LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1588, 31 May 1887, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Grbaldine Monthly Sale. — The monthly sale of stock will take place tt, Goruldine to-morrow. Messrs J. Mundell and Co. advertise entries. Auction. —Mr W. S. Maslin holds a isle of 20 sides prime mutton, household furniture and effects, harness, garden tools, etc., at Geraldine on Thursday next. Laboe Sating Machinery.— It has been stated that all the varied machinery of Great Britain now operated by steam power is 1 capable of performing more work, and therej fore turning out more products, then could be produced by the labor of 400,000,000 ablebodied men—a greater number than are on the earth. Husband and Wine’s Letters.— The subject which was exciting most attention in Paris about the middle of March last was whether husbands were entitled to open their wive#’ letters, and vice versa. I Judging from the correspondence pnbI lished in the papers, masculine opinion 1 was in favor of the right being exercised by the lord of the household, but without reciprocity. Death at a Ball.— An extremely painful evem has occurred in St. Petersburg at a masked ball got up for the benefit of an orphan asylum by the Princess M. De Curoussow. In the midst of one of the dances u young lady from Kiev, Mdlle. Davydow, who had recently arrived in the capita), dropped dead in the arms of her partner. The cause of death was paralysis of the heart, due to tight lacing. Service oe Song. On Tuesday next, a very pretty Service of Song, entitled “ Eva,” will ba given in the Volunteer Hall, Temuka, the Rev. T. A. Hamilton giving the connective readmes. The proceeds are to be devoted to the rebuilding of the cottage of Mr Rigan Williams, of Arowhenua, which, it wilt be remembered, collapsed about a couple of months ago. Tbe object of the givers of service is most praiseworthy, and it is to be hoped the public will heartily assist them by crowding the Volunteer Hall next Tuesday evening. Hypnotised Nihilists.— A curious hypothesis has been stalled by an eminent member of the medical faculty in Paris. It has been observed (hat many of (he Nihilist conspirators in Russia are physically frail, timid, and nervous in temperament, highly impressionable, and not composed of the stern stuff of which regicides are usually made. The theory put forth to account for their desperate attempts on the life of the Czar is that they have been hypnotised by men of a stronger will and great magnetic power, and that the would-be assassins are thus the involuntary instruments of their hypnotiaers. A Message teom the Sea. A curious discovery was made at Aberdeen lately. The trawler Sybil, of Lowestoft, landed a ling at Point Law, and the fish, on being gutted, was found to contain in its stomach a black pint bottle corked. In the bottle there was the following message written in pencil on one side of a piece of paper: " The schooner Anne, of Bangor in a sinking state. My men have given up all hopes abandoned. Writing this, dear wife, if this should reach shore, know what has become of your darling Willie. God bless you.” On the other side of the paper ii the following: “January 24, 1886. —Dreadful storm. Both masts gone ; ship waterlogged. Good-bye, dear wife, from your loving husband, William Jenson.” Giant Tbeks ot Australia. A contributor to the Hawkes Bay Herald, writing of the forests of Australia says ; —Those who have been in either the upper reaches of the river Yarra, the Dandenong forest, on Macdonald’s track going towards the Bass river, or in the heart of South Gip; aland, or in the Olway ranges, know that trees upwards of 400 feet high, and sixty to seventy feet in girth four feet from the ground are to be encountered. I will never forget my first view of them. The trees grow straight up as if seeking the sun, and are so close together that they are almost devoid of branches; in fact m many cases the first branches begin at 300 feet from the ground. Asked what I thought of them, I replied they were for all the wprld like a forest of masts. By comparison the trees jn the New Zealand bush are but pigmies. A Mirage. —A mirage of extraordinary clearness, says the Sydney Mail, was seen from the deck of I tie British-India Company’s Sirsa, .during the voyage from Calcutta to Sydney, When the Sirsa was within 115 miles of Adelaide the city of Adelaide presented itself in the sky, and so distinctly that all the churches and houses were plainly visible ; the surf breaking on the shore was also very noticeable, A ship in mid ocean was also seen f her nfitpal motion could be discerned with the greatest of ease, and strange to relate the Chingtu passed this very vessel a few hours later. It was unanimously agreed that the eight was ope of magnificence, and it has been indelibly improved upon the memories of alf wfyo fiaw iC Tbe BAfcgO?MUNXACSY ; S“CgEIST SBEORB PfLATB.'WThp pan’s correspondent of the London Daily Telegraph write* ?—A telegram received from New York has jugt been pom ; munioated to me, which elates that M, d* M unkaesy’s picture of “ Christ before Pilate ’’ hajj been sold for Mm aimzing sum of iSO.OOpdoJjirthat is £25,000. I will taka this to be the highest pvipe evsr yet given for a modern painting. The p,nMi.uaia!tic purchaser is an amatper’ qf jPhiladelphi*, (John yvho is, I hear, a’cle'alar in What i our A«aert,ci.n jcpfjsipg dry goqd>. Wbile j our noble duke* are their ol(j masters, | American tradesmen sr* bwfafg best i specimens of the new school. Jt js pa'd lj?at the exhibition in Europe of M. picture, fpr pbiph so high a price has just been paid, brought in £40,000, while in America the profits are expected to be still greater.

Volunteer Regulations.—Some amend- I mend to the Volunteer Regulations are gazetted. Amongst other things these provide that captains of Volunteer forces of ten years’ continuous service as such, will, on application and passing a qualifying examination, be promoted to the rank of major. Captains commandant and captains of naval artillery corps of similar service will have equal relative rank and command in the Volunteer fores without the title of major. Thb Rabbit Pbbt. The Christchurch Chamber of Commerce on Friday passed the following resolution : —“ That this chamber views with the greatest conoern the encroachment of rabbits both from north and south, and urges upon the attention of Government the absolute necessity for systematic and vigorous measures for their eradication, before the pest assumes dimensions which must mean continuous and possibly increasing outlay to keep it in check.” South Hangitata School, A meeting of the Commissioners appointed by the Board of Education to the charge of this school took place on Friday evening last. Present —Messrs J. M. Naughten (in the chair), and C. Waller; The Chairman resd a letter from the Board of Education requesting him to forward the names of any persons willing to act as Commissioners of the school. He explained that as an answer was required before the last meeting of the Board, and he had received the letter too late to comply with the request, he had taken no action in the matter. The master waited on the Commissioners and requested that, some ink, and a supply of firewood should b» obtained. He reported that a pane of gluei was wanted in one of the school windows. It, was decided that the ink and .firewood should he procured, that the pane of glass should be put in, and that the pump should be repaired. It was decided to bold the meetings of the Commissioners on the second Friday in each month and the meeting terminated. A Comparison,— England sent to '"the Crimean War 93,100 soldiers, and of these 74,260 returned. The number killed in battle was 2840 and 2700 died of their wounds -5540 in all. The number who succumbed to sickness and privation was 18,300. This Inst item is a terrible one, and the inference is that the English management of the campaign was execrably bad. So it was, but the French management was worse than the English, while the Russian was worst of all. The French sent to the Crimea 309,400 men, and of these 10,330 were killed in battle, 11,000 died of their wounds and 76,400 of sickness. Let us look at the buicher’s-bill of the Russians. The number o f soldiers sent into the field was 886,000, and more than half left their bones there. The number killed in battle was 30,600 ; 42,000 died of their wounds , and 374,000 fell victim* to disease and privation. Death of Father Chiniquy.— The Age of the 14th instant is responsible for the following :-“A private letter recently received from Montreal, Canada, brings intelligence of the death of Pastor Chiniquy, formerly a Roman Catholic priest, who, it may be remembered, gave a course of lectures in these colonies and in other parts of the world against the Homan Catholic faith, similar to those now being delivered by Mis* Edith O’Qorman, ‘ The Escaped Nun.’ Pastor Chiniquy seceded from the Church on account of a monetary dispute with his archbishop. Being a popular preacher and temperance lecturer when in the Church, he was presented with large sums of money during his travels in Canada, and became wealthy. He refused to give up his riches to the Church as required by its rules ; hence his secession. On bis departure from these colonies he returned to Momrotl, and through the influence of his family he was induced to reconsider his position. After a time he decided to return to the Church, and was readmitted atter making a public recantation." A Virginia Romance.—Two years ago a handsome young farmer in Nottoway County, Va., wooed a pretty maid living just by ardently enough to be scorned by her. One year later he was taken to the lunatic asylum at Williamsburg a violent, raving maniac, with reason unhinged, so it is said, by the scorn of the young lady he loved. Meantime another young man came along, not exactly more handsome, butstillmore fascinating and without the ruddy brown on his oheok that the free air and sunshine had given his predecessor. Nay, do not anticipate the sequel, as it is but a sorry one to such a fair beginning. For a brief pe.-iod they held each others’ hands, traced the lights in the northern sky, or mutually recorded some loving wish as meteors shot through the air. But when the bridal gown bad been cut and finished, the cut flowers bloomed in conservatory and parlor, and the earliest guests were waiting for the bridegroom to come, they bore his dead form into the presence of the bride. Thrown from his horse and killed, they said, and turned to see how the lady bore it. The next day another carriage drove up to the Williamsburg Asylum and another maniac was carried in. She was the bride. As she was borne along one of the occupants of one of the cells was heard to give a blood curdling yell and to point with eyes distended at the youne: woman’s form as it vanished in the gloom of the corridor. Keepers went to him, but he drove them away, and for hours cried her name and cursed her for having rejected him and caused his ruin. They occupy cells under the same roof to-day, living, but incompetent witnesses of the way life winds in and out among the insignificant things we call man and woman. Death of a Miser. The Melbourne Argus ol the 3rd inst. records the death from starvation of a miser supposed to be worth £IO,OOO. The deceased wa« Charles Martyr M’Queeo, aged 66, formerly a draper, who whs found dead in Ins room about 6 o’clock on Sunday night. Jfe bad rented the room from Miss Jane Morton, No. 9, Gipps street, paying 4a a week, six weeks previously ; in'o this room no one was admitted until McQueen became unwell a fortnight ago, when hjs landlady took him in some food occcqssionally. During tbe four precede ing weeks he M gone to wprk regularly, but always secluded himself i/j hi* room on his return. Latterly he complained of asthma, his joints stiffened, and hi* legs swelled, but he would allow no medical aid to be called. Some food had been taken in to him about 1 p.m. on Sunday, but lie did pot take it | and at 6 p.m., whep Miss MpitflU looked |n again, she found him 4 eac L fbe ppbee wqfe at once asntV, »“ searching through the rags about the bed of deceased tb'ev found about £3O in gold and silver, with two deposit receipt* for £139, and a groat number of coffee palace, insurance, and building society scrip, representing £IO,OOO, He had been left £7OO some year’s »t{o, and R ip thought he is very rich, blit lived to a wretched, filthy conditihn, ' never' drinkin'g, and' 'kting sparingly! A’ new telescope, valued 1 at £l2 and a patch fere also found in His loom, He had a hiam’ed liyibg at South Melbourne, but had not seen, her for a year.

R.M, Court. Tbmuka.— At the Resident Magistrate’s Court, T'emuka, yesterday, K, F. Gray, Esq., J.P., on the Bench, a. first offender was fined 5* for drunkenness. On Saturday another first offender was fined 6s by A. M. Clark, Esq., J.P. Geraldine Town Board. —ln our advertising columns will be found the statement of accounts of the Geraldine Town Board for the year ending 51st March last. It shows that the balance of assets over liabilities on that date amounted to £llßl 4s 4d. English Law. —An English lawyer, writing on some of the anomalies of English law, lays :—“ It ought, I think, to be generally known that if a man leaves any amount of money in hi* banker’s hands for six years without drawing upon it,, the money, at the end of those six years, becomes tbe absolute properly of the banker. Most bankers are of course honest men, and would scorn to takb advantage of such a state of the law, but would refund the money to the customer or his executors as soon as claimed, and the interesting rarity of persons who lire likely to leave their bankers alone for six years makes this point not a veiy practical one.” Thu French Mak-op-War. At Tahiti the Admiral of tbe Duquesne expressed himself greatly pleased at the manner in which himself and the officers of the Duquesuo wore received and treated during their stay at Auckland. He is reported in the local paper as having given a rather amusing account of the frigate’s arrival in Auckland. He saluted the port in the usual manner, and was surprised that the compliment was not returned until the following day. This was, however, subsequently explained when be learned that in the first place there were no guns in readiness, in the second place no gunpowder available, and in the third place no men in readiness to man the guns. The Admiral also bore testimony to the excellent chanic'er of the supplies received by the frigate when in Auckland,

Personal. —Mr F. Bethune, who for the past two years has occupied the poai-, tion of Head Master at the Pleasant Yaliey School, is about to take his departure for Carterton, in order to fill a position in the school there. During his residence at Pleasant Valley Mr Bethune has achieved excellent results in the school, and his loss is much regretted by both the Committee and parents. Being a lover of a'hietic sports, he has .ays* temetically encouraged and superintended all such pastimes among bis scholars,' who have become much attached to him. While regretting his loss Ins many friends will be glad to hear of his promotion; and will heartily wish him success in his new sphere of labor. The PoWer Behind 1 the Russian Throne.— A travelling contributor to Figaro furnishes that paper with an account of an interview ho had in Moscow with Mr Katkov, the power behind the throne in Russia. In the course of conversation the famous journalist declared ths Triple Alliance to be dead, beyond all resuscitation, adding, “ Prince j Bismarck will have plenty to do. The |Cg»r wishes to see Franco great and powerful, and if a war should break out bet'ween you and Germany, he will certainly not suffer France to be diminished. As to England we shall very soon roach h|r in India without fighting, and 1 it is| to be hoped she will have quite enough 'tp do then in'striving against our influence. This, perhaps, will lessen her intrigues in Europe." | Bald-HbadedNess, There is. much wearisome end needless discussion about baldheaded people.; Wash your head thoroughly once a week with a lather of soap and water, rinse all . the soap out, and rub the scalp lively until it is entirely dry. Never wear an unveotilated hat, or any hat at all when you can avoid it.' Wear a straw hat instead of felt, whenever possible. Give your scalp plenty of sunlight also plenty of eiir. Don’t smoke too much. Follow these directions, and you will never be bald-headed. Even if your hair has begun to gst thin, it will revive. Canadians are bald because they wear fur caps. It is the wearing of hot and unnatural head coverings that makes the hair fall out. If a quite bald man should go bareheaded in the sun and air a year, it is Ikely that his hair would come on again, and be would Lever take cold. Remember this : Nature meant your hair to keep your head warm, not fur caps or felt hats. Felt hats and silk bats are an abomination. These are the wretches that make so many men baldheaded, It is pot their mighty intellects or their excessively fine nervous systems. If you render the, hair superfluous by making bats to do its duty for it, nature takes it away. She will not tolerate senseless things. Large Fees.— One of the heaviest medical fees on record was that presented by the Emperor William, on the ninetieth anniversary of his birth, to his physician,,Dr Lauer. It consisted of a cheque for £15,000. Ten years before Hu Majesty gave him £7600, and if the Emperor should live lo be a century old the presumption is that Dr Lauer will receive £30,000. Of other magnificent fees on record, the following are worthy of mention s—The5 —The Empress Catherine of Russia gave Dr Dimsdale £IB,OOO lor inoculating herself and son, created him u baron, and settled a pension of £SOO a year upon him for life. When the Emperor Joseph of Austria was seized with bis last illness, he asked Dr Quarin how long he had to live.

'■ Twenty-four hours,” was the frank reply, for which the court physician received a.title and an annuity of :£?000 to support it with. Of private patients the most generous was a West Indian planter named Hyatt, who urn derwent an operation at the hand* of Sir Aetley Cooper, who was assisted by X)rs Leltsom and Nelson, When it was over, the patient presented each of the two latter with a cheque for 800 guineas each, but only fluog his nightcap at Sir Aetley, The great surgeon pocketed the affront and smiled. When he got home, he found the cap com tamed a cheque for 1000 guineas, Facts— Close confinement and careful attention to all factory work gives the operatives pallid faces, poor appetites, languid, miserable feelings, poor blood, inactive liver, kid< eys, etc,, and all the physician* and medicine* in tbe world cannot help them unless they got out of doors or use American Oo.’i Bop Bitters. None need suffer if they will use it freely. See Advb. Railway Refreshment Rooms, Timaeu, MoGuinness begs to inform his numerous friend?, and the trayejling pubjio in particular, that haring tajpep rooms for a fresh term be has decided to reduce the charges hitherto made, and in future they will bo as follow: —Breakfast in readiness for early trains, Is 6d ; Hot Lunch or Dinner, served up in the hitherto well-known profuse style, on arrival of North and South Express trains, Is 6d. Tea and Coffee always in readiness, and choice confectionery, &o. The |essee would especially draw attention to the Ladies’ 'Private Diningroom, which bos boeh’specially arranged and furnished for |heir convenience. A waitress is always’hi attpnfiaupe. Tfie usuol |s Lunches are ptjjl continued at the Glub Hotel.—Advt*

SYNOPSIS OF ADV K R TTSE MB N IS. Geraldine Town Board Statement cf accounts. Service of Song “Eva,” in Volunteer Hall, Temuka, on June 7th. In Bankruptcy Re James MoQuinn, of Orari, laborer ; first meeting of creditors at Titnam on Thursday next. Wm, Postlethwaifce —...Notifies that slr-iy catila or horses found oh Iho riverbeu between the Orari traffic and railway bridges will be impounded.