LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1294, 24 January 1885, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wool Sale.—Mr K. F. Gray, Temuka, holds his next wool sale next Friday and is now receiving entries. Drunk and Disorderly. A first offender was fined five shillings by S. D. Barker, Esq., J.P., in Temuka last Thursday. Wesleyan Church, Temuka.—A tea and public meeting in connection with the Wesleyan Church, Temuka, takes place on Wednesday next. Licensing Committee. The annual elections of Licensing Committees take place on the 6th February, if a poll is necessary. Candidates are to be nominated before the 30th January. Geraldine Literary Institute. A meeting of the Committee will be held on Friday evening the 30th inst., at 7.30 p.m., and the annual general meeting of subscribers will be held afterwards at 8. The Napieb Harbor Works. —A telegram from Napier states that the Harbor Board has decided to place Mr Goodall M.T.C.E., of Timaru, in charge of the works at a salary of £IOOO a year. Correction. —A printer’s error occurred in our report of the Resident Magistrate’s Court, at Geraldine, in Thursday’s issue. Mr G. Ward’s name was substituted for Mr G. Wood’s, in case Davie v. Wood. Commeocb House, Timaru. Messrs Drummond and Glasson, of Commerce House, Timaru, announce that in anticipation of the arrival of their Autumn and Winter Drapery they are selling the balance of their Summer Stack at and under cost price. Cricket. —Arrangements were made on Thursday to play the Temuka Cricket Club at Geraldine to-day, and this match will take place instead of Married v. Single as previously arragned. The Temuka men will arrive at 12 o’clock and play will start punctually at 12.30 p.m. Harbour Board Election.—The election of a member on the Timaru Harbour Board to represent the Mount Peel Road district takes place on the 9th February, 1885. Nominations of candidates to be made before the 31st inst., with the Returning officer, Mr R. Irvine. Silter Wedding.—ln response to a kind invitation the relations and friends of Mrs and Mr JohnJPye assembled on Thursday evening at their home, Geraldine, to celebrate their silver wedding. The party was a very pleasant one, and the guests did not separate till a late hour in the morning. The Rangitata Bridge Hotel.—Mr W. S. Maslin, on Wednesday next will sell by public auction, at his rooms, Geraldine, the Rangitata Bridge Hotel, together with 30 acres of freehold land. The Hotel is a new one. Full particulars will be supplied by the auctioneer, or Mr D. M. Ross, the Attorney for the Mortgagee, Mr Strongwork Morrison. School Committee Elections. —It is almost unnecessary to remind our readers that the annual meeting of householders in the various school districts of South Canterbury takes place next Monday evening, when the annual report and balance sheet of the outgoing Committee will be read and a Committee will be elected for the year 1885. After the election a meeting of the new Committee will be held for the purpose of appointing a Chairman and routine business. Chairmen are to notify the Board of Education of their appointment at onoe. j

ACCIDENT.—A strange accident happened to a horse in Temuka yesterday. Mr H. Nicholson, senr., of Waitohi, was driving two to a water-cart, along the road opposite Messrs Henry and Findlay’s i whei the horse in the shafts stepped on a stone and broke its leg. It was soon after destroyed. It may be stated that the team was proceeding at a very slow pace, and the accident is the more remarkable as the horse did not fall, but had its leg cracked by Stumbling over the loose stone. The break / Was so bad that blood spurted out from the Wound, whilst a splinter of the bone could be seen in it. The horse belonged to Mr Preddy, and was very useful in connection with his threshing machine, Osborne Twine Binder.— Messrs Siegert and Faurel, Temuka, announce that they haye now on yiew at their yards one of the latest improved Osborne Twine Binders, and in our advertising columns will he found enumerated many of the 'good points possesssd by the machine. The vendors announce that they guarantee tvery machine, and should any Machine not give satisfaction to the purchaser they are willing to take it back free of all charge and expense. They have for sale binding twine and wire suitable for every machine, and always keep in stock all sorts of oils, woolpacks, cornsacks, twine, etc., their being prices are the lowest current. Slang-Whanging.— A Melbourne paper lays that in the Legislatiye Assembly the other night one member spoke of another as having “ a magpie’s nest on his head. ’ The owner of the nest retorted by accusing the ipeaker of “ gross impertinence.” A third chimed in by asserting that No. 1 had laid on a door mat to get into office, and that he couldn’t even pay his washing bill. There - upon No. 1 complained that his character had been grossly attacked and foully maligned and declared that if there was one drop of oonviot blood in his veins he would have it out with a knife. No. 2 rejoined by calling No. 8 a blackguard, and by declaring that there was not a door mat in the colony large enough to hold his carcase; and No. 1 remarked that No. 3 was not only a blackguard but a skunk. Eventually the burst of the ilang-whanging was put & stop to by the Premier, and the offensive words were withdrawn. But the record remains in the newspapers, and it will find a permanent place in the pages of Hansard. How can members legitimately expect to secure the i espect of the community if they are so lamentably deficient of eron the commonest respect for each other ? The Bat Invasion. A correspondent writes from Collingwood to a Nelson paper as follows!: —“Touching the rats that Mr Meeson has been writing about. I may say that ever since I have been in this district there have been numbers of these animals in the bush about Aorere and Pakawau. This year, itrange to say, the berries are unusually plentiful, and lie on the ground in heaps, yet instead of remaining there to feed the rats prefer to go out on the beach and starve in thousands. There is one curious circumstance in connection with their visitation that I do not think has yet been made public. Since these rats have some out in such hordes every cat has disappeared from every house along the beach in Golden Bay. In one case that has come under my knowledge, a cat which must be from twelve to fifteen years of age, and has always lived with the same family in the same house, went away into the bush. It was seen there after a time by one of the boys, who snared it and brought it back home, but it would not remain, and made its escape again immediately. There arc many other similar instances.” ■Weights and Measures.— The Inspector of Weights and Measures hai seized a number of incorrect scales, etc., in the district. He came to Temuka a few days ago at the request of the inhabitants and adjusted all the scales in R, but, although some of them were incorrect, he did not seize any. To the uninitiated it may appear rather strange that he should say nothing at all about incorrect scales or light weights in Temuka, while he lays hold of all he can get of them in Geraldine and other places. The reason he has for doing such an apparently one-sided thing is this; The people of Temuka signed a requisition to him to come out from Timaru and examine their weightsland measures, and also guaranteed his expenses. By doing this they received the privilege of being exempt from prosecution even if he found incorrect scales, etc., whereas if he had oome out of his own free will, the same a» he went to Geraldine, he would have prosecuted such as had light Weights. The people of Geraldine and other parts of the district neglected to conciliate him by sending him an invitation and guaranteeing his expenses. He came of his own accord, laid ruthless hands on anything he found wrong, and is going to prosecute the owners of the articles seized. Geraldine Young Men’s Club.—A meeting of the above was held last Wednesday evening, at which there > was a good attendance. Mr Willoughby, the President, occupied the chair, The Secretary reported that Mr W. E. Barker had presented to the Club four volumns of Cassell’s Natural History. On the motion of Mr Hughes, seconded by Mr Millard, it was resolved — “ That the thanks of the Club be accorded to Mr Barker for his handsome present.” An inter, •sting discussion then took place on a proposal to form a Christy Minstrel Club, composed of members of the Young Men’s Club only and, after an animated debate, it was resolved “ That the finances of the Christy Minstrel class be kept separate from the general funds of the Club,” It was resolved—" That the minute carried on 6th November, 1884, re allowing a fortnight’s grace to members for piying their monthly subscription be rescinded." After passing some accounts and transacting other business, a general meeting was held, at which Mr Gunn was elected a member. It having appeared that some of the members were in arrears with their paymints, it was resolved, on the motion of Mr

T. Sherratt, seconded by Mr J. W. Pye—“That no member who is more than one month in arrears to Ist January, 1885, be admitted to the Club rooms till ho has paid his fees.” The meeting then terminated. “ Tasman ” publishes a programme on the Dunedin Cup. Particulars will be found in our advertising columns.