dr King, late Superintendent of Mount Yiew, having accepted au appointment at Hokitika, and Dr Gillon, who has been acting as Visiting Superintendent some time, being unable to continue owing to the demands of his private practice, the appointment has been conferred on Dr Levinge, late surgeon of the steamer Doric.

Maoki Justice. — A case which would give some insight into Maori domestic life came before the Court yesterday in Temuka, but owing to legal defects was not heard. It appears that, a strange Maori recently came to the Pah, and fell in love with a married woman, with the result that the feeling was reciprocated, and that the lady was some days absent from her husband’s house. For this

offence the stranger was arraigned before a Committee of the Maoris, and after a patient investigation of the charge he was found guilty and fined £2. As the Maoris themselves could not exact from him the fine, bewas summoned yesterday tv fore the Hesident Magistrate, but as no authority under which the case could be dealt with, was submitted, the case was dismissed. His Worship advised the plaintiff to request Mr Mackay to appoint a Nat ve Assessor, and to Lave printed rules, which they all should sign, when such as had signed them would be liable for any fine* inllicted under them.

The Rhodes Diamond. Mr Porter Rhodes, the owner of the big diamond which bears hia name, is finding that gem, according to a London paper, somewhat of the nature of a white elephant. As yet no crowned head has ventured to invest £90,000 in the diamond, although the Czar of Russia—not having sufficient jewels presumably—is said to have thought of buying this. Mrs Mackay, the wife of the American silver king, has alsoinspected the gem, but even with her unlimited wealth she draws back. And truly one would suppose that anyone, however rich, would think twice before becoming the possessor of such a jewel, for it must be the cause of more anxiety than pleasure. Although Mr Rhodes keeps his diamond, it ia understood, securely locked up in the vaults of the Bank of France, he has to take precautions against thieves who may suppose him to carry the treasure about with him, and anyone having such a diamond in the house must live in constant dread of the ingenious burglar. Most persons will regard Mr Rhodes as a mm to be envied j but they may still ask» “ What will h§ do with it ?*’

A Singular Sentence. —One of the most singular sentences, says an American paper, ever imposed was by Judge Krekel, one of the United States judges, in Missouri, recently. An illiterate prisoner was sentenced to gaol until he could learn to read and write, and another offender was sentenced until he could teach the former the art. Inahtlle over three weeks the prisoners appeared able to write a fair letter at dictation, and both were discharged. The Beach Estate. —At the District Court, Timatu, yesterday, before His Honor Judge Ward, Mr White, on behalf of the Trustees in the estate applied for an order to be made on an indemnify compelling the creditors who had signed to contribute towards the cost of realising the estate. Mr Wilding appeared on the behalf of Dr Hayes and Matson, Cox and Co., the objecting creditors. The Court decided that it had no jurisdiction. An application was made for ghosts, hue His Honor decided that each party should pay their own costs. The case will now co&e on at the Supreme Court. A similar case, brought by Mr Stumbles, as trustee in Elms’ estate, was also thrown out on the same grounds, each party to pay their own costs. In this case, however, there was no indemn ty given. Mr Whtie appeared for the applicant, and Messrs Hamersley and Wilding for the objectors. Promenade Concert. —On Saturday evening last the Geraldine Brass Band gave the first of a series of free promenade concerts in the Geraldine Park. Many of the residents resorted thither, and appeared to thoroughly appreciate the treat provided for them. The following selections of music were capitally rendered Step, “Marble Bock;” Waltz ; Grand March, “ K.C.B.Song, « Kiss your Mother Waltz, “ Gearlaine Quick Step, “ St. Charles Schottische; Mazurka (original) ; W altz, “ Corn Flower ; and the National Anthem, “ God Save the Queen.” The collection made afterwards was but a scant one, and the amount to be handed over to the Domain Board for the renovation of the Park will be very small* It certainly is a wonder that the Domain Board have not in their impecuniosity solicited subscriptions from the residents to assist them in keeping the grounds in order. It the weather continues fine, another promenade concert will be given by the Band on Saturday night next. Printer’s Ink. —Persons who do not understand printer’s ink ought not to meddle with it, for if they do they are bound to get dirty. At the R.M. Court, Timaru, yesterday, a man named Thomas Carline was charged with drunkenness, and with wilfully breaking a window of the Timaru Herald office on Saturday night. Mr Gardener, manager of the Timaru Herald, stated that as people were in the habit of sitting on the window sills of the office, to the annoyance of those inside, he had on Saturday night instructed a boy to put a quantity of printer’s ink on the sill. Next morning j he (witness) found the window broken. | The price of a new window was £1 15s. Broham stated that accused, having sat down on the ink and had bis clothes damaged thereby, had picked up stones and smashed the window in revenge. Accused fully admitted the offence, and the Bench fined him 5s for Ibeing drunk, and ordered him to pay the cost of the window and the Court costs. An Interesting Calculation.—lt baa been calculated by a Frenchman that the tiny sum of five centimes, banked at the birth of Jesus Christ, would have accumulated at compound interest by this time to the amount of 342,633,248,699,0 0,000,(T0,00'k000,000,000,■OOO,OOO francs!—or 345 undecillions 653 •decillions, 248 nonilhons, 699 septillions of francs. And please remember this is only the simple and ; modest French system of calculation, not the tremendous English system. Now how much money does this amount represent P If all the mountain ranges in the world were converted into diamonds they would not represent such a value ; nor could all the railroads of the globe convey such a sum. If the earth itself were turned into one solid mass of gold —in which case is would weigh 31.2 times more than at present—its value in French xnoney would not even approach undecilllions; it would be only 69,910,800,009,000,000,000,000—or 69 sexlillions, 910 quintillions, 800 quadrillions of francs. If an ingot of gold as big as the world were to fall from heaven every minute for 9,000 years, it would require all those ingots to pay that sum of undecillions’ Probably the life of suns does nob reach nearly so extraordinary a figure in years.

Maehied the Wrong Man. —A remarkable story comes from St. Helen (Portland, Oregon), which is well vouched for. About six months ago twin brothers—Alfred and Henry Grove arrived from Kansas and settled near St. Helen. There was a very strong resemblance between them, in fact so strong that intimate friends could scarcely tell one from the other. Henry was married, but his wife was living in Kansas. He soon made the acquaintance of the family of John Avery, living near, including their daughter, Lottie Avery, aged nineteen. One night, in jest, he asked her to become bis wife, and to his utter surprise she accepted, informing her mother immediately. The mother in a practical way, broached the subject of the date of mai’riage, etc., and before Grove •could recover from his surprise the details bad been arranged. He immediately went to bis brother Alfred, told the story, and asked for advice. Alfred volunteered to personate the brother, and stand for him. The ceremony took place on October 21, the couple remaining at the home of the bride’s parents. Alfred fell in love with the girl, and a week after the marriage told her of the deception, In her indignation she ordered him from the house. She then informed her parents, and the father started after bis son-in-law with a shot gun, and has followed Alfred to New Xork, where ha is supposed to have fled*

Prolific Wheat. One of| 1110 most prolific crops of wheat we (Ashburton Guar dian) have seen for some time is now growing at Mr James Jamieson’s farm on the Wakanui road. The seed was originally obtained bj Mr Jamieson from Tasmania, but unfortunately he cataSot name it with certainty, although the variety is evidently closely allied to the better known “ Lamus.” Starting with only a few grains, careful preservation enabled Mr Jamieson to sow about two and a half acres of this prodigious wheat last August, and the result is a crop from which fully 100 bushels to the acre is reasonably expected. The variety is bearded while green, but every trace of this distinction is lost when ripe ; each head contains about 120 grains, which are double the size of those of ordinary wheat. Dr Anna Potts. —Dr Anna M. Potts was “interviewed ” in Melbourne, and gave her opinions to the reporter. With New Zealand as a whole, she said, she was much pleased. The appearance of the towns indicated a prosperity which she had not expected, and she was surprised to notice important public works which had been devised and successfully carried out, Dunedin she was especially well impressed with, and it was undoubtedly the most thriving c ; ty in he colony. Wellington and Auckland she also spoke highly of ; but though she considered the situation of the latter city prettiy, it was not the .place she would choose to live in. Her tour was made during the winter months, and she had been struck by the resemblance of the climate to that of California, which was, she thought, the best of any State in the Union. She experienced little difference between the temperature of the North and Middle Islands of New Zealand. It was never bitterly cold. In the future she believed that New Zealand would be a great resort to health seekers from Enrope. In matters affecting their own health, colonial ladies were sadly uneducated, and in this respect much behind their American sisters.