LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1823, 1 December 1888, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

School Regulations. The Wellington Board of Education bare decided to co-operate with the South Canterbury Board in urging the Government to adopt the " working ’’ instead of “ strict average.”

Dunedin Races.—At the Dunedin Race Meeting yesterday, the Hurdles was won by Trapper, with Civil second, and Garibaldi third. The Maiden was won by St. James, with Matamata second.

Protection op Moeepoekb.— The Gazet to notifies that, from and after the Ist December, the bird known as the “ ruru ” or “ koukou ” by the Natives, and " night jar” or "morepork ” by the colonists, comes under the operation of the Aiimals Protection Act.

Wool Stealing.— At the R.M. Court, Timaru, on Thursday, Jatneaßell, alias Wall, was sentenced to three months’imprisonment for stealing 401 b of wool, value £1 10s, the property of the N.Z, and A.L. Co., Levels. Prisoner has juet completed a sentence for a similar off sues at Dunedin. A Railway Employee’s Hobby.—An old Victorian railway employee, who for years had been in the receipt of a salary of £385, deprived himself of all except the barest necessaries of life in order that he might collect rare books and picures. He died suddenly the other day, leaving behind him at least £SOOO worth of such property. A Minister on the Times.— Tho Rev. R. Waddell, of Dunedin, in a letter to the Times, says “We sing praises to Christ on Sundays, yet if He were to come back in the garb He wore long years ago a working carpenter whatever would we Christians do with r Him ? It would be a terrible embarrassment, for, being only a common working man, how could we ask Him to lawn tennis or afternoon lea

European Affairs.— A telegram from Berlin states that the German Press evinces anxiety at the growing strength of parties hostile to Germany at Vienna, and fears theae will affect the Triple Alliance. There baa been friction lately between Prince Reuse, German Ambassador at Vienna, and Count Taafe, President of the Austrian Ministerial Council. Thu quarrel is attracting some attention in diplomatic circles..—The Sultan ef Turkey has dec'ined to receive Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria. Thb Rise in Prices.— Already the rapid rise in the price of cereals is beginning to have its result. Bread has gone up, and by an advertisement appearing in another column it will be seen that the carriers between Orari, Winchester, and; Geraldine, are calling a meeting of (hose interested in the conveyance of goods between those places for Tuesday evening. The purpose of the meeting is to consider the matter of charges, the carriers averring that with oats at the price they are now fetching they cannot continue carting at the rates that have hitherto prevailed with any profit to themselves. Land Settlement For sections of Grown land placed open in the Auckland provincial district of late there hag been a very large number of applications, ond a ballot was therefore necessary, and was held yesterday. Seven sections were offered ; for these there were fifty-five applicants.—Three thousand acres of land at Lower Waikato was lately sold by Major Te Wheoro for £ISOO. It has been again sold to Mr Tanner, an Australian capitalist for £2 5s per acre. Mr Tanner has already engaged n manager (o improve and work the estate. Good Times Coming —The following are extracts flora a private letter received in Dunedin by the Wairarapa from a well-known Victorian merchant; —“ The land boom in Melbourne is pretty well played out, and those whothave recently become enriched will look out for other fields for investment, and New Zealand is the coming colony. I wish I were out of business now, with my capital in ready cash, and I would have little hesitation in embarking in New Zealand property.”

Success or a Chinaman.— The Dunedin Star »ay*|—"lt is worthy of note in connection with tbs somewhat senseless howl against the Chinese that Mr M-’Oallum, the expert appointed by the Government to report on the dairy factories of New Zealand, gives the palm to Chew Chong’s factory at JSltham, Taranaki.” This is followed by a terrible lot of gush about "John.” A North Island paper says:—The Dunedin Star is not aware that Chew Chong is married to the daughter of an old European settler of Masterton, and ahe supervises the dairy.

Special Settlers. The Auckland correspondent of the Otago Daily Times says“ The first village settler to file bis schedule did so on Thursday, It is said that there has been one failure previously, but it was of tbo man himself, not as a special settler. He got one man to clear his land, another to build bis house, but spared them the trouble of drawing the Government cheque. The house builder and farm clearer have been anxious to interview that special settlor, but have hitherto been unsuccessful.” This is the settlement that was cried down. Only one. or two have failed in three years! Can this be called a failure f The Sweating System.— A correspondent of the Star writes Very few people will believe that sweating is carried on in New Zealand, but for the last fifteen years we have bad firms where the system has been in' full swing. During the last three years of the depression, owing to the scarcity of employment among men, the mothers of families hav* sought to earn something to keep them from being compelled to ask for oharity, and have begged to be supplied with work freely, but at what price! Men’s trousers, well-made, 2s 9d per dozen 5 boys’ trousers, Is 6d per dozen; men’s shirts, 4s, and boys’, 2s par dozen. This m Auckland I What can they earn by such work?' I know of three women, possessing two good sawing machines, and economising labour (by working together) who work early and late, and fail to make thirty shillings per week between them. 1 call that sweating, but the highly respectable firms which supply the work at these prices are among the shining lights of the eity. The Electbio Light.— During an interview which one of the representatives of the Otago Daily Times had wilh Mr Phil Aobinson reference was made to the Schanschieff electric light,he explained that it was caused by the action of a soliuion of mercury on z'nc and carbon. Sixpence or eigbtpence worth of the liquid, he said, would drive a winnowing machine at full man power for three hours and also give light, while two sewing machine* could be driven and two lights provided for the same time at a similar cost. The light can neifber set flre to anything nor be set fire to, while it will burn under water and cannot be blown out by wind. The Preach Government, Mr Bobinsou informed our reporter, had adopted it for torpedo purposes and for oss in all their military magazines and stores, while Edison has utilised it in connection with bis microphone. It is a'so now in universal i use in mines, and both in New South Wales and Victoria large orders have ’ already been booked for mining purposes.

Deputy Inspectors Colonel Haultaio, and Messrs Joseph Mackay, Charles Tates, Peter Dancan, Alexander Dean, and F. E. Chapman, bays been appointed deputy inspectors of lunatic asylums, hospitals, and lioanied houses in the colony, Tkb American Drink Bill.—lt appears from the figures for the fiscal year 1887, which have lately been published (says a London paper), tba' 717,748,754 gallons of malt liquor were consumed in the United States during the year. Nearly all this immense quantity wa.< produced in America, only 2,300,000(;al. being imported. The per capita consumption now reaches Il.dSgal,, or nearly eight times what it was in iB6O. The consumption of “ bard liquors," on the contrary, has steadily decreased. Of distilled spirits, 71,064,733 gal were used in 1887 lese than in 1860, when the population was only half as largo. It is stated (hat American beer has now almost completelly taken the place of Medford rum and Kentucky whisky. Sensible Punishment. —A new method of punishing dishonest bank clerks is being tried iu a certain institution of that kind ii New York. Some time ego a clerk’s accounts were invettigated, and he was found to be several thousand dollars short. To remove aid pro* seoute the man would have been troublesome and apt to hurt the reputation of the bank, so they made him stay, as if nothing had happened, but have placed him m moh a position that bn can take no more, atd informed his fellow-clerks of his defalcation. He is avoided by the insiders, and bis position is about as disagreeable a* can well be imagined. Constantly under this surveillance, he will .work out in time the amount be has taken, and will then be discharged.

The Bankruptcy Aot.— ln dealing with a bankruptcy, in which the liabilitiei amounted to £44, Judge Broad made a strong comment on the iniquity of .|uch method* of casing off liabilities. The; cost of filing, he said, would amount to £lo,pr about 26 per cent of the bankrupt’s indebtedness. Such'a bankruptcy was a farce, and wa* another instance of the fact that the' machinery of the court was frequently used as an ingenioui device to evade tba provisions of the Abolition of Imprisonment for IJebt Act. A man ran into debt, was sued, and subiequenlly brought up on a summons, whereupon to avoid being sent to gaol—no matter how few or paltry hi* debts were—he promptly filed a declaration ot insolvency.

Tight Lacing.—At an in inquest on Jessie Menzies, who died suddenly at Dunedi* reoantday, a medical man said death resulted from syncope caused by stooping with her garments fastened rather tightly round the waist. There might or might not have been heart disease. A post mortem waa suggested by Dr Stenhouse for the satisfaction of the friends, and, as a medical man, he said the public ought to know that tight-laoing with stooping was sufficient to cause death. A verdict of “ Death from natural causes 14 was returned. The deceased, who was in excellent health and spirits before the sad event, was a native of Edinburgh and about 85 years of age.' Her only relatives are a sister, who is a stewardess on the Takepunsi and a nephew and neice. Railway Comfobts,— I The New Zealand Government put on special carriages for ladies, but the fair sex refuse to patronise them. They prefer the Unpleasant discomfort of being ogled by. the men, who, as a general, rule clear but from them, and get into the smoking carriages. The tendencies of human natnrp appear to be somewhat similar in Spain. There a short time ago some I 'honeymoon carriages ” were placed-upon the railways. Each compartment contained only two seats, very close together, and everything was done to provide for the comfort of the boneymoonors. But no blushing couples appeared, and as yet not one of these compartments has been occupied. The “ administration''” forgot that peoples never try so hard to look like old matrimonial hands as on the day upon which the knot has been tied. Whoever liked to proclaim te the world that he was just married that very d.-iy i Hope for the Press. There is a belief amongst religious people that anyone who enters into the employment of a newspaper forfeits all hope of salvation. In Christchurch and Dunedin prayers have been offered up for the conversion of reporters, and a member of our staff waa specially prayed for in Tennka by an itinerant lady preacher. j The great Dr Talmage has a different opinion on the subject. Here is what bo says;—“ Providence intends the profession of reporters to have a mighty share in the world’s redemption, as suggested by the fact that Paul and Christ took a reporter along with them, and he reported their addresses and their acts. Luke was a reporter, and he wrote not only the Book of Luke but the Acts of the Apostles, and without that work we would have known nothing of the Pentecost,.and nothing of Stephen’s martyrdom, and nothing of Tabitha’a resurrection, and nothing of the gaoling and ungaoling of Paul and Silas, and nothing of the shipwreck at Melita. Strike out the reporter's work from the Bible, and you kill a large part of the New Testament. It makes me think that in the future kingdom of God the reporters are to bear a mighty part.”

Oue Gbowing L abrikinß.— The Auckland correspondent of the Otago Daily Times says the Bench is in despair what to do with uur larrikins. Some pupils in Wellesley street East Public School got into the building on Saturday afternoon by the windows, cleaned out the till of the head teacher t(Mr Worthington), smoked his cigars, used on* of the schoolrooms as a lavatory, Ac., then took the works of a clock, value £6, and planted them in a hole in the allotment.; They spent most of the money,ip meat'pies and toys, and divided the balance, having a real good time of it. Sunday afternoon they returned to the school, took a book, a coat, some school requisites, and then, judging by their conduct, accepted in all seriousness the recent utterances of the chairman of the Board of Education respecting Sunday observance and 'he rules of lawn tennis and cricket on Sunday, for they took (be cricketing material out of the school and vent out to a place adjacent to the building, the bowling green, where they had a quiet game of Sunday cricket, returning the bats and stumps to the school in the evening, but retaining the other property. The ages of the party ranged from four to eight years. They have been taken ineo custody by the police, barring the four-year-old, and released on a bond of £lO by their parents to come and report to the Police . Court to-morrow. [A telegram informs us Jj that the lads were brought Up l on Thursday. ' Two were fined £1 each and sentenced to receive sir strokes of the birch. The youngest was discharged. The boys were dismissed from school, but went in the afternoon intoone of the exercise yards of the school and commenced stone throwing. A femaleteacher was hit op the leg, and a girl cut under the eye with stones. Mr Worthington,, head teacher, secured one of the lads until th* arrival of the police, but as soon os f.Ue boy was taken into tbs school the vest of the gang* n four in number, commenced throwing stonesinto the oorridoa. dome of the pieces of roadl metal were half a pound in, weight. They will again appear before the Court.}

Delayed Train.— The express tram from the North was half an hour ate yesterday. The Guardian says the delay was caused by an accident to the engine at Chertsey, which was so far repaired as io enable the engine to carry the tram on to Ashburton, where the engine was taken off and that of the Mount Somers tram substituted, the latter engine taking the train south* . , Obicibt. —The following Will represent • Temflka in the match with Geraldine today;—Messrs E. Brown . (captain), Mayhnrst, Bryars, Flint, Asjdmll, Ogilvie, Thompson, Storey, |florst, Gaze, and Dr J >S. Hayes. Emergencies ; Messrs v\. Dyson and f. K. Gray. Play will commence at 2 o clock sharp. Several lady friends of the Clnb have promised to provide refreshments, and there appears to be every prospect of a good match and an enjoyable afternoon, . Miraculous Escape. When the express from Sydney to Melbourne was about half a mile, from Wodonga, on the Jsth inst., a girl, aged about four, leaning against the carriage door, which opened, fell out of the train, which was going at the rate of thirty miles an hour. The father jumped after her, and both escaped comparatively unhurt. The father carried the child back to Wodonga. He was travelling with his wife and thren . children from Newcastle to Melbourne. A FiiAWuk oir Rats. —Says the Eeefbon Guardian; —-The Nelson district is again suffering from an incursion of ra*s something similar to that which occurred some five years ago. Then for some weeks they wsreaterribl - scourge. They were found by thousands in the fields, they were found by dozens in the wells, they were so numerous that after a week or so.the eats left off killing them and left their homes in disgust; the region of the incursions extended from West Wanganui right along the: coast of Blind Bay and Cook Straits to Havelock. The barren mountains of the Maungatapu and the Wengamoa were crowded with them, and no reasonable guess was mads as to where they came from. They were not of the imported Norweigah species, but smeller, darker, and aleeker, and were undoubtedly the natives ; of t,h» soil. At present the Nelson people have both them and the parroquefc nuisance to exercise their minds. Fishin« Competition.- Yesterday the first fishing competition of the season tinder the auspices of the, Geraldine County Anglers Society came off, but we have failed in our endeavors to obtain the result of it. Up to 11 o’clock last evening, only two of the competitors had weighed in at the Wallingford, but there were others' out, and their baskets' had hot then come to hand. Mr N. C. Nicholas brought in 12 Irout weighing 14Jlb, and Mr James Findlay 8 trout weighing slb. We also heard a rumor to the effect that Mr Albert Young, of Winchester, got 44 trout weighing 341 ba, but of this we have no certainty. Doubtless we shall be able to giye the result in our next issue. A fish dinner takes place in the Wallingford ‘ ‘Hotel this evening. Tickets can be obtained from the Secretary. Baxtbb’s Lung Pbbsbbvbb has gained great popularity in this district as a speedy and effectual remedy in the treatment of Coughs, Colds, Bronchitis and othei chest, i and throat complaints. Bead advt. and try it.