LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1281, 23 December 1884, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Ourselves, Thursday next being Christmas Day this paper will not be published. Christmas Cheer. Messrs Thomson and Smith, Temuka, announce a great display for Christmas of best quality beef. Woodbury School Treat. —The annual treat given to the children attending the Woodbury school takes place in the Woodbury Domain grounds on Boxing-Day. Christmas Presents. —Mr J. S. Waite of Victoria House, Geraldine, announces that he has a large assortment of beautiful Christmas and New Year’s presents for sale. The Temuka Band. —The members of the Brass Band intend making their usual round of the Temuka district on Christmas morning. They have some very nice pieces in practice. Ball at Temuka. —ln the Volunteer Hall Temuka, on Boxing night, a grand ball will be held, and doubtless lovers of dancing will be glad to avail themselves of the occasion. Good music will be provided. Wool Sale. —Mr K. F. Gray holds his first wool sale of the season to-morrow at 9.30. a.tn. Farmers and others intending to make entries for it are reminded that they should lose no time in doing so. The wet weather has somewhat interfered with the deliveries, but a very good catalogue will be presented to buyers as already a number of bales and bags of wool are to hand. ,

What to do with our Children. — At Dunedin Mr Stout presented the prizes on Thursday at the Boys High School, and Mr Macandrew on Friday at the Girls High School. Mr Stout urged the boys to turn their thoughts towards journalism as a profession, holding it to be a mistake to import editors. Mr Mac andrew said he would like to see provision made for girls being taught to cook, to bake bread and make butter.

The S.S. Kaikouea. — On Friday His Excellency the Governor lunched oh board the s.s. Kaikoura at Lyttelton, with the Chairman and Directors of the New Zealand Shipping Company. He was received on board by a guard of honour of officers and men of the Royal Nary Reserve, of which Captain Crutchley is a member. The N.Z.S. Company’s steamer Kaikoura, with the first English mail under the new contract, left the Wellington harbor for London at-five o’clock on Sunday afternoon.

Moms Jushces of the Peace. — More Justices of the Peace, it is rumored, are to be gazetted shortly. Retrenchment. —lb is reported that, in pursuance of a policy of retrenchment, another official holding an important petition in the Government Buildings, is about to receive retiring compensation. The Recent Escape from Burnham.— The lad Wright, who jumped from a train while he was being retaken to Burnham (from which he had escaped) and was severely injured about the head, is not expected to recover. The Grain Tariff.— We believe that » monster meeting will be held in Christchurch in the first week of the new year to protest against the present grain tariff, which is held in that city to be most iniquitous. The West Coast Railway. The guarantee for expenses for obtaining the West Coast railway concessions and disposing of the same to the syndicate er company in England is being largely and influentially signed in Christchurch, The amount for which each guarantor is responsible is limited to £25. A Stubborn Coroner. The Evening Post states that Dr. Hocken, of Dunedin, refused to retire from the office of Coroner when requested to do so by the Government in accordance with the resolution of the House passed, on the motion of Mr Bradshaw, last session to the effect that medical men in practice should not hold the office of Coroner. Other medical men holding similar positions, to whom the same request was made, haye most of them, it is said, complied. A Disastrous Tour.— There is startling bad news of the opera company which Miss Emilie Melville took to India with her some time ago. On the way to Adelaide, Mrs Earley, wife of the well-known basso, died. u Scalfax,” the Melbourne dramatic correspondent of the Witness, since writes that in Ceylon two of the chorus singers (Messrs Scott and Rigby), and Mr Perkins the leading violinist of the company, succumbed to cholera. Signor Verdi was also prostrated by the same complaint, and a report as to his death has reached Melbourne,' but, fortunately needs confirmation. As mentioned already, Mr Van Ghele, the musical conductor of the company, has become insane—hopelessly so, it is said,—and is at present in an asylum. Miss Melville herself was very ill, and unable to play during the first week after landing. Such news as this will not recommend India to the profession generally. The N.Z, Exhibition. The official programme of the New Zealand Industrial Exhibition has been issued. The exhibition will be opened on August Ist and close on October 31st. All exhibits mast be forwarded after May 1, but not later than June 30. After the latter date all vacant spaces will become forfeited. The total space alloted is 48,055 square feet, including passages,.etc. The cbarge will be one shilling per square foot, and the minimum charge for exhibits (including exhibits in the Industrial Home branch) will be five shillings. All expenses of the transport after the exhibits have been received by the local committees will be undertaken by Government, and an official programme will be issued by the Executive Committee, and gold, silver, and bronze medals will be awarded to exhibits of merit. Exhibits may be sold in the exhibition, but are not to be removed until the close of the exhibition. The Hot Springs. —Under the title o f “The Sanatorium of the Southern Ocean,” a pretty full and accurate account is given in the October number of Oornhill of th« geyseis of New Zealand and of the surrounding country, and the writer states—as an instance cf the wonderful variety of chemical and medicinal properties which the hot springs possess—that they include those peculiar to Coblentz, Vichy, Etna and Wiesb..dea, Kissingeu, Leamington, BadenBaden, Wcisaenburg, Bath, Kreuznach, Schwalbaok, Aixla-Chapelle, Aix-les-Bennes and Eaux Bonde. In short, he. remarks “ all the healing waters which scattered over the whole world have acquired celebrity through bygone ages to the present day, are here reproduced in such close proximity that the sufferer who fails to find relief in the use of one, can with little difficulty be transported to the next and the next, till he finally discovers the one best suited to his peculiar malady.” The writer believes that Rotorua will ultimately attain “ a position - above all others in the health-conferring regions of the world.” St. Patrick’s College, Wellington.— The following appears in the “ Freeman’* Journal” of October 23rd “To day the Rev. Felix J. Watters, S.M., Catholic University School, Lower Leeson Street ; Rev. Nicholas Carolan, S.M., and Rev. William Gaggin, S.M., St. Mary’s College, Dundalk, leave Dublin for London, whence they will sail on the 29th instant by the Orient line of steamers for New Zealand. The duty which calls the rev. Fathers away from Ireland is the responsible one of undertaking the direction of St. Patrick’s College, Wellington, New Zealand, lately founded by the Most Rav. Dr Redwood, Bishop of the Diocese. A great development of Catholic education in the higher as well as the intermediate branches is anticipated from the working of the College, and the well attested ability and energy of Father Felix Watters and his rev. colleagues must be of immense advantage in fulfilling the high purpose for which the institution has been founded. The Rev. Father Watters, Carolan, and Gaggin carry with them the best wishes of numerous friends and former pupils, both in Dublin and Dnn-' dalk, that their long voyage to the other side of the globe may he pleasant and safe, and their labois in their new field of educational enterprise as honorable and fruitful as iu the Old Country, j _

Special Bank Holiday.— Saturday nexq will be observed as a special holiday by the Bank of New Zealand. New Kind on Clock.— A new clock has been invented, End is coming into use in Europe, which is warranted by its manufacturers to run for five years without either winding or regulation. The Belgian Government placed one in a railway station in 1883, sealed with the Government seal, and it has kept perfect time ever since. The San Francisco Mail Service.— The San Francisco Chronicle referring to the mail service, says : —“ The persistent policy of the British Government has been to break down the San Francisco and Australian mail route, and were it not for the enterprise of the New Zealand colonists it would have succeeded. The position of the United States on this Australian mail question is not creditable to a great country Wife and Husband. —An instance of a married woman serving her husband with a summons for debt occurred In the Resident Magistrate’s Court, Wellington, the other day. The defendant did not appear, but the summons was returned with the endorsement that it had been seived by the defendant’s wife. Mr Wardell, E.M., of course accepted the service as correct. Sib Dillon Bell’s Acknowledgement. —Sir Dillon Bell, in a letter to the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce, acknowledging the motion they passed asking the late Government to continue his services as AgentGeneral, concludes as follows : —“ I should not omit to say that such a kindness is appreciated by me all the more when I contrast it with the discouragement and discredit which in the House of Representatives last June some hon. members evidently thought were the right reward to be extended to me for the work I have done.” Government Life Insurance.— The following candidates have been nominated to the Government Insurance Association Board N. S. Graham, H. Kember.E, Mills, W. H. Warren, F. H. Fraser, J. Leckie, W. F. Kennedy, D. T, Stuart, W. K. Bishop, W. Clark, H. J. t. Augarde, A. McDougall, D. Dwan, T. K. Macdonald, J. Maginnity, J Fisher, H. Howorth, J. E. Smith, J, R, Johnson, J. O. Cook, H. S. Fitzherbert, H, D. Bell, B. Aherne, C. Phillips, 0. P. Powles, Lad M. MoOredie. Major Atkinson was not nominated, his candidature having been announced by his friends without his consent. The Trade in Skeletons.—As illusstrative of the gullibility of the genus homo, it is said that in the neighborhood of Seven Dial?, in London, a man deals solely in skulls and skeletons, and drives a thriving trade in palming off the the craniums of respectable nonentities as those of malefactors or other popular personages. With country bumpkins the perennial supply of “ guaranteed Jack Sheppards” finds a ready sale ; and about the time of the last Sakspeare centenary the proprietor of the business complacently remarked to a friend, “ There’s a prime trade doing in Shakspeares, i sold thirty-nine of ’em last week !”

The Boxing Day Spouts. —As we shall not again have an opportunity prior to their taking place of reminding our readers of the 1.0.0. F. Sports in the Temuka Park on Boxing Day, we do bo now. The entries received ensures good contests for the handicaps, and doubtless the post entry events will also be keenly competed for. Besides the athletic events there is another which must without doubt attract a great number of entries and that is the Buby Show, Similar exhibitions have been very popular in other towns, notably in Dunedin and Auckland, and there is no reason why this one should prove an exception, for as regards the quality and variety of the rising generation this district cannot be beaten. The promoters of the sports have not forgotten that good music adds a great deal to the enjoyment of persons attending these gatherings,—in fact, without it they are insufferably flat and have engaged the Temuka Brass Band for the day. The supplying of the creature comforts of those attending has fallen into good hands, and if the weather should be fair, as it is to be devoutly hoped it will, the.1.0.0.F. sports of 1884, should •prove the most successful of any yet held in the district. ■ Bishop Moean on oue Educational System. —Bishop Moran, presiding at the Christian Brothers’ break-up at Dunedin on Friday, said ;—“ It strikes me when we call to mind the scandalous exhibition witnessed in this city yesterday, you will thank God for the merciful dispensation which saves your children from being told by one minister of religion at a school exhibition that there is only one little blot in our educationals ystem and by another that all are proud of one man who considers it his most important duty to make a weekly exhibition of h;s denial and contempt for Christianity. I thank God only two or three unfortunate Catholic children were there to hear men calling themselves ministers of the religion of Christ proclaiming a godless education as an excelIgnt system and the unchristian and antiChristian Chairman cf the meeting held up for the admiration of the rising generation. For years it has unfortunately been my lot to protest against the tyrrany and injustice (hat excludes our schools from all participation in the education vote, to a share of which we, as taxpayers, are entitled, and to . protest against the exclusion of our schools from all share in the scholarships provided by public funds. I suppose I shall have to continue my jeremiads as Jong as I live. .Although Catholics must pay for public education, the Catholic schools are not to be permitted to compete with secular schools lest what is little better than an expensive sham, should be expose^.”

Resident Magistrate’s Court, Geral-dine.-The fortnightly sitting of the Court will be held to-day, instead of the usual day, Wednesday. St. Mary’s Church, Geraldine. Service will be conducted in this church on Christmas Day by the Incumbent, the Rev. Jas. Preston at 11 a.m. As usual the church will be decorated and those who are to assist in the decorating arc requested to meet at the church to-morrow afternoon, and bring flowers, evergreens, etc.

What He Had to Say.— A curious defence was made by a criminal arraigned at the City Court last week, says “ Atticus” in the Melbourne Leader. The offence laid at his door was the larceny of a pair of ducks. The evidence was very strong, but all the constable’s entreaties could not induce the prisoner to plead guilty. At length the case of the prosecution was complete, and, in accordance with the practice of the Court, the defendant was asked by the Magistrate, “ Well, you’ve heard the evidence. Have you anything to sayl” “Oh, yes, your worship,” said the veteran accused : “I’ve a great deal to say. 1 wish I’d never seen the blooming ducks.” New Meat Preservative.— The following paragraph from the Napier Telegraph will be read with interestMr A. H. Haultain, who has just arrived from Poverty Bay brought to our office a leg ©f mutton preserved by a newly-patented process discovered by Mr E. J. Bennett, of Gisborne. The sheep of which we have been shown the leg had teen killed nine days and was perfectly sweet. Mr Bennett, has opened up a trade with Auckland, and Auckland has opened up one with Fiji, from whence comes the news that Gisborne killed mutton is sold in Suva in a condition that defies detection of having been hung 45 days. Mr Bennett's discovery opens a wide field for intercolonial trade, which may be gathered from the fact that the freight on thirty carcases [of mutton and one of beef from Gisborne to Auckland is 30e, whereas the same carried alive would be £7 10s. Scotsburn School. —The annual examination of the Scotsburn School took place on Friday, the 19ch inst, previous to the holidays. There were present the Hon. Mr Acland, Miss Acland, Mrs Hawdon, and Mr Irvine, Chairman of the Committee. The teacher examined several classes in English, geography, composition, - and arithmetic, the result eliciting high commedation from those present. The work of the sewing class, taught by Mrs Irvine and Miss Coliua Allan, was minutely examined and lodged by the ladies, who expressed themselves much pleased with the same. Thereafter the prizes were alloted to those pupils successful in the Standards according to the Inspector’s selection, the gifts being provided from the donation annually bestowed by the member for the district, Captain Sutter, while workboxes, books and dolls were given to the best sewers. The children sang several pieces very effectively, Miss Acland presiding at the piano. The Hon. Mr Acland then addressed the children, expressing his high satisfaction at the manner in which they had acquitted themselves in their respective classes, showing the care and attention bestowed by the teacher an their training, and who highly deserved his holidays as well as themselves. The teacher said he was sorry to state the percentage of passes was lower this year than last, but there were various reasons why such was so. Without being egotistical he felt confident of having performed his duty, and the parents having expressed themselves as satisfied with the result proved that his labors had been successful. At the conclusion three cheers were given to the ladies and three cheers to the teacher.

Tenders for making hay for Mr Gaffaney, Arowhenua, close to-morrow, James Dixon Gore, of Geraldine, has filed a declaration of insolvency. Date of first meeting of creditors appear in our advertising columns.

At Mundell’s auction rooms, Geraldine, to-morrow, two coach horses and two sets harness will be sold by auction under distress warrant unless the claim is previously settled. Mr J. W, Yelvin, of the . cash store, Temuka, notifies that he has just opened out a large stock of groceries, crockery, etc., which he is disposing of at very low rates, and of which he invites inspection. He should do a large business this Christmas. In our advertising columns will be found cne regarding the paporhangmg, glass and paint warehouse of Mr W. Healey, 'Jimaru. Mr Healey’s establishment is situated directly' opposite the Timaru Post Office, and a better stock of material appertaining to the trade could not be found anywhere. Mr Healey announces that he is prepared to send workmen to any part of the country, Mr Joseph Beri, cabinet maker, etc., Temuka, through our advertising columns, draws the attention of the public to his large and really good selection of furniture, which is one of the largest and best to be found in any country town. It would be futile to attempt to particularise the various articles but for almost any article of furniture Mr Beri would be hard to beat, either as regards quality or price. Holloway’s Ointment and Pills. — Outward infirmities. — Before the discovery of these remedies many cases of sores, ulcers, etc,, were pronounced to be hopelessly incurable, because the treatment pursued tended to destroy the strength it was incompetent to preserve, and to exasperate the symptoms it was inadequate to remove. Holloway’s Pills exert the most wholesome powers over the unhealthy flesh or skin, without debarring the patient from fresh air and exercise, and thus the constitutional j vigor is husbanded while the most malignant ulcere, abscesses, and skin diseases are in process of cure. Both Ointment and Pill* ' make the blood richer and purer, instead of , permitting it to fall into that poor and I watery state so fatal to many laboring under I chronic ulcerations.