LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1563, 30 September 1886, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Fishing Season. The fishing aaason in the Geraldine district opens tomorrow, and quite a number of licenses have already been taken out. Abowhenua Town Board.— No meeting °f th* Arowhenua Town Board took place last luesday evening, a quorum not attending. The meeting stands adjourned to Saturday evening. Arrest. William Peate, solicitor, of Wellington, was arrested at Christchurch yesterday morning on a warrant charging him with fraudulently converting a promissory note for £3O. The Geraldine Racing Club Secretaryship.—lntending applicants for the Secretaryship to the Geraldyie Racing Club are reminded that theii applications must he sent in not later than tomorrow.

Geraldine Races. —The spring meeting of the Geraldine Club takes place to-day and to-morrow. All arrangements are now complete, and should the weather be fine the meeting will doubtless prove most successful. Postponed. — The tea ind promenade concert announced to take place in Geraldine on the 7th October has been postponed on account of the illness of the Rev, J. Preston. Tickets already purchased will be available when the concert takes place. A Trivial Offence. Thomas Seatree, the temperance lecturer, was sentenced to 48 hours’ imprisonment in Christchurch last Monday, for stealing a rose cutting out of a garden. Mr Seatree in extenuation of the offence pleaded his public usefulness as a lecturer.

Imported Onions.—The Oamaru Mail says : We are astonished with the knowledge that onions are imported from Oalifornia and elsewhere for the use of this community—to a district possessing land of the rarest quality for the perfect growth of this common vegetable. When it is mentioned that these imported onions fetched £l3 per ton wholesale, the neglect of our fanners to cultivate a few acres is inexplicable.” Not Dutiable,—At the Supreme Court, Wellington, yesterday, the case of Holmes and Bell, merchants, of Blenheim, against the Collector of Customs, was argued. The plaintiffs imported uniforms for the Blenheim Rifles, and £3O duty was charged The amount was paid under protest, 'and the question as to whether duty was properly charged was referred to the Supreme Court to decide. The Chief Justice and Justice Richmond decided under the Customs Act that Volunteers’ clothing must be admitted free.

Timaeu High School Reserves.—At a meeting of the Governors of the Timaru High School on Tuesday evening, a letter was read from Mr A. M. Clark, stating his views with reference to Reserve 938, and added that he w->* prepared on behalf of the company he represented to enter upon a new term of lease at an increased rental, and carry out a»y reasonable covenants and conditions in an expeditious and efficient manner. After a short discussion the report of the Reserves Committee, presented to the Board some months ago as to dealing with the reserve named, was adopted. It was resolved—- “ That the recommendation of the Committee re granting priority of lease to Messrs Burke and Earle he adopted, such recommendation being based on the Land Act, 1885, clause,; 245.”

Meeting at Winchester.—A meeting of persons interested in the starting of a jam factory in the district takes place at the library, Winchester, on Monday evening next, at 7 o’clock. The subject has been on several occasions referred to in the correspondence column* of this paper, all the writers (who live in different parts of the district) being of opinion that that there is even now a superabundance of fruit produced in the district every year, ipuch of which is wasted, and that a factory for its utilisation would be a boon to grower*. Of th* suitability of the locality for fruit growing there can be no question, and were a factory started much more would be grown. We hope to see a large meeting at Winchester next Monday evening and the subject thoroughly discussed.

Exhumation or Captain Cain,— On last Monday evening at 9 o’clock the body of the late Captain Cain was taken out of its resting place for the purpose of investigating as to whether any poison had been administered to him. The exhumation was carried out in the presence of Mr J. W. White, Crown Prosecutor, Mr Perry, solicitor for Thomas Hall, Inspector Broham, Drs Maclntyre, Hogg, Lovegrove and Professor Ogston. The body was brought to the dead house in the Hospital, where certain portions of it were taken and placed in vessels which were hermetically sealed. The remainder was reinterred in the grave, and such parts as were selected taken to Dunedin for the purpose of having them analysed. Dr Hogg accompanied Professor Ogston to Dunedin so as to be present at the analysis. The result will probably not be made known until Hall’s trial comes on next week in Christchurch.

New Inspector op Schools.— A special meeting of the South Canterbury Board of Education was held on Tuesday las*, when Mr James Gibson Gow, M.A., was appointed Inspector in the room of Dr Anderson, resigned. Mr Gow is a comparatively recent arrival in the colony, and is at present in charge of the Waiareka School, Otago. He is a graduate of the Edinburgh University, and has bad a most successful teaching career, extending over a period of 15 years. After serving an apprenticeship of four years as pupil teacher, Mr Gow completed a course of two years’ training in the Church of Scotland Training College, Edinburgh, and subsequently acted for seven years as seniorassistant in James Gillespie’s school, Edinburgh, one of the largest and most important schools in Great Britain, It is expected that Mr Gow will commence his new duties next month. An Item pos Sheep Besbdebs.—Mr W. D. R. Lawson, butcher, of Geraldine, killed two lambs on Monday last, one a merino and the other a Southdown, and upon opening the head of the former he found in the cavity between the outer skull and the inner no less than six largo maggots or grubs, varying in length from £ to Jtbs of an inch, and about as thick as an ordinary sized penholder, with some smaller ones of about a quarter of an inch long. In the bead of the Southdown were some two or three grubs of a similar size. How the grubs got into the part of the bead where they were found is a question that has puzzled those who have seen the heads. They were unable to reach the brain, but remained in the cavity of bone immediately ever the forehead. The lambs, which were in excellent condition, were pet ones reared by a daughter of Mr Button, of Peel Forest, and had never given the slightest indication that they were in anyway effected by the presence of the grubs. Mr Lawson states (hat be has opened the beads of some thousands of lambs but never saw such a thing before. Mr W. Postlethwaite, to whom the heads were shown, decided to send that, of the merino to the Chief Inspecter of Sheep at Wellington, Possibly that gentleman will bo able to throw some light on the unusual I occurrence. I

Bank Holiday. —To morrow will be observed as a holiday at the Temukaand Geraldine offices of the Bank of New Zealand and Bank of New South Wales. ;■

Judge Ward.- Judge Ward (says the Oamaru Mail) is to receive the same B'dary as that paid to Judge Gillies, whose place he is to temporarily occupy, £I2OO t year. It is, we believe, probable that he will be permanently appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court. ?

Suicides in Paris. —There are more suicides in Paris than in-any. other oily in the world, while Glasgow has the least number of suicides in any city in the world except Edinburgh. It seems strange that the brightest ‘ city in the world should have the most, aud the darkest the least, of the suicidal mania.

Auckland. —The Auckland Star gives a very gloomy account of the finances of that city, which, it says,: are undoubtedly drifting into a serious mess. The Bank overdraft is now about £40,000, and the annual charge for’interest on the j city debt next year will be £27,000, while a shilling rate, even if all collected, wbuld only yield £18,500. Further taxation appears to be inevitable. The waterworks are yielding a profit, however,.

Another Great Success. The balance-sheet of the Wairoka Dairy Factory (situated nehr Oamaru) for j the year ending 31st August last, presented at a meeting of the Company held on Monday evening, showed that the IpsS'tp the Company upon the previous year’s workings amounting to £SOO, had been made up by last year’s operations, and over and above this sum there was a profit of £IBO upon the year’s transactions. There was a sum of £356 to carry forward.

Kimberley and Niw Zealand.— Mr Malcolm Graham, who has recently returned from Kimberley, writes to the Grey River Argus from Sydney as follows “I am fully convinced from my own observations that 70 per cent of all who went to Kimberley are from New Zealand, and that if it turns out a failure New Zealand will suffer more than the whole of the other colonies. Putting, it at a low estimate, I reckon it has taken 70,000 golden sovereigns out of New Zealand.”

Football. —There appears to be a good deal of interest taken in the forthcoming match “ Geraldine Wanderers ” v. All Comers, proposed to be played in the Geraldine Park on Saturday next, Several well known townspeople (heavy weights) have signified their intention of taking part in the game, and the Club team will probably find themselves opposed by a powerful combination. All lovers of football should, put in an;appeerance, as most of them will probably have an opportunity of playing in the match. Obituary.—We regret to hare to record the death of Mr Michael Studholme, of Waimate, who departed this life shortly after 5 o’clock last Monday evening. Mr Studholme was an Irishman by birth, and settled in Waimate 26 years ago. He was a liberal patron of all kinds of sports, especially horseracing. He may be said to have been the “ father ” of the Grand National Steeplechare . Club. He was greatly beloved" wherever he was known as a large-hearted, good-natured, inoffensive gentleman. H« has been ailing for some time, but his death was not by any means expected, as he was, comparatively speaking, a young man, being only 53 years of age. He leaves a wife and eight children to mourn his loss, but all of them are grown up.

Oil on the Water. —ln unloading a vessel at Chicago a barrel of kerosene was dropped and burst, and the oil spread over the surface of the water clear across the river. After the vessel left the dock a stevedore threw a lighted, match into the stream, just to “ see if the stuff would burn.” * There was a flash, and a sheet of flame and smoke rolled across the stream, and toward Clark and State street bridges. The excursion boat Albert J. Wright was in the midst of the: fire, and everybody in the vicinity set up the cry that the river was on fire. The fire burned out without doing much damage beyond singeing the piling of the docks on each side of the river.

Band or Hope. The fortnightly meeting of the Geraldine Band of Hope was held on Friday evening in the Good Templars’ Hall, In the absence of the Superintendent, Mr J. S. Waite, Mrs Porteous presided. There was a good attendance of members. The meeting was opened in the usual manner, after which songs and recitations were given by several of the children. Solos were also sung by Mias Andrews and Mrs Porteous, and the children were addressed by Messrs Maslin, Hiskens, and Coe; also by Mr Waite, who arrived during the evening. At the close of the meeting an Executive Committee was formed to conduct the future business of the Lodge. Attack bt Natives.— During the cruise in the South Seas of H.M.S. Undine she called at Santo Island and made inquiries into the wreck of four natives belonging to a small trading cutter hailing from Aoba. The massacre took place a few weeks ago. It seems that the natives were ashore with the captain of the a white man known as “Harry,” trading,” when, without any warning, they were, attacked by the bush tribe of the island} The captain succeeded in reaching the cutter by swimming, but his crew were less fortunate. They were captured by the bush tribe and subsequently killed and eaten. The natives plundered the boat and then went inland. Captain Cross, of the Undine, succeeded in Recovering the boat belonging to the cutter, but was unable to get at the guilty savages, as they had taken shelter inland. R.M. Court.— At the above Court,yesterday, before K. E. Gray, Esq/J.P., Darby Dunn was charged with having used insulting language in a public place. Mr Toes will, who appeared for the defendant, admitted the ohargo, but said that it occurred on the evening of the day on which the foundation stone of the new -Volunteer Hall was laid, and asked the Bench to deal leniently with him. Constable Morton give evidence to the effect that the defendant and several other volunteers in uniforms were at the door of the Salvation Army on the evening in question. The accused said to a person there, “ Will you fight me now ? You are only a cocktail.” He could not say whether he was the worse for drink. He had never anything against him before. His Worship said be ought not to have disgraced the uniform he wore. He would dismiss the case now, but if he ever came up again he would' deal severely with him. Ho would have to pay all expenses. Some civil cases had to be adjourned, as another J.F. could not be got to sit with Mr Gray, and the Court rose.

Evawno v xhe Customs.—Oce hundred and forty-four watches were seized by the Customs at Dunedin on Tuesday. The importer valued them at 4a 6d, but the Customs finding their value 9s 61, seized the lot and submitted them to auction. ' Death ofan Actor.— Mr W. Hoskins, the well-known and highly-popular actor, has diedin Melbourne. Mr Hoskins was oyer 70 years of age, and had as one of his pupils Mr Irving,, the great English |ragediatj. Ho was toft hnown in,Canterbury, he having been for several years lessee of-the Christchurch Theatre Royal. He was one of the moat accomplished actors New Zealand evW saw. Stock Conference..— The stock conference at Sydney held its first meeting on the 27th inst. ' Mr Bruce, Chief inspector of Stock for New South Wales, was sleeted Chairman, -and..the order of business was settled, the first subject to be dealt with being diseases in stock. »»

New South Wales, Tasmania and New Zealand have each three numbers at the conference, Queensland South Australia two each, and Victoria one. ’ ' Wiokbd Tor Clbbgymen.— “l brliavet to be all wrong 7 and.-even wicked for elsrgyi men or other public men to be led into giving testimonial* to quack doctor! or vilt| stuff i culled medicine*; but when a really meritori .us article is made up of common valuable remedies known to all, and that all physicians use and trust in daily, w» should f reely commend it. ; I thereforechierf ally and heartily commend Hop Bitfere'for the good . they have done' me asd ay frisnda, firmly believing they have no equal for family use. I will not be;without; them.ftev. —— Washington,' D.G., UiSiAj”:. SYNOPSIS OF ADYERTKEMBNIS. \ Temuka Road Board—lnvito tender! for works. John Hansen, Belfield —'iLs eighteen store pigs for sale. 1 H. W. Moore—Notice re postponement of concert at Geraldine. Geraldine Poundk leper Notice ro impounded white bull calf. * ; D. Shaw Geraldine.—lnvites tenders for feeding off 60 acre! turnipe. Mrs Hargreaves, Bank, of New Zealand, Temuka—Wants a good general servaat. Meeting at Winchester—On Monday evening next; to consider advisability of. starting a jam factory* , . . . D. West, Architect, Timaru—lnvites tenders for the purchase and removal of the old ‘Crown Hotel buildings, TemUka.