LOCAL & GENERAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2243, 20 August 1891, Page 2

LOCAL & GENERAL.

Girls Wanted. Great complaints are made at Wellington about the scarcity of servant girls. It is almost impossible to obtain them. Damages for Injury. —ln the case Busch v. Momington Tramway Company, Dunedin, the jury found for the plaintiff for £2OO. Whooping Cough. —Whooping cough is extremely prevalent in Wellington just now. The gasworks are invaded by 1 numbers of children taken there to get the benefit of the smell. Railway Reform. —There is a movement to get up a public meeting at Auckland to urge the Government to support Mr Rees’ Bill for a trial of Vaile’s system on the Auckland railways. The Orari Bridge. — The workmen have made a start on the Orari Bridge, and so far it is opening up wonderfully well, only a few parts here and there showing any great signs of decay. Overstocked. —It is stated that the Melbourne Board of the Kauri Timber Company decided, in view of the depression and consequent accumulation of stock of sawn timber in their yards, to shut down for a time their country mills. Sculling.— Stansbury and Kemp intimate that they are willing to row Hanlan and O’Connor in a double sculling race for £IOOO a side, and will row each of them a single sculling race for £SOO a side. They will allow £3OO if the 1 races are rowed on the Paramatta river. Sale op Horses. —The jumpers brought from Napier by Mr Douglas were submitted to auction at Melbourne and realised the following prices :—The Peer, 45 guineas, Mr Mackin ; Montrose the Second, 525 guineas, Mr Macklin; Jupiter, 110 guineas, Mr Glasscock; Chemist, 170 guineas, Mr Glasscock; Kapo, 100 guineas, Mr Clough, A Big Artesian Well— The artesian bore at Burrenbilla station, near Cunnamulla, was completed recently, a magnificent supply of water being struck at a depth of 1811 ft. The supply was too great to measure with the appliances at hand (says the Thargomindah Herald), but it is estimated at over 4,000,000 gallons per day. This eclipses any result yet obtained from artesian boring in the colonies. Fire at Rangitata. —A two-roomed cottage, owned by Mr Frank Parham and occupied by Mrs Toney Johnstone, was burned to the ground on Saturday last. Mrs Johnstone was washing some clothes a short distance from the house, and on looking round noticed it in flames - She at once proceeded to save what furniture she could, and, amongst her things, managed' to drag out of the house a . bag of flour weighing about 2 cwt. The house was insured for £4O, but . the furniture was uninsured. A Useful Grass— One of the most successful efforts to prevent the encroachment of sea sand is visible at Warmambool. Not many years ago, from the jetty to the Hopkins, some two miles, was a rolling wave of sand dunes. The area was fenced in, and that king of sand stay plants—the Marram grass—-was planted in small sprays, only the thickness of a penholder, and now there exists a luxurious growth of grass,2ft in height, and covering the few bare sand patches rapidly. Flounders. According to Professor Hutton, the distinguished expert, the race of New Zealand flounders is threatened with • complete extinction unless the Legislature interferes for the protection of young fish.. 7 An influential deputation waited on the Government on Monday, and urged that it should be illegal to take fish under 11 inches in length, instead of 9 inches, as now. Mr Reeves, who received the deputation, promised to bring the matter before the Government immediately. The New Sunday School.— The full programme of the musical and dramatic entertainment this evening, in aid of St. Saviour’s Sunday School building fund, again appears in our advertising columns this morning, .and having looked at the names which appear there we can promise all who attend a really enjoyable evening’s entertainment, besides which all should remember that, they will not only get plenty of amusement but that they are nelping forward a good cause. Full particulars will be found in the advertisement, but it may be mentioned that ticketholders will be admitted at 7.15. The Auxiliary Cruisers.— The majority of the cruisers started from Thursday Island for Brisbane on Monday, the remainder accompanying the Orlando, which sails on Wednesday. They rendezvous at Brisbane, thence to Newcastle and Sydney. After coaling and taking in provisions the fleet sail for Melbourne on 19th September, leaving again for Adelaide on October 2nd. From Adelaide one cruiser will be sent to and another to Freeman tie, the squadron assembling at Hobart about October I.Bth, From Hobart two of the vessels will be defcatohed and sent to New Zealand. A Rough Passage.— The Mariposa from Sydney arrived at Auckland on Monday after a terribly stormy passage of six’ days. Two days after leaving Sydney she feij p} wi|.h a strong easterly gale, which increased to force, and blew for three days incessantly, wij>h a tremendous sea running! The ship was hove to for 48 hours in the gale, and her decks were swept continually by the seas. The pilot hopsc and deck movables were lost, a boat ' smashed, find pjihev .slight damage done, i Two passengers naj’rpwly escaped beingwashed overboard, and the doctor had a jib broken. The captain describes the weather as bad as any he ever experienced. Sarah Bernhardt and company are on board 1 returning to Sau Francisco, 1

Rain.—-Welcome rain commenced to fall last evening, and at the time we went to press there was every prospect of it continning. Ladies Legislative Council. Sir George Grey intends to move an amendment to . the Franchise Bill—to abolish the Upper House and substitute a Chamber of Women. Concert and Dance. —A concert and dance in aid of the funds of the school will be held in the South Orari School to-morrow evening. An enjoyable evening should be spent by those who attend, Accident at Rangitata Bridge.— On Sunday last a young man named Charles Kelly fell off the Rangitata bridge on to some boulders on the riverbed, and broke his collarbone. He was at once attended to by Dr Fish, and has since been conveyed to the Timaru Hospital. Auctions. —Attention is directed to the sale of furniture at Temuka to-day by Messrs Mundell & Co., on account of Mr W. Binley. To-morrow the same auctioneers hold a clearing sale of farm stock at the residence of Mr G. Hae, Cemetery Road, Geraldine.

Temuka Fishing. The fame of Temuka as a fishing district has gone all over the world. In a recent issue of the Fishing Gazette, an English paper, a correspondent wrote to the editor asking where good fishing could be got in New Zealand. The editor replied in a footnote that Temuka was the best known district for both fly and minnow fishing. It is something for Temuka to be so well-known in England. A Coincidence. —During 'the hearing of the case of Bishop v. Brown, in the District Court, Timaru, yesterday, a copy of the Temuka Leader was put in as evidence. It was a copy containing an advertisement of Mr Bishop’s sale, and in the same paper was a leading article headed “ Judge Ward,” and dealing with the Ward-Hislop dispute. It was a curious coincidence that the very copy which was submitted to the court should contain an article on the presiding judge.

The Picturesque Atlas.— At Fairfax on Monday evening after nightfall Bowerman Bros, arrived at Fairfax, Milton, Otago, to deliver the “ Atlas.” They left £l2O worth in the railway station while they went for a trap. On returning the books were gone, and it is reported that they were thrown into the Aparima river. There is no clue to the culprits, Some disgusted subscribers to the work have “ scored a point,” but should they be found out they will probably have to pay dearly for it. It is only recently that others in the Southland district made away with the Bowermans’ buggy, and in that case the hotelkeeper at whose stables they had left the vehicle had to “ pay the piper.”

New Claimants to Native Lands.— One of the latest forms for claimants to Native land who have not received portions and are not able to prove that their forefathers were present when the lands were sold is to assert that their progenitors were out whale fishing, and when they came home found the land hud been divided without including them in the reckoning. Many of the Natives now ask since the land tax has loomed up and they may some day be taxed, that their interest in lands be paid in cash. One Maori has calculated his costs at £SO a year to live, and if all his children had lived till now the same amount wotdd have been needed to maintain them. He considered he ought to be paid a proportionate sum that would have been needed to maintain each of them. —Press

Female Franchise.— The question of Female Franchise was brought before the Hon. Mr Ballance by an influential deputation on Monday, the result being the question will be brought down in a separate Bill, to be placed first on the Order Paper at 2.30 p.m. on Monday next, and if it passes its second reading the Government will then take it up and carry if through its remaining stages. The Electors Bill is to remaining in abeyance in the meantime, though there is no intention of dropping that measure. It was generally considered that if the women’s franchise principle were carried this session a dissolution must -follow, but it is said a large majority of its supporters are decidedly opposed to that course, and suggest that a provision should be made by which the Bill would not be brought into operation till the next general election, so that the women of the colony may in the meantime be educated to the great change. It is said that a majority of members are also pledged to theproposal. —Exchange. Geraldine Literary and Debating Society. —The fortnightly meeting of this society was held on Monday evening last, when the attendance was fairly good, and Mr F. Wilson Smith occupied the chair, in the absence of both the president and vicepresident. The meeting was devoted to impromtu speaking, and the lots for order of speaking and subjects fell to the speakers as follows: —. Mr F. Wilson Smith, the subject of “Dancing;” Mr • Fergusson, “ Who was the greater author of. Dickens and Thackarey ?” Mr B. Macdonald, “ The baccarat scandal;” Mr L. Orbell, “Salvation Army reform work ; is it doing .- good ?” Mr W. Thomas, “ What are the chief causes of poverty in the word?” After the speaker to whom a subject had been allotted had finished his impromtu speech an interesting discussion took place on each subject in turn, and a very pleasant evening was spent. At the next meeting of the society one of Shakespeare’s plays will be read by members. ■ • ; • • • SYNOPSIS OF ADVERTISEMENTS. David Shaw —Lost grey woollen shawl.