LOCAL & GENERAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2236, 4 August 1891, Page 2

LOCAL & GENERAL.

Social and Dance.— The Geraldine Football Club hold their social and dance at the Oddfellows’ Hall on Thursday next. The Seacliff Asylum. Another inquiry into the management of the Seacliff Asylum! They may as well keep ' the inquiry going on permanently. Sale of Horses. —Messrs J. Mundell and Co. hold a sale of horses at Temuka to-day, at which a buyer for export will be present. A large sale is expected. Board Meetings. The monthly meeting of the Temuka Road Board will be held to-day, that, of the Geraldine Town Board to-night, and that of the Temuka Town Board on Wednesday night. Fatal Accident. —Ellen Weston, who was run over by a cab when returning from the electric light carnival on Thursday night in Christchurch, died last Saturday in the hospital, not having recovered consciousness. To Geraldine Ratepayers. A public meeting of Geraldine ratepayers is advertised to be held at the road board; office on Monday, August 10th, at noon.| The object of the meeting is to consider? the advisability of deverting and closing certain road lines. Temuka Black Star Minstrels.— In our advertising columns it is notified that the entertainment by the company, in Temuka has been postponed untiL the. 18th of August. We understand this is; owing to the absence of several of the members from town. Foolish Conduct. —News has been received that two hands on the steamer. Freetrader, on the Waikato river, took a charcoal fire into the forecastle and became asphyxiated. Hezekeiah, son of the Rev. W. Barton, is dead, and the other is in a serious state. Suicide. —The body of Joseph George; Walton, who was supposed to have committed suicide in the Waikaia river, was recovered in about 10ft. of water near where his hat and coat had been found., Deceased had five slight cuts on the side of his throat. NO suspicion rests on anyone, it being surmised that Walton committed the injuries himself. The Revenue. —The Customs revenue for July shows a great increase, being £144,824. Auckland contributed £36,634, Wellington £32,397,Christchurch £20,634,; Dunedin £30,767. The total for the four months of the present financial year is; still less by £15,594 than the estimate., 1 The beer duty for July was £3814. Up; to date the total of this revenue is £3310 i less than the estimate. < ■ t Fire. —On last Sunday morning a fire; broke out in the house occupied by Mr| Salek, pawnbroker, Beswick street,' Timaru. It was close on 1 o’clock when. Mrs Salek woke and gave the alarm, and, the family escaped by a ladder from the upstairs apartments, where they were sleeping. It was discovered that the l kitchen mantelpiece was on fire, but a few buckets of water put it out, and the: damage done was not more than will be covered by £5. Domestic Troubles. —A respectablelooking man named Alexander Simpson was charged at the Auckland Police Court with threatening to murder his wife. He deposed that she was five nights out of sevenat Salvation Army meetings, which, was the cause of her neglecting her home. The wife alleged that his intemperate habits was the cause of the domestic unhappiness. The Resident Magistrate said that he could not interfere, and dismissed the information. New Orphanage. The foundation stone of St. Joseph’s new orphanage building was laid .by Archbishop Redwood in the presence of about 1500 spectators. The controct price for the building, which will accommodate several hundreds of orphans, is £SIOO. Over £ISOO has been already collected to defray the cost of erection, and the amount laid on the stone reached several hundreds of pounds. The largest subscription was £723, given by the Johnson family. Unpopular Actions. —A public meeting, called by Messrs Fisher and McDonald, to consider the Wellington Electric Lighting Bill was largely attended. The following resolution, proposed by Mr Fisher and seconded by Mr McDonald, was put to the meeting by the chairman (Mr J. Dransfield) : “ That this meeting prays that Parliament will not pass the Wellington Electric Lighting Bill, and that the chairman be requested to forward a copy of this resolution to both Houses of Parliament.” The meeting declared strongly against the resolution, but the chairman, amidst tremendous hooting and hissing, ruled otherwise. The meeting broke up in disorder. Woodbury School Committee. —A meeting of this committee was held in the schoolroom on Saturday evening last. Present—Messrs Dean (chairman), Flatman, Webb, Cooling, Gick, Fiefield, and Harris. The chairman stated there was no correspondence, with the exception of a notification from the New Zealand. Insurance Agency to the effect that the policy would expire on the 7th inst., and the chairman was requested to attend to the matter of reinsurance. With regard to fences, on the motion of Mr Fiefield, i seconded by Mr Webb, it was resolved that the chairman call tenders for cutting, grubbing, and burning same; the chairman and Mr Flatman to have management, etc. The meeting then terminated. Juvenile Burglaries.— On last Saturday night two lads named Williams—one 11 and the other 15 years of age—committed a number of petty larcenies. The boys are brothers, and they commenced to operate at Mr W. C. Roulston’s shop, from which they took a large number of things, the chief portion of which consisted of boys’ suits of clothes. Then they came along to Mr D. McOaskill’s shop, from which they took some toys and other articles, including a number of pocketknives ; across to Mr T. Barr’s they went and broke a hole through the front window, and took away such things as came within their reach. They then proceeded to Mr McLeod’s, and from there took some bread and sausages, and camped for the night in the brick house below the Star Hotel. Here they feasted on the bread and sausages, which they ate raw, and then visited the public school, where they did a good deal of damage by tearing maps and pictures. The lads also took possession of a horsecover. They were arrested yesterday and will be brought before the Resident Magistrate this morning.

Gale on the Coast. The s.s. Rotomahana experienced very rough weather along the coast on the passage from Auckland. Geraldine Stock Sale. —The fortnightly sale of stock takes place at Geraldine to-morrow. A large number of entries for it are advertised in another column. The Natives. A large , number of Maoris from Wanganui, Wairarapa, and other districts are in Wellington for the purpose of holding a meeting to discuss the Native Bills. Flax. —The Wellington Chamber of Commerce is in favor of Mr R. Gardner’s scheme of grading flax by points, and recommends its adoption by the colony. Mr Gardner proposes a maximum of 100 points; common to be all lip to 62 points; fair, 63 to 72g00d, 73 to 82;? superior, 83 to 100. The Lyttelton Accident. —Mr White Parsons, landlord of the Mitre Hotel, Lyttelton, is recovering. He says that he was sitting upstairs before the fire,asleep,when he heard someone trying to enter the front door. He got up and went on the balcony, from which he fell before he became fully awake. Land Sale. —Mr A. E. Cox, in conjunction with the N.Z.L. and M.A. Co., will sell several desirable freeholds, oh account of the executors of the late Mr R, A. Barker, at the Geraldine saleyards at half-past eleven o’clock to-morrow morning. The land is situated ’in the Orari township and the Kakahu district: The Liquor Traffic.— At a public meeting at Mornington,. held under the auspices of the New Zealand Alliance, resolutions were passed approving of the early closing of shops, but protesting against drinking bars being kept open after shopbibsing hours. Mr Buick, member for Wairau, is to be urged to move. Parliament to get the Shop Hours Bill amended to give effect to the resolution adopted. The Legislative Brawler. The Honorable (?) Tom Fergus is distinguishing himself. The other day he struck Mr Earnshaw (a poor old man of small stature), in the lobby of the House. Of course he passed off unscathed, but on last Monday week he insulted Mr Dawson, of Dunedin suburbs, and the latter silenced the blusterous bully by a welldirected blow in the mouth. The Honorable (?) Tom was a member of the Atkinson Government. Sheep Returns!— Sheep returns just published-show that the number of sheep in the County of Geraldine' in 1891 is 652,127, in 1890, 658,176, a decrease of 5949. In Waimate the sheep number 619,345, in 1890 they numbered 639,353, the decrease being 22,008. In Mackenzie the figures are 439,695 and 422,899,an increase of 16,796, and in Ashburton 696,950 and 701,845, a decrease of 4895. In the’ Whole province of Canterbury there are 4,850,555 sheep, against 4,868,583 in 1890, a decrease of 18,028: S.O. Harriers. —The South Canterbury Harriers met at Mr Arthur Barker’s, at Winchester, yesterday, and, as may be imagined, there was a capital attendance. A nnmb'er Of the' regular followers of the pack availed themselves ;of , the opportunity of exploring a new line of country, and some of the old members; of the Geraldine Hunt Club put in’ an appearance, and showed in the course of the day that their straight riding' days were by no means' over. " A number of ladies were also present. Mr Arthur Barker officiated as Master, Charley Cornelius hunting the. pack. After luncheon the hounds were taken to a turnip paddock near the house, and this being drawn blank a grass paddock across the road was tried and a hare quickly set going. A merry run followed, but our informant belonging to the contingent who for the day . “ hunted onwheels,” has been unable to furnish us with details. The Inquest. —The inquest on the late Mr Hayhurst will commence at the Crown Hotel this morning. By the north express train yesterday the Coroner (Mr Richmond Beetham), the Crown Prosecutor (Mr J. C. Martin), Mr Inspector Pender, and Dr Guthrie arrived, and by. the south express Professor Black, the analyst, also arrived. Representatives of both the Christchurch papers, the Otago Daily Times, and the Evening Star (Dunedin) also arrived. The authorities still persist in withholding information from the public, but public rumor is equally persisting in asserting that no poison had been found, and we believe we are right in stating that rumor is correct. Though nothing definite is known there are not wanting strong indications that the inquest -will end, as everyoa expected, in nothing. Dr Ogstou has not arrived and. will not be present, and if there were anything wrong he would ; undoubtedly have been present. Dr Jeftcoate, who appeared on behalf of the family of tlie deceased, has not arrived also, and undoubtedly he would have been present if his services were required. From these facts we conclude that the inquest Will not disclose anything of an extraordinary nature." ■ ■ N.Z. Potatoes in London. —ln the House of Representatives the Hon. J. McKenzie read the following letter which he had received faomMrP. Cunningham, of Christchurch “I am this morning in receipt of a cable from Messrs Berry,' Barclay and Company, London, regarding the shipment of potatoes made by me with a view to aicert; in practically what result there would be in shipping potatoes to London. The result is unsatisfactory. The cable is as follows : ‘ The potatoes have, arrived in fairly good condition, but will not net you, after paying freight and expenses on this side, more than 22s 6d per ton.’ Whether this includes the price of the sacks I cannot make but from the cable. If it means 22s 6d without the sacks, the loss will be about 7s 6dper ton on the market price at the time of shipment; if the sacks are included, the loss will be 13s per ton, although I only paid 20s per ton for them at country stations. ; So that it is quite evident we cannot hope to get any profitable market by shipping potatoes to England. The many thousand tons that are still in the country nduced me to make this experiment, but I could hardly recommend anyone to follow niy example, _ The total shipments I have made amount to about 150 tons. I sent them in three . steamers and had them stowed in parts of the hold where they ought to carry fairly well. There is so much interest taken, in the north and south in reference to this matter that I think it would be advisable if you can make this information public through the press, ~; • ,

Earthquake. —Shocks of earthquake were felt all over the east coast of the North Island last Saturday. Labour Dispute. —All females employed in the tailoring establishment of Woollams, Auckland, were called out at noon yesterday, in consequence of Woollams reducing the wages of two hands and engaging one non-union hand. The girls, thirteen in all, will get strike pay. Loss op a War Vessel. —The Richmond arrived at Auckland yesterday from the Mauds. She brings hews from Tahiti of the total wreck of the French despatch war vessel Volage, 500 tons, at Morohan in the Ranetec group, on July 10th. She had two hundred natives on board besides M. LaCascade, Governor of Tahiti, but all got ashore safely. The vessel’s hull was pierced by a coral reef. Peculiar Fatal Accident. —Patrick Coyle, aged 74, employed by some Maoris, was found dead at Napier, hanging by one foot which had caught in steps leading to the loft in the stable where he slept. He was under the influence of liquor when seen on Saturday. It is believed deceased fell over the stairs and got his foot caught, and was suffocated in that position. Sudden Deaths at Christchurch. — Francis Fortesque Williams, hairdresser, ah, old resident, died suddenly at his residence at Christchurch on Sunday afternoon. The supposed cause of death is failure of the heart’s action. He was 78 years of age, and leaves a wife and grown-up family.—A woman named Lily Wright, alias Thompson, died suddenly at her residence, George street, on Sunday morning. Fires in Dunedin. —A four-roomed wooden house at Kaikofai Valley, owned and occupied by Mrs Ludlow, and insured in the Standard for £l6O was burned down on Saturday.—A fire, was discovered on Sunday evening oh the premises of Levy and Guthrie, clothing manufacturers, Rattray Street. Between £IOOO and £2OOO worth of cloth, being made into • f garments, was destroyed. The number of Ljgersons to whom employment was given iiyfche factory was eighty. A considerable amount of damage was done to the Stocks of shopkeepers whose premises were below the clothing factory, the water simply poured down through the top floor into the shops underneath. —A third fire occurred early yesterday morning, when two small cottages in King street were burned down. McGlue, a dyer, who occupied one, was rescued in a dazed condition by Constable Crawley. Tbmuka Improvements.— There are at .present three buildings going up in Temuka, and consequently giving the place a go-ahead appearance. The building which Mr Rutland is erecting has already been referred to, and at the other side of the street a handsome shop and dwelling-house is being erected to the order of Mr David Taylor. This will have a frontage of 32 feet, with a depth of 36 feet, and will be 24 feet high. On the ground floor there will be a shop, 24ft x 20ft, storeroom, bedroom, diningroom, kitchen, and hall. Upstairs there will be five commodious rooms and a bathroom, and when finished it will be a great improvement to the town. The contractors are Messrs Clark & Husband. Messrs Comer & Larcombe have commenced the erection of the Church of England Sunday School. This will be about 80 feet long by 32 feet wide, and 14 feet high. At both sides of the front entrance there Jvill be two medium-sized rooms, which be used as classrooms, and inside these \wnl be the main hall, |42ft x 30ft, and capable of seating 250 people. At the far end a stage will be erected, and behind this will be two retiring rooms, with fire--places. With tile exception of a dado of about 5 feet, the inside will be all lath-and-plaster work, with a curved ceiling of the SameJJmatefial. When finished it will be a very substantial building. A Sea Monster. —When the Rotomahana was off Portland light, between Gisborne and Napier on Saturday morning, what is supposed to bean immense sea monster was sighted. The chief officer was on the bridge at the time and his attention was called to the animal by the quarter-master, who was looking out'of a door leading to the wheel room. A very heavy sea was running at the time,' and the quarter-master states that lie first noticed a long darklooking object rise slowly from the water about halLa mile from the vessel, until it reached the height of thirty or forty feet.; In then slowly disappeared and when it next made it appearance it was much closer to the ship. The quartermaster saw the serpent rise four or five stiines before he drew the officers attention, to.ity and they both saw it rise perpendicularly out of the water to a great ;heightj Within k hundred yards of the Vessel. After Withdrawing into the water that time it Was not seen again. Both men Who saw it state that it could not have been' less than one hundred feet long. On arrival At Napier the chief officer heard’ that an earthquake was felt at Napier bn Saturday, morning at 6.30, Which was about the time they saw the •serpent, and he now thinks it was some disturbance at the, bottom of the sea which caused the animal to come to the surfftco* ** s Buried in the Snow. From a private telegram we learn that four young men named Read, Meikle, Beer, and Blanchard were on Sunday or Saturday buried in the snow at Upper Kyeburn, a place 1 about six miles from Naseby, Mount Ida district.—Later news states: —News was received in Dunedin on Sunday night' of a sad affair on the Kyeburn Ranges, which has resulted in the loss of three if not four lives. It Appears that on Friday a young lad named Meikle, about 15 years of age, ■was lost on the ranges. The weather was -very severe, and search parties were at once organised. Among one search party was a brother of the lad who was lost, and two others named Blanchard and Beer. They started out on Saturday morning to search for the missing lad, and were but all day. As they did not return the day the greatest anxiety prevailed: On Sunday further search parties were organised, and a determined attempt made to find them, and the bodies of Alphonse Beer, aged (27), Bobert Blanchard (20), and James Meikle (18) were discovered. Blanchard was found embedded in six or seven feet of snow, about a chain from where Beer’s body was found, while Meikle was discovered some twenty or thirty yards further. The body of Thomas Meikle, aged 14, is not yet discovered. The three first named belonged to a search party pf nine, and disappeared from the view of twir com-

panions by the snow going from under them, and completely enveloping them in the avalanche, which slipped fully 400 yards down the mountain side into a gully and then precipitated with awful velocity over a perpendicular cliff 50 feet deep. The bodies were discovered on Sunday by a search party of 200 men from Kyeburn. Blanchard and Beer were evidently killed outright from the fall, but Meikle’s body shows no marks of injury, and it is thought he must have lived some time after reaching the bottom.

SYNOPSIS OF ADVERTISEMENTS.

Mrs Aspinall—Wants a servant. A. E. Oox—Geraldine live stock sale to-morrow. J. Blyth, Temuka—Has white tuscan seed wheat for sale. E, M. Goodwin, Rangitata—Wanted teams for ploughing. Geraldine Football Club—Social and dance on Thursday next. Temuka Black Star Minstrels—Have postponed entertainment until Aug. 18. Temuka Leader and Geraldine Guardian —lmportant notice re supplements. Geraldine Road Board—Tenders invited for works; also notice to ratepayers re public meeting on Monday, Aug. 10th.