LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2058, 12 June 1890, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Suicide. « The police have received informati on that Robert Dalrytnple, schoolmaster at Garston, has commuted suicide. No particulars are given. had, been teacher at Garston for a long time. The Frisco Mail,—The Zeaiandia with the English mails of 17 h May, left San Francisco for Auckland on 31st Miy, contract date. The Alameda with the colonial mails of 19th ult. arrived at San Francisco from Auckland on the 7th inst,, contract 'fate. The Gray family were passengers by the latter vessel. Temuka Caledonian Society, The second social of the season under the auspices of the Temuka Caledonian Society will be held in the Drillshed, Temuka, to-morrow evening. The enjoyablenesa of these socials being well established, a large gathering of members and their families is anticipated. Geraldine F., H., and f. Association.—Mr J. Pye will read a paper in the Oddfellows’ Hall, Geraldine, to morrow evening, under the auspices of the Geraldine Floral, Horticultural, and Industrial Association. The paper will doubtless be a very interesting one, and as admission will be free there should be a good attendance . Burned to Heath. —A two-roomed cottage at Henderson, Auckland, owned by Mr Beetham, occupied by a gum digger named Porteous and his wife, was burned down on Saturday evening, Mrs Porteous was alone in the house and was under the influence of liquor shoitly before the outbreak, and her charred lemains were found in the debris.

Crown Lands.—Attention is directed to an advertisement iff another column relating to large areas of Cr,own land on the Pour Peaks and Waitohi runs open for selection oh the 24th June. ?Found. Drow;nbd, --The body found in the Harbor near St. Leonards, Dunedin, on Sunday'was identified as Charles; Anderson;: fellmongeffa well-known resident in the North-East Valley. The decensed wth liis family were living at the harbour side for the benefit 6f k their health. He left town by the ten o’clock train on Saturday night, alighting at Bnrke’a and walking thence towards home. Nothing was afterwards seen of-him till the body was recovered. It is surmised that he winked along, the jetty to look after his boat,- and. accidentally fell into the water, ashia watch stopped at 10.40, Larceny as a .Bailee. .—-The, man Farmer referred to in our last issue as having borrowed- a Watch chain from a man named Allingtpn and given away some trinkets attached to it, was brought before the Court in Titnaru last Monday. His Worship considered that the case was rather of a drunken freak, and cautioned accused to avoid drink in

future;’ 1 seeing what it had led t’o, and that it might lead to worse, and dismissed the case on condition that he made restitution to the owner for: the lost nugget, valued at 7s 6d, and paid costa of maintenance, Is. Valedictory.—To-morrow evening the Salvationists of Qera'dine and the district hold a farewe'l meeting ond coffee supper in the Oddfe lows’ Ha l, Gera dine, on the occasion of Captain McCormick and Lieut. Flavel leaving for fresh fields of labour. Daring the time that Captain McCormick and her associates have been in Geraldine they have done a large amount of good, anil made a great many friends, and numbers who have received reuPbenefi by their ministrations are genffndy sorry that they are ab.uit to leave the district. There will doubtless be , a large gathering to-morrow night, School Concert.—On Friday, the 27th, there will be an entertainment in the Volunteer Hall in aid of'the prizfffund uf the Temuka District High School. It will consist of singing and recitations by the elder children, kindergarten songs by the infants, and musical selections by local amateurs. The whole is to conclude with a laughable farce. The entertainment promises to be very successful, as the

children are daily becoming more pro

ficient in the several items allotted to them, and considering the object in view, their parents and guardians may certainly strain a point to be present. MARRIACIE. o 1 !, addressing a divorce case jury latdly, said': —“ A marriage without love is immoral. I don’t care how many forms you go through ; I don’t care if all the churches in the world united beneath the dome of heaven, filling all the air with incense, pronounce a man and wom-m wedded. If (hit sweet perfume called love does not arise, there is no marriage. The woman who marries a man bee .use ho is rich, for a title, or for office, place or power, is not a virtuous woman; and the man who marries a woman for any such reason is not a virtuous man. but a contemptible wretch.

Starvation.— ln Christchurch « few poor woman in a state of extreme exhaustion stiggered into Mrs Thompson’s grocer’s shop, Colombo street. The pioprietress thought at first that the woman was suffering from drink,- but enquiry proved that her weakness was caused by abao’ute s arvaliou. This was on Saturday, and the only food which the woman had had since the previous Monday was a loaf of bread given her by a neighbour, which the recipient had divided with her aged mother; Prompt relief was given, and enquiries were made which proved that the cise was. most pitiable. A visit to the cottage a : t Sydenham in which the two poor women lived, showed 1 that whilst the floor was scrupulously clean they had almost no furniture and ho food. Both are well knowri to the’neighbours as well conducted : and industrious. Their immediate i necessities are cared for, and they are now in.receipt of rations from the Charitable Aid Board, but they are in arrears for rent.

Maoei Wedding and Festivities.At the Arowhenua Pah on Tuesday there was quite an ' extensive 5 - gathering to witness the nuptials of Hamuera Rupene and,'Maraea Ropa and - Rupene Kuri and Kata Rikakn. Additional interest was attached to,the ceremony from the touch of romance'in connection with the latter pair. Rupene Kuri is the father of Hamuera Rupene, and he visited the pah to witness the marriage of his son. In the brief delay which preceded that ceremony he—-being a widower—was smitten with the charms of his present partner, who mourned the departure of several stalwart spouses, but by no means' despaired of obtaining another. His suit was favorably received, as may be gathered from the above, and it was resolved to make the double wedding a memorable event. The older pair were united by the Rev. G. P. Mutu, the .service of the Episcopal Church being read in Maori. The Rev. P. A. Hamilton read the wedding service over the younger—indeed one might almost say very young—couple, after which a very pretty chant was sung in Maori. The brides were very elaborately dressed, and.they were- attended by some of the fairest of their sex from Kaiapoi and Wairaate. On leaving the church they received quite an ovation, sufficient old slippers, etc., haying been gathered for the occasion to start a leatherfactory. A capital wedding breakfast wgis prepared, to which a number of Europeans wereinvited and remained to partake of. The afternoon,was pleasantly spent, apd in the evening an adjournment was rrnde to tfye large driilshei, where skating was indulged in until about 8 o’clock, when dancing started. The gathering was most successful, and probably was attended by 7 between 300 and 400 people. Capital music was supplied by Messrs D. Stirling, J. Mee (violins), and G. Leypus (piano), Mr W. Haipu acted as M.G. during th a early part of the evening, his place towards the small hours being taken by Mr Goodwillie. In the course of the evening Mr Higgins sang an amusing song, “Something went wrong with the works,*' and there, was excellent display of step dancing. By request a number of natives (male and femalej danced the haka, but it was evident that their ancient dances have been little cultivated, for after some ten minutes, during which they did their best to work themselves up to the proper pitch, they retired with a merry peal of laughter. Dancing was kept up until nearly daylight, and those present declared it to be one of the merriest and withal decorous gatherings ever held in the hall.

The Presbyterian Cnnßcs.~-The rainy friends of the Rev Mr 'McLennan well-known as minister in charge of the Pleasant Point' church for some years, will regret to .learn that he has had to resign bis charge 1 in Akaroa ia consequence of ill-health. y . \ ! \j .-.•••Skating .'••at-. Temuka; -Xxhe Roller Skating Rink at Temuka will be open tonight from half-past 7 until half-past 10 o’clock, and doubtless lovers of skating will avail themselves of the opportunity for enjoying themselves. The rink will be under Mr J. 0. Lyon’s management, and the charges for admission and skates are very reasonable.

Action as vinst a Lawyer.—A curious case wns heard in the Napier Resident ATagistrate’s t Court; Some time’ e‘go ’ a traveller named Morton brought an action against' the'Union S.S.’Company for a’lost portmanteau. Hj claimed £55,. and reed vered"jucl gmedt fbr-£2O. His 1 'solicitor Mr C res we 11, handed hind £l2 9i}, the balance being retained for costs in excess of the amount allowed by the court. Mr Morton t|ow brought an ;^ction, against Mr Oreawell for the amount retainer), judgment reserved. , .

The 'Power of, a Native.— A strange point cropped r up at the. meeting -of, the Hoiofunga. Licensing Committee. Application was made for a license of A-hotel at Monwhanga,-in -ihe ?at,ea'county, about seventy- miles from Napier. AIT the European residents except tone, and most of the native residents, petitioned'for the granting of the license, oo the gfon’nd (hat the hotel would be far better’than the large- amount of had grog now sold on the sly. Moawhanga being « Native' District, a Native Commissioner had to sit with the committee. All.' the Europ-san members of the committee were in favor of issuing the license, but the Native Commissioner objected, and-irwas found that under the Act liis single vote over-ruled,the other five.

The Landocracy.— The Auckland Star, writing on the landocratic leanings of the press and people of.Hawke* Bay, says : Let them ponder over and criticise the astounding illiberal rema-k made by their member, the Hon. Captain Russell* 'who, when running down in the House one of the few successful special settlements formed in the country, said, ‘Why, I could put the whole lot of them, settlers, sheep,.cattle, and all, in a corner of my run, and not know they were there.’

We would . . . . strongly urge our Hawkes Bay, fellow-settlers to adopt ohr Auckland tactics. Let them form among themselves more political associations, and debate the question why a district with such glorious land as is possessed by them should be monopolised by a handful of people, so that settlement a Ini’y agricultural population is an impossibility, Temdka Literary Society. At the usual fortnightly meeting of this society o Tuesday evening last a very pleasant evening was spent, the subject being “A night with fivorite authors." Mr Sim chose Gordon, the Australian post, and gave in a few words the leading facts of his life, and then read a selection from his waiks. Mr J. Gillespie followed, with a very interesting sketch of the life and character of Oliyer Goldsmith, and read a well chosen selection from the Traveller. Mr Rutland gave a charactecist c reading from Dickens oh “Hobbies,” which was very much appreciated. Mr W. Cooper selected Thomas Gray, g ive a resumS of his life and works, and than read his well-known Elegy. The readings, the lives, writings, and characters of the authors quoted elicited considerable discussion, and altogether the meeting was a most enjoyable one, and a wish was expressed that‘there should be another similar evening arranged for during the s'ssion. On the 24th inst. two papers will be read by members, the snbj“d of one being “Buchan, a corner of Scotland.”

A Good Repoet. —The following, which we take from the Christchurch Pre*s, is from the report of a, meeting of the Papanui School Committee, and refers to Mr T. Hughes, formally head master of the Geraldine public school, and will no doubt be read with interest by his very large circle of friends in this district: “ Mr Wood's report of his visit of iespectiontothe school on the 23nf April was 1 read. It ran as fo’lows : ‘The school is extremely ‘well organised. The head mrs’er utilises the abilities of the pa pi! teachers- to the bes-fc advantrge by a carefully considered interchange of classes for certain subjects. The thoroughness of the work and the methods employed are worthy of the highest commendation, and with other meritorous features in oigmisrtion and discipline stamp the school as one of the hast, if not the best; in the district. This position of superior efficiency is entirely due to the personal influence of Mr Hughes, whose guiding hand is every where apparent. His effor'a are ably seconded by" Mrs Newnham, who manages young children with remarkable skill. Miss Spence is becoming a va'uable acquisition to the staff. The pupil teachers are exceptionally well trained ; two of them gave lessons in niy presence that would have" bees considered creditable performances for an average assistant teacher.’ On Mr Goodland’s motion it was resolved to send a letter of congratulation to Mr Hughes on the receipt of this extremely favorable report.”

SYNOPSIS OF ADVERTISEMENTS

Temuka Road Board-Poisoned wheat for sale at la per 101 b big. tjf.F. Page, Rangitafa Island—lnvites tenders for gorge cutting and grubbing. Salvation Array, Geraldine—Hold farewell meeting and coffee supper in Oddfellows* Hall tormorrow evening. T. Wagstaff, Educational Bookseller, etc., Tiraaru—ls now receiving orders for new book, Darkest Africa; quotes'prices. J. 11. Walker, Machinist and General Smith', ’ Andrewville, Temuka—Executes repairs to all kinds of machinery, implements, bicycles, and fire-arms; makes every description of . tinware and stovepiping ; agent for Wood ’ Reaper and binder.