LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XIX, Issue 31100, 23 October 1876, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Preliminiuy. — Mr Levy informs us that he has received one or two communications with a view to open up negotiations for the purchase of his business. It is not unlikely that a deal will be effected in a few days. Turned Up. — According to the ' Hawke's Bay Herald,' one J. Jessop, a brewer, has commenced business in the town of Napier as a bottler of Dunedin ale. Is this the erstwhile malster of Wanganui, Marton, and Palmerston, whose vicissitudes were so numerous 1 Professional. —Mr VV. I). Francis, well known in Wanganui, has inaugurated a musical organization in New Plymouth, to be called the Taranaki Elementary Glee Club. Mr Francis should make a most efficient conductor. Mr Symons, also of Wanganui celebrity, is on a professional tour in Napier province. Street Cries. — " A milky cocoa-nut for sixpence and a kit of oysters for a bob," comprised the despairing appeal of a vendor of these luxuries on Saturday night. The wailing eloquence failed^co, induce a, brisk trade, and people generally passed on the other side, giving'lhe ossffied "looking- cocoa-nuts and " fragrant " bivalves a [suspiciously wide berth. Not Forthcoming.— A bill of indictment against a dead man is a novelty, but one was recently presented to the grand jury in Dunedin. The prisoner had died in hospital, and the Crown Prosecutor was not informed of the fact. When he was he withdrew the bill, remarking that the prisoner was no longer within the jurisdiction of the Court. Going in Heavy. — We (W airarapa Standard ,') learn that the accident which occurred to the Maaterton coach some weeks ago in passing the Rimutaka, has resulted in legal proceedings being taken ; Mr Toxward, who was the chief sufferer on the occasion, having served the coach proprietor with a writ for £6,000, for loss and damage sustained by him in consequence of the mishap. Sopreme Court. — The Chief Justice sat in Chambers on Saturday forenoon, some matters of no public interest having been adjudicated upon. All interested should remember that the Court opens punctually at 10 o'clock this morning. The grand and special jury should endeavour to be punctual in their attendance. We hear that one of the civil cases has been withdrawn, thus reducing the amount of business to be transacted. . The Mystic Craft. — The Carlyle Masons have had a ball, the outcome of which has been rather a bitter personal controversy, the medium being the ' Mail.' Why cannot our Patea friends arrange a social gathering without falling out over little insignificant and probably purely imaginary grievances. Bury the hatchet, we say unto them, and do not be so fond of ventilating ycur quarrels in the columns of the Press. Poor Fellow. — Copies of the ' Nelson Daily Times ' of the 10th have been posted to a good many persons in Wanganui, in which there appears a paragraph carefully ruled off with a blue pencil. The extract refers to Mr Millar, F.S.A.'s, illness, which " is attributed to the severe mental shock caused by the recent action taken by the Provincial authorisies." No doubt of it ! Our erstwhile friend was of a most peculiarly sensitive temperament. Cricket. — The Union Club made a rather poor show on Saturday, only some five or six pnttiug in an appearance. The afternoon was beautiful, just the day for an enjoyable game, but the lack of interest displayed exercised a most depressing influence upon those who did attend, and who are very much disgusted with the issue. If this is the way practice is to be maintained the All-England Eleven will find easy work in store for them. It is a pity that our cricketers are so indifferent. " Personal. — On Saturday, Mr Isaac Ferris, lately employed on the staff of the ' Herald,' left by coach for Bulls, en route for Palmerston, there to enter upon his duties as editor of the 'Manawatu Times.' We wish our worthy and much-esteemed friend every success in his new sphere of duty. As a gentleman of superior literary ability, Mr Ferris is an acquisition to the staff of any journal, while his unassuming and retiring demeanour render him universally popular. We again congratulate Mr Ferris upon his appointment, and trust to hear of his welfare in the district which he has selected for his future field of operations,

A Tall Jump.— The ' Patoa Mail is responsible for the following :— <f Brigham Young, the property of Mr D. Carroll, has, we hear, astonished the people of Hawera lately, by taking a flying leap of 33 feet from jump to drop, over a single fence, (ive feet high." Death.— We regreirto hear of the death of Mrs Odgers, wife of Captain Odgers, of Carlyle, but who ' was well known in Wanganui, out of which port he sailed for many months in command of a coasting craft. Many friends of the bereaved husband will sympathise with him in his time of affliction. Who is Responsible?— We clip the following from our Patea contemporary : — " A very hard case, one showing the folly, if not cruelty oi-present immigration arrangements, occurred in. Carlyle. A man named Cole, a newly-arrived immigrant, with his wife and five children were sent up by Mr Brewer, of Wanganui, per Tongariro, and on arrival applied to Captain Wray for rations and house room, as us'ial with immigrants. That gentleman said that he had resigned his position as .. Immigration Officer, and declined to act 'further than to allow the family shelter in one of the buildings, .^hey had^ neither rations, fuel, light, or any*ihing^"and;.-after passing a miserable night, went back a*aia by the Tongariro yesterday morifing. Comment on such is needless." j, Meteorological Observation. — The following are takenfirom self-registering instruments, which" furnish records for the previous 24 hours :— Fine spring weather for the last fortnight, with steady barometer and light winds. The highest reading for the fortnight was on the 16th, being 30 "30, and the- lowest on the 19th, being 29*85. Mean height of the barometer for the fortnight being 30 12. The highest thermometer registered was on the 10th, being 72, and the lowest on the l'rth,- 38. Meau highest average being 67, and lowest 47. -The first rain for 13 days fell on the 13th, registering "09 ; on the 14th, -42 ; on the 19th, -22 ; and on the 20th, -33. The total rainfall for the fortnight being l'Oßj FooTBALL.-^ftys the ' Patea Mail' of Saturday, "It may be remembered that a difference of opinion arose on the occasion of the late match, between here and Wanganui. The question was submitted to the ' Australasian,' and that authority has -^iecided as follows, the decision beingfl adverse to our local players. Under the head of ' Carlyle, New Zealand, >; appears : — ' Yes : we think the Wauganui can claim two points for the touch-down as it was obtained before the umpires called time although the half-hour had expired." We trust our northern warriors will now admit that they were in error, and will endeavour to atone by a conciliatory disposition evinced iiv future, that they are conscious of little faults and failures which were allowed to manifest themselves on the occasion when trying conclusions with our local touch-down team. ** Murder Will Qut. — According to an exchange, the advisability of exhuming .the Jkiodies of Captain Ricardo (Mrs Braeo's first husband) and Lady Catherhfe- -Rienrdo, his mother, both oi whom died suddenly some years ago, was broached a few nights ago in Parliament, and it is thought that the necessary, authority for the exhumation will be given. It is long since so sensational a case has rivetted public attention. Mr Bravo's father is a Mr Campbell, a gentleman who amassed a large fortune in Australia, and has resided in this country for many years." We are also informed that the deceased Mr Bravo has a cousin resident in the Taranoki province, and holding an official position. It is said that Mr Bravo dropped the final of his surname, which was Bravo-Turner, when he married, at the special request of his wife, to whom the name was obnoxious, 1 not being considered sufficiently aristocratic to suit the exalted views of the dashing widow. Norman by. — A notice appears in the ' Patea Mail ' to the effect that in the suit John Ross v Richard Thomas Blake, by virtue of a writ issued fromfthe Supreme Coiirt, section numbered 561 on the record plan of the Patea district has been entered upon by the bailiff. This formal course is merely a preliminary step to the sale of the said section, which it appears has been taken in execution at the suit of the creditor, and will be sold in due course, subject to the sections that have been registered as previously disposed of, unless the judgment has been satisfied. It is to be hoped that the pecuniary interests of the purchasers at the late sales will not' be injuriously affected by this unlooked for and somewhat unprecedented procedure. Those who have neglected to register the sections which they purchased will probably suffer for the oversight. It is an interesting question to solve, as to how mauy different purchasers land can be sold in New Zealand without specially inconveniencing either party to the transaction. A Horrible Project. — A correspondent of the 'London Standard' says: — " If Belgrade falls into the hands of the Turks, and the Servians are driven to the last extremities, they-are said to medidate a vengeance too awful to be mentioned without a shiulder ; nevertheless it is spoken of by both civil and military engineers, who discuss (guardedly, certainly) the means of doing it. The project is nothing less than to blow up the precipice of Mount Schrieber, which on the Austrian side, hangs beetling over the Danube to a height of 3,000 ft, where the river, suddenly contracted from the width of a mile to 180 yards, rushes with tremendous velocity through the iron gates. As nearly as can be ascertained from the strength of tho current, the volume' of water at this gorge is a depth of from 800 to 1,000 fathoms. If this diabolical project is put into execution, a vast part of Eastern Europe will be turned into an inland lake before the obstruction can be removed. How Austria can remain idle in the face of this stupendous danger is I inexplicable. Even the very extent of the T shaped mine has been mentioned to me. Mosquitoes.— A.n English paper states that, during the excessively hot weather that has prevailed in London of late, mosquitoes have made their appearance in considerable force. It is alleged that they have been involuntarily imported in the luggage of passengers from the West Indies. In some of the principal hotels they were so troublesome that the sojourners there, unaccustomed to such a nuisance, wore obliged to relinquish pos- ' session iv favour of the invaders.

Advertising Rights. — Tenders are called for by Mr Passmore, for the sola right of advertising at the various railway stations, in the carriages, and on the tickets of railways. Tenders clo3e on the 18th November. The Range.— A match, Married v Single, is to be fired to-morrow morning, the following are the names of the competitors comprising the respective teams : — Married — Purnell, Armstrong, Watts, Low, Ross, Ward, Parkes, Oollard, Capstick, and Barlow. Single — Barr, Hughes, Campbell, Bates, Parkes, Laird, G. & J. Armstrong, Cummins, and Macdonald. The firing will commenceat 515 a.m. The Hall.— Hegarty's Combination Troupe had no reason to complain of their reception on Saturday night, as a very good house assembled to enjoy the attractive bill of fare submitted. The Hegarty's are a company that improve on acquaintance, and their nightly programme is so ■diversified that every section of the audience go away fully satislied with the entertainment. The front seats were better filled on Saturday night, and the general verdict appears to be that the Combination Troupe comprise the most accomplished artists in their own line who have yet visited Wanganui. They appear again to-night. Fire Brigade Plant. — The order for the new ho3e, &c, has been sent to Melbourne, Messrs Taylor and Watt having kindly consented to get the same executed without charging a commission. As the Insurance Companies and the public have not beeu called upon to contribute anything towards the Brigade for abouteighteen months, it is hoped that when waited upon for donations they will liberally respond, so as to put the Brigade •in a position to meet the cost of plant when to hand. The Brigade will then be enabled, to feel confidence, when using their appliances, that each feature of the paraphernalia can be relied upon even should the most severe tests be required. Snag Punt. — Over a dozen years ago, there drifted into the shelter afforded by our river, a tempest-tossed old tub, called the Effort, off which the mariners who navigated her on her voyage were glad to reach terra jirma. To make a Jong story short, that aucient craft was transformed into a snag punt, and has done good service in that capacity. But the end has now come, and the modern pocket edition of Noah's ark cannot be kept afloat. Outlay upon the rotten framework would be money wasted, and the sooner it is dismantled and the hull consigned to the flames the better. But a substitute must be procured, as any day it may happen that its services may be called into urgent requisition. However willing the Harbourmaster may be to clear the channel of its obstructions, unprovided with the necessary appliances he is powerless to accomplish the desired benefit.