GENERAL INTELLIGENCE.

Tuapeka Times, Volume VII, Issue 369, 1 July 1874, Page 4

GENERAL INTELLIGENCE.

Ah approximate estimate of a publican's profits was given in the course of au examinatien in the Bankruptcy Court yesterday. The witness, a well known City brewer, and an equally well known wholesale wine merchaut had set up in business the bankrupt, who was now applying for his final discharge. The brewer was asked what profit might reasonably be expected from the rttailing of a publican's stock whiuh had cost L6OO, and he replied 100 per cent would be a good average to cover expenses and p iy tho publican The profit on beer alone was of course larger — the witness calculating that what the publican sold for sixpence cost him t about l^d. It has been resolved by the Canterbury Provincial > ouncil that a respectful address be presented to his JHonor the superintendent, requesting him to appoint a skilled person as local analyst, to prevent the adulteration of articles of food or drink. Air Toswell, while calling; attention in the Councii to the necessity of immediate action being taken te prevent the adulteration of food, made ths announcement that he was assured by a medical gentleman in Christchurch, ths*t only five per cent of what was sold in that city for pepper was really pepper. Oculists appear to do well in Victoria* where they caa make some Ll5O a week. This fact came out in a case in the County Court, Melbourne, the other day, where Dr «^ray sued a patien — who, by the way — lost an eye, as well as his money— for balance of au account for professional services. Mr Finn, the birristtjr, in cross-examiuin^ the plaintiff lor the defence, inquired as to the value given for the amount claimed (-mmc L 24 altogether, with set-off payments), which dated from the 2nd to the *Sta of February last. The getting rather angry at Mr Finn's searching questions as to what he was able to jmake, replied, "I m,ike L 24 a day, and sometimes more. I make more than you do, at any rate." This was too ! much for tbe learned counsel, who, after an unsuccessful attempt .to strike off the fee charged for a day before the patient had communicated with the oeculist, subsided, and Judge Cope gay« a verdict for the amount claimed. A. system of inspecting licensed houses has been suggested in the Canterbury Proviaci 1 Council. When the police estimates were under consideration, says the ' Lyttelton Times,' Mr Fptts advocated the appointment of a thoroughly qualified and well-paid inspector of licensed houses. He believed that such an appointment would result in tbe prevention of a great deal of- misery, and in the saving of a large amount of expenditure which would otherwise be incurred in the maintenance of hospitals and asylums The hon, member expressed a hope that the Government would take action in the matter. The Hon. Mr Buckley concurred with the remarks of the hon. member for Port Victoria, and stated that he knew of instances where men became lunatics through drinking adulterated liquor. Mr Jollie stated that the suggestions made by the hon member for Port Victoria would receive the earnest consideration of the Government. About 50,000 persons witnessed the landing of the remains of the late Dr Livingstpne at Southampton. On arriving at London, on Ajiil 15, the hearse was followed by a line of carriages, and the remains were taken to the Geographical Society's rooms to await

the funeral, which took place on April 18, at Westminster Abbey, jtteudod by a la^ge crowd, including a -full re iresentation from the Hoyal Geographical Society. The Q teen and Prince oF Wales sent their cirria«fca as marks of respect, and Baroness BurdettCoutts sent some beautiful flowers. Sir William Fergusson, one of her Majesty's physicians, identified the remains as those of the late traveller, ' iivingstone, whose «>rave is in the centre of the nave of Westminster Abbey, near that of Robert Stevenson. The conditions under which the bonus for the establishment of pottery works will be paid are gazetted. L 75 wtli be paid on the erection of ' uildings aud plant to the vilue of at least L3o>) ; L 75 on the promotion of pottery to a value of not less than. Ll5O ; aud LIOQ on the production of a further quantity of pottery to a value of not less than L2OO. The pottery ware in each case is to be suitable for household or d mestic. purposes, to be pro luced in works permanently established iv the Province and to be manufauturod either wholly or to a large extent from material obtained in. the Proviuoe. Parties will be bound in tbe sum of LI OO to produce pottery to the value of L3OO within two years from the date on which their offer is accepted. The ' Dunolly Express ' has the following report of a live thistle destroyer :—: — "Mr li. iSteele, of Wedderburn. states that a very singular occurrence has taken place of lace on his farm at Craigie Lea, viz., a thistle exterminator in the shape: of some animal not at preseut known. It attacks both old and young plants alike, and a large paddock belonging to Mr ->teel has already been almost completely cleared. The animal scratches away the surface of tbe 'ground uutil access is obtained to the root of the plant, when, if of tender growth, (me bite is sufficient, but if old and tough, two or tiiree holes are made, and the rooc is attacked on all fcides. This is followed by the death of the plmt. which may be kn>cksd down by the slightest touch «f tUe foot We confess that we should have been inclined to doubt had the story not been told, to us by such reliable authority." The railway from Picton to Blenheim is expected to be open for traffic in August. On the Auckland- »nehunga line,, the number of passengeis during the past four months is returned as 45,000. Mr Fred. Evans has resigned the position of manager for the Shotever Terrace Company, aud Mr Wm. Heimetts is now acting m that capacity. The ' Arrow Observer ' is informed that the sole control of the mine has been handed over to the local directors. Out of 106 men who have recently attained mathematical honors at Cambridge, Kngland, and twenty-nine who distinguished themselves in law and history tripos, there were forty boating men, fitteen cricketers, ten football playe s, and eighteen who devoted themselves to other athletic sports. What almost amounted to a famine of coal was experienced in Oaniaru last week, many householders, owing to the delayed arrival of expected colliers, being put to awkward shifts for fuel. The appearance of the Euphrosyne on Saturday (remarks the 'Times' of yesterday), with acar^oof black diamonds, relieved the anxiety of those wiio began to ilonbfc whether it would be more proper to bum tlioir own or their n'-ighbors' ffrtraa. An action was lately brought in the Mcl bourne >upreme Court by a servant.girl and tier newly married husband, against the Hon. J. T. *mith, "seven times Mayor ol Melbourne," for defamation of character, in accusing her of being a thief, ani causing her boxes t > be searched, and herself given into custody. (he amount claimed was LIOOO, but the jury, under the direction of Mr Justice Stephen, assessed the damages at L 320. Certain law points were reserved. Including the small remnant of the Ngatimamoe Natives that still survive, with the tribe of which Taiaroa (M. H. [I.) appears to be the recognis>'d|bea<l, we find, says a con-t-mporary, that the Ngaitahu tribe— the total popula f ion of which most probably does not exceed 1,400 touls — in Westland, Canterbury, Otago Stewart's Isla id. and. Kiia puke, own 42 250 acres of land, averaging about thirty acres per man, woman, and child ; and that they have received in payment for the lands they have sold at different tinnes — excluding the Princes street Reserve, Uunedin— the sum of L 17 ,100. A Mrs Syme, widow of a baker at Auckland, and who had been living quietly for years in a house in Parnell left by her husband, died lately, and astonished the world about her by her will. . Her property in Parnell, yith some few hundred pounds, was lpft to certain of her friends' children. Another will, signed with a different name, bequeathed something like L 40.000 to her nephews and nieces in England, with the exception of L 5,000, 000 to an Auckland reaident. It is asserted that Mrs Syme, known only as a kind old lady, glad to do a charitable act to those about her, and the widow of a baker long in b siness in Auckland, was in reality a lady of title, and eigned her second will with her true name, though what that name was cannot exactly be said. Mr William Head, of Auckland, has discovered, by painful experience, that the " Protecti n to Animals Act" imposes heavy penalties upon those who in ringe its provisions. Somebody, it seems, gave him a pair of hen pheasants, and his wife turned them into ■ oin without his knowledge, whereupon the police laid an information against him, as the husband, for selling pheasants without hold ing a license for selling game. -t Head's plea that the birds were sold without his consent availed nothing ; lhe Bench addressing him thus :—": — " We are very sorry to say there ia no option in this matter lt-ft to the ■ ench. We are here simply to administer the law. Whatever 'our private feelings in the matter may be. it is our duty to inflict a fine ot L2O. At the sime time we believe that it was not the intention of the Legislature to make the fine so heavy without giving discretionary power to the Bench, and if you feel inclined to apply for a remission of the five, the Kench will assist you in any way it can." This is one of the inconveniences of possessing a wife of a saving disposition. We take the following from the • Reefton Courier ' :—": — " Mr Warden Broad's last trip to the Marakitaki appears to have been a rather eventful one. It seems that the police officer stationed at Lyell had done something to excite the Matakitakites, and on his arrival there with the Warden about twenty or thirty of the roadmen expressed ■ their intention to 'go for him right off. ' But wither the demonstration was a friendly or hostile one it is hard to say, as the original intention was not carried out, but instead the belligerents pitched into one another indiscriminate y, and a tolerably hot conflict ensued, during which a good deal of skin and hair was sent flying about in all directions. In the rencontre lMr Temperly and Constable Chichester, who were acting as mediators, got several 'clips, 1 after which the latter gentlemen threw themselves into a hollow square, and finally retired in good 'order' — if not to say 'condition.' The melie having lasted its due time, the combatants adjourned f«r refreshment, and an a-uicable spirit having supervened, coats, ba s, &c, were donned, and 'there was a souud of revelry by night.' But tbe matter was not permitted to end in such a manner, as a Mr Dan M'Lean, who appears to have been the instigator and ringleader of the disturbance, was arrested and lodged in gaol. During Mr Broad'e stay at Matakitaki he was asked by a maa to grant a matrimonial

divorce. Mr Broai informed the applicant that he was quite reidy to do anything in the way of 'canc-jlliug certificates for beadraces, but power to cancel marriage certificates he had not. Whereupon the applicant remarked, ' Did't you give me six mouths at Charleston, and isn't that power enough for you to have?' but the Warden didn't see the analogy, and dismissed the application." Injfche 'Southland News' of June 16tb, the following report of tha proceedings at a hittiny of th^ Waste L<tn>l Hoard appears : — \n adjourned mcc ing of tha Waste Land Board was held on Lhe I2oh iust. the thief Ootnmissioner and Messrs Dundas, Mitchell, B-ker, aii-1 Al' Arthur beina present vJessrs Spencer Bros., per Mr Wade, made au application to obtain the whole area contained in their application, No. 1138, for 3,900 acres, Taringatura district. The Board resolved to abide by their minute of 24th April. Mr Perkins renewed his offer t<» pay rent on run 156 b2a on behalf of the trustees in Daniel Sinclair's estate, which payment, by aa oversight, had not been tendered at the proper time — Declined. Mr G. VI. Bel reDewed his application for a sawmill license for Croydon Bush, free from restrictions. The Board ruled that the minute wf 4th May, with reference to tbe ia«ue of licenses for small bushes in thinly-timbered districis, applied to Croy« don Busb, and declined to grant the licence without the limitations being attached as to cutting tor sleeper* or export The Board met again yesterday, 15th inst., when the ' <hief Commissioner and Messrs B»ker and MA n hur were present, Mr M'Callum appeared in reference to the minute of the Board of the llth inst , instructing his pros'cution for alleged illegal cutting of timber in Bush on or before the 12th ult fTe stated tbat he had cut under a settler's license, and hid not infringed the regulations. After hearing vlr M'Callum at full length— who stated there had been only one man employed cutting under the license, the number of posts he had cut, and the number of months he had been engaged — the Board resolved that there did not appear to have bean any breach of the regulations on Mr M'Callum's part, and tbat the resolution of the llth mat. should be rescinded accordingly. Messrs Fraser and Granger applied to be allowed to take-up 30 acres in Jacob's River Hundred, the certificate of which had been transferred to them in 1862, but the completion of the transfer had been delayed hitherto. Resolved " that the transfer be completed in consideration of Messrs Fraser and Granger purchasing the 10 acres, balance ef the section at auction at the upset price of L 2 per acre." The humorous contributor to the 'Bruce Herald,' who writes under the norn de plume of "The Intelligent Vagrant," relates the followiig story : — '' From the township I have given so excellent an indication of there was an esteemed gentleman going away who had for some time been manager of the loca' branch of the great " Mxea and Sevens" Bank. Pap r had been of value for some months, produce wa3 'up,' and consequently there had been no putting on of the sc.ew, and no bitter feelings engendered So a dinner was jriven to the departing gentleman ; and there happened after dinner a bit of that pleasant enthusiasm such as happened about the Scott Scholarship. It was resolved that the 'object of the en thusiasm should be presented with a testimonial worth, say, L2OO ; and it was resolved to forward this resolve to one of the big men of the Bank in London, with a request that he would choose and purchase a suitable piece of plate. So the resolution was duly forwarded to the ' big mau,' who returned a mosc civil answer, expressing his gratification that any one of the numerous servants of the Sixes and Sevens bank should be the recipient of so agreeable a testimonial and that he had chosen quite a handsome piece of plate, which he would purchase on receipt of 'first of exchange' (a mercantile term, I believe meaning the same as 'K. M. D.') The presenters of the testimonial should have beea in ecstasy at getting this letter ; but, since thft dinn r, enthusiasm has had time to cool, and when they came to reckon up thay found that they had not quite a quarter of the L2OO, and that there was buc little chance of getting the remaining fractional part ; and so there is now a problem to solve — Who ia to make up the balance ?" At the last meeting of the Invercargill Borough Council, letters were read from Drs Griijor and Yorath, intimating their willingness to comply with the requirements of the Public Health \ct by informing the ''ouncil, in its capacity of Local Board of Health, ©f the occurrence of cases of .infectious or contagious disease coming within their cognisance. The third loca< medico (Dr M'Ulure) wrote calling the Council's attention to the fol owing facts :— " Ist. When admitted a member of the Royal Collece of Surgeons of England. I waa — as a condition precedent to such admission — called upon to make, inter alia, and did make, a declaration, which for ever prohibitel the possibiity of my in any wise" obeyiug the spec'fic directions of the ' 17th Clause of the Public Health Act,' to which you have been so good as to draw my attention, and for a verbatim copy of which I have to thank you. 2nd. For the reasons appearing in the foregoing paragraph it follows that the New Zealand Legislature, in enacting the aforesaid ' Public Health Ac%' has (so far as the 17th section, at all events, is concerned) acted ultra vii es, because by that section I am required to perjure myself, and laid under a penalty if 1 retrain from so doing. 1 wish it distinctly to be understood that I write in no litigious spiri , but in order to point out the fact that an oath of allegiance instituted by the Imperial Legislature for the wisest of reasons (unnecessary here to enumerate), once taken, cannot be contravened by any Colonial or other enactment. " \ discussion ensued on a motion — " That the letter be referred to the Corporation solicitor, for his opinion on the question therein raised." One or two councillors thought this course unnecessary, as the functions of the Board were simply to see that the provisions of the Health Act were enforced ; and, as Dr M'Clure refused compliance, he must bear the consequences of whatever legal action was taken. A third councillor considered that no declaration nwie as a condition of admittance to membt hip of an iastitution could be allowed to : iterfere with the administration of the la<v of the Colony. Ultimately the motion wa3 carried. Hokitika papers refrain from publishing full reports of tbe proceedings of the Borough Council, as they labor under the conviction that it would not enhance tbe credit of the town, if people at a distance were informed of all that takes place at the meetings. A general stagnation in mining in the Dunstan district is brought about by th-; severe frosts that have s.et in during the week. Work is entirely stopped, and, to all appearance (remarks the ' 1 im^s '), the weather being very severe, is likely to be for some time to come. The London correspondent of the ' Evening Post,' writing to that journal under date February llth, says :— " Mr Alexander Brogden, who is connected with our New Zealand (railway works, has been returned for Wednesbnry by 1,717 majority. During tbe contest, New Zealand figured conspicuously. Having no hope of beating Mr Brogden in a fair fight, the tactics usual in such cases were resorted to. An extract from tbe Marlborough ' Press,' giving part of the speech of Mr Connelly for one_of the Brog-

den immigrants sued, was printed, and the working men were, called upon to vote against Mr Br>gden on account of his illtreatment fif the men. A complete refutation, however, was at hand in many other letters, one of which was published as a handbill: and in the 'Laborer's Chronicle' ci that week appeared another refutation in Lletter receiv«d from one of the men. tn 1868, a maj >rity of the publicans and all fciCatholics went for Mr Brogden ; now tbe* went agaiust him, almost unanimously, a» 3 yet they we;e beaten by the strenuous and indefatigable services of the working men. Beer and Bible were the two cries. The publiuanß worked hard, had their own committees sitting in each district of the borough, emp oyed a large number of vehicles, and brought up many voters for the Tories. At one time ifc was apprehended that there would bs serious riots, a band of hired roughs from Birmingham and Wallsall being in the borough, but the magiatrateff.resolved upon closing every pu''hc-house s>+ once, should any riot take place, and this ' quieted them." The ' Melbourne Herald ' is responsible for the following :—": — " An individual hajS hit cut a way of living, which does infinite credit to his ingenuity. Be selects the slowest sailing vessel on the berth for Engla»d, takes his passage, and lays in a lartje stock of 'medicinal comforts, 'apples, oranges, onions, and indeed everything in the eating way conducive to the comforts of those who travel by sea ; the packages being marked ' wanted on the voyage.' the ship haa been out some little time, the mau produces bis wares to tempt the appetit 'S of his fel-low-passeHgers — sets up, in fact, a little Paddy's Market on his own hook, and such is the craving for the shore delicacies he had the foretoought to provide, that be in- ■ ariably disposes of his wares at a profit of about 300 per cent, before the vessel arrives at her destination, where he merely stays sufficiently lenj{ to lay in a fresh supply of general produce and takes the first ship he can get to return home to Melbourne, repeating the selling manoeuvres as on the homeward voyage." Messrs Meikle and Campbell are the successful tenderers for the erection of the new railway passenger station at Dunedio, the price being L3,3tiß 10s. The example of Mr Oliver, M P.C., might Ye well followed by many other hon members. That gentleman has forwarded onehalf of his honorarium { L4B) to the Juuds of the hospital of the district which Be represents, and the other half to the Sailors' Home. The ' Southland Times ' believes it is the intention of tbe Provincial Government to throw open for sals, under the Southland Waste Lands Act Amendment Act, 1873, only the pastoral lands and the unsold lands in the Hundreds in the meantime. The following singular telegram appears in a late issue of the Kyneton paper : — " Usual meeti'g of Malmsbury Council tonight. Quorum present, consisting of Councillors J. Maher, u'oghlan, Davy, iiooppell, and Milvain. The I own C\erk locked them out, and refused to hold the meeting." The- newly appointed Secretary of the Post-office is Mr William Gray! The ' Tribane' Bays the announcement will give wide satisfaction, not only on account of the personal fitness of Air Gray, but on account of ' his late father, who so efficiently conducted the business of the General Post Office for many years. MrjWilkie Collins, the well-known author, and colleague of the late Charles Dickens, it appears, is not unlikely soon to visit Australia, coming by the Saa Francisco route, so that he will have an opportunity of seeing ; New Zealand, and we may have the chauce of seeing him and hearing him as a lecturer, or rather as a reader of selections from his own works. Letters by the last mail state that the author of ' The Woman in White ' was about to sail for America, in response to numerous invitations, and that after a tour there he would turn his face towards Australia. On June 24 there appeared before Mr M'Culloch, Re-ident Magistrate at Invercargill, a married oouple named Gough, who were charged with drunken and disorderly conduct in the immigration barracks there. The arresting cons 1 able said that bath the accused were immigrants by the ship Asia, and he further characterised them as nuisances to the neighborhood in which they'resided. Tbe man pleaded that he and his "old woman" had never been so accused before, and the " old woman" voluntarily informed the l 'ourt that she ''might have been a grandmother, but she wasn't." On b«ieg told by the Court that they were fined 5a each, or, failing payment, twenty-four hours' imprisonment, the man triumphantly exclaimed — "Faix, an' I haven't a ha'penny." The d amage dc€« by the fire at Mr M 'Kegg'a stables, Otakia, on Friday night is estimated at a little over L2OO, the greater part of which is covered by insurance. We learn from the ' Chronicle' that at '■> aseby on Sunday night last, while evening service was being conducted in the Churches, the firebeli rang out an alarm of fire, flames having been seen issuing from Mr Busch's back premises. Before, however the water could be made available, owing to the frozen state of the plugs and hose, several good volunteers were hard at work checking the flames. Backets were being passed, and their contents thrown with great precision at the portions of the roof in names. As soon as the hose did get play on, the flame 3 were at once put out. Fortunately there was no wind, and the heavy frost on the iron checked the flames. Mr Busch estimates his loss at L 640, which is fully covered by insurance. The following paragraph from the ' New Zealand Times ' refers to a lad well-known in Dunedin, who was taken from the Reformatory: — "A lad named Gately, an apprentice on board the Luna, has been missing from the vessel for the past day or two. Being of rather an erratic disposition, he has upon several occasions absented himself from the vessel, the latest instance of this kind of derelictioß happening during the present week. Captain Fairchild, feeling an interest in the boy, who is only fourteen years old, \ discorered his whereabouts, brought him ' back, and placed him in hi 3 o'd quarters en board the Luna. Some indispensable articles of clothing were taken from him when he went to bed to prevent him ' bolting ' during the night, but despite all precaution he was non eat in the morning, and may have carried out a threat which be uttered when smarting under a feeling nf irritation at being brought back to the Luna, livery search will be made until some trace of his movements is obtained." The superstition of the Maoris is as surprising as their cool contempt for the law. From the ' Poverty Bay Standard ' we learn that a report has reached Gisborne of the murder of an old Native at Tuparoa near Waiapn. It seems ayount; fellow named Pehikuru was taken ill and died, his death being attributed to the witchcraft of an old man named Poihipi. Two men went to where the old man was living, a' d found hint sitting with a child on his knee. One of them then shot the poor old fellow through the breast, but, as he did not fall, the other fired and killed him. At a rununga held afterwards, 150 were for condoning the murder and fifty for giving the murderers up to justice, but in the meantime the affair has been hushed up. The body was buried in the whare where the murder was committed. The murderers are said to be well-known.