LOCAL NEWS.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume I, Issue 25, 24 June 1867, Page 3

LOCAL NEWS.

The Officers of the Wairarapa Volunteers. —At last the Government has decided on accepting the resignations of the commissions held by the following officers in this district, viz: —Captainß. Boys, Wairarapa Militia; Captain J. E. I. Boys, Lieutenant J. Fuller, Cornet J. Hawke, Grey Town Cavalry Volunteers; Captain Kichard Fairbrother, Lieutenant Thomas Hooker, Ensign Leydon, Carterton Rifle Volunteers; Captain H. Bunny, Featherston Rifle Volunteers; Lieutenant W. Uly, Ensign T, Kempton, junior, Grey Town Rifle Volunteers. In a “ Gazette issued on Saturday last a notification, signed to the above effect by the Defence Minister, is published for general information. The Agricultural Meeting.—Owing to the very inclement state of the weather the General Meeting of those favorable to tha formation of an Agricultural and Pastoral Association, which was advertised to take place at the “ Rising Sun,’’ Grey town, on Wednesday last, was postponed until further notice. We have had the opportunity of glancing at the report of the Sub-committee, and we can assure onr readers that both the objects of the Association and the rules which are recommended for its guidance, cannot fail to receive toe approval of all persons who are favorable to the progress of the district, by the devclopement of its Agricultural and Pastoral resources. Fiee at Cabtf.rton. —We regret to have this week to record the occurrence of a fire at Carterton by which an old resident of that township has lost all his personal property. On Monday morning, betwecen the hours of ten atd eleven, the hense, belonging to Mr. Clay, was discovered to he on fire. Mrs Clay was in the adjoining room, and did not know of the tact until informed of it by a child, when on opening the door she found the room full of smoke. She hastened to call her husband, who was burning off some fallen bush at some distance from the house, and on his arrival he found the whole building enveloped in flames, which was soon after reduced to ashes. Everything in the house was consumed, as not a single article of furniture or wearing apparel could be rescurcd from the flames. Sawn Timber.—lt will be seen by advertisement in another column that carriers can be supplied with loads of seasoned totara timber at the Woodside Saw Mills. The powerful S iw Mill belonging to Mr Hooker, at Carterton, is in full operation; and the Moroa Saw Mills, belonging to Mr Jones, have this week recommenced sawing, a large breaking down machine having been just erected. With these facilities for obtaining timber there is no excuse for the settlers in the district going without barns, stables, and wool sheds, or of residing in those miserable wharcs, which had to answer their purpose when sawn timber could not be bought, nor sawyers got to work while there was any grog in the valley, or they had any means of obtaining it. Featherston, Masterton, Carterton and Greytown arc all showing signs of improvement, and besides their large hotels they possess a number of fine shops and many very pretty private dwellings. Greytown not Gretmouth. —We wish to call the attention of the Postal authorities to the fact that Greytown is not Greymouth. Letters and Papers coming from England and Australia, addressed to parties in Greytown, have frequently, of late, been mlssent to Greymouth. When Wellington or Wairarapa is not added, the mistake is excusable ; but when letters and newspapers addressed “to the Editor of the Wairarapa Mercury, Greytown,” are thus missent, it subjects us to much inconvenience, and exhibits at the same time an amount of official ignorance of the topography of Xew Zealand on the part of the Postal authorities which to our thinking is wholly inexcusable. In England it may be pardonable to mistake a place in Otago or Westland for some place in Victoria, but it would not be so in Xew Zealand. The Otago Postmaster ought by thistimeto he-oware thatthc Wairarapa is in the Xorth Island, and that Greytown is the central post town thereof. Bridges.—The question as to the most efficient and cheapest ought to be carefully discussed. There are reasons for believing that the most economical would be found to be that suspended with wire. We believe the Provincial Government las samples of sizes with the weight they will carry to the foot, and the cost per hundred weight. Should any reader have any information on the subject we should be glad i'f he will communicate his knowledge to our paper, for public use. Apple Tbeeßlight—Thestems of trees are frequently dressed with whale or animal oil and the usual'conseq uence is the death of the tree the breathing power of which has been destroyed by the oil. All animals and insects have a great dislike to castor oil, which may be purchased at six shillings the gallon. Leather for belting and other purposes saturated with tins oil will not be touched by rats.

The New Bishop of Nelson. —The bes answer that can be given to this gentleman’s slander in England against the Colonists of New Zealand, is the statement made by the Bishop of New Zealand, Bishop Sehvyn, in a sermon preached at Nelson in 1862. “In defence of the colonists of New Zealand, of whom lam one, I say most distinctly and solemn! v, that 1 have never known, since the colony began, a single act of wilful injustice or oppression committed by any one in authority against a New Zealander. It may have been difficult to persuade some few individuals that the natives were entitled to equal rights as with ourselves; but in practice their liberties have been maintained inviolate.” How TO MAKE THE MOST OF TOUR COALS. — Coals are very expensive in Wellington we therefore call the attention of our subscribers to the following extract from an English paper brought by the last mail. —Mr. llecorder Warren makes the following practical suggestions for the season: — 11 Do you wish to have the full benefit, that is without waste, of every ounce of coal you pay for: to save one third of your ordinary consumption; to have a tix - e lit in the morning which, with a little care will last nearly the whole of the day, with possibly a single replenishing, and so save trouble as well as coal, and have warmth equally distributed through your apartment, great or small ?—then attend to the following practical suggestions, upon which I have acted at home with complete success, for, as I have said, seven years, and have with like result recommended it to very many friends. The suggestion is not my own; I met with it seven years ago in the “ Builder,” a valuable London journal. Send for an ironmonger or blacksmith, and order him to take the measure of the bottom of your grate and make yon a sheetiron plate of about one-sixth of an inch in thickness, or even less, which, if your grate be large, will cost you 2s. Simply lay this on the bottom of the grate, then let your servant lay and light your fire as usual. It will soon burn up, but you must keep open the lowest bar, so as to secure a slight draught. When the fire has begun to burn, poke it gently from beneath, and the flame will gradually get through the entire mass of coals ; the iron plate beneath gets red hot, and so keeps up a constant conbustion, at the same time dispersing the heat through the room, instead of its being sent up the chimney, thus entirely consuming the coal, instead of filling the hearth with ashes. In my own house 1 tried the experiment for a week in the breakfast-room, then in the dining-room, and then in the kitchen, with uniform and complete success ; and then I had the sheet-iron plate put into every fireplace, with equal success. So Ido with the fireplace in my official residence. When the fire is once made up, say about 10 a.m. an occasional poke and possibly a single replenishment, suffices for the day. In my own case, and also at my hotel here, where three scuttles were required, one now suffices.

■ Native Land Court. —This Court will, as we suggested, on being opened at Featherston on the 7th August,, he immediately adjourned to Greytown, then to be held at the Greytown Court House.

Greytown School. —A meeting for the pnrposc of appointing a Collector is advertised for Friday evening next.

The Panama Mail Company.—The Parliament of Victoria has supported the action taken by the recent Postal Conference, after a long debate, by a small majority. In reference to the Panama Mail contract and the Panama Company the “Xelson Colonist” says:—“ One thing appears to be the duty of our representatives. —who most improperly sanctioned the Panama contract, although the great majority of them wished it shelved, — and that is to take no steps for retarding the breaking down of the contract hinted at by the Melbourne legislator, to insist that the fines for delay, such as the loss of ten days by the Ruahinc between Wellington and Panama, should be rigidly enforced; and then when the crash comes, if it is to come, let the contract go by default. A company who raise money on debentures to pay a dividend is not in a very flourishing condition ; and if the Panama Company be losing money under its present contract, most assuredly Xew Zealand should be no further bled to benefit it.