LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXII, Issue 9198, 17 August 1880, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

♦ Suez Mail.— The Arawafa, with the Suez mail, arrived at the BluiE yesterday morning, at half-past 7 o'clock. A Contradiction . — We are authorised to state that there was no foundation for the rumour that an explosion had taken place at the sawmills of Messrs W. L. Bailey Bros., at Taonui. Princess Thbateb. —An evening party will be held this evening, in the Princess Theatre, in aid of the Convent Building Fund. There will be tea at half-past six o'clock, and afterwards a concert. WELLrNGTON Hospital. — An inquiry is at prespnt going on concerning certain alleged irregularities in the Wellington Hospital. The particulars have not as yet been made public. LAnniKiNS. — A, number of mischievous boys having amused themselves by pulling up a quantity of the ice plant put in by tho prisoners in Cook's Gardens, tho police made it their business to discpver the culprits, who may henceforth live in fear and trembling lost they be arrested and taken, before the llesident Magistrate. We think there ia something in the Act about flogging in such cases. Fatai, Accident.— A gad accident is reported as having occurred at Aniseed Valley on Monday, the 9th instant. It appears that Mrs Cole, who had reresided in Aniseed "Valley for many years, left home with tue intention of riding to Spring Grove. She had proceeded but v very short distance, however, when her horse seems to have lost its footing in stepping down an almost perpendicular place on the road and to have fallen upon ils rider. Nothing was known of tho occurrence till Mr Stratford, another resident of the Valley, was preceding homewards, when he found the deceased 09 the road with tho horse still lyiug on her cheat. Thp uulovtimato woman was quito dead, and Lad apimreutly been so for some tiwo,

Liteuaby Society. —Readings and recitations will form the programme for the meeting of the Literary Society this evening. Bankruptcy. — Patrick Maher, labourer, has filed a declaration that he is unable to meet his engagements, Wairahapa Reefs. — A company- has" been formed in Dunedin to work the Wairarapa quartz reefs. -It is said that 4000 shares have already been taken up. PaisoNEES foe Tbial. — There are already 14 prisoners awaiting trial at the next sitting of the Supreme Court, which will commence on the last Monday in October. Nine of these are in gaol, and the remaining five are out on bail. Accident Insueanoe. — The general manager now offers better terms to members of fire brigades. By paying 15s, the company guarantees to pay, in cave.of death at fire or practice, £100 ; incase of accident, £L per week for 16 weeks. Members should avail themselves of these improved terms. i Happy District ! — At the last meeting of the Eyreton Eoad Board, in Canterbury, it was decided not to levy any rate this year. It is clear that the Board, having a large balance of the Government subsidies in hand, finds itself in a position to carry on for at leaat one year without rates. Potato Export. — There is an opening for our produce in India. The Madras Times of the 2nd May has an advertisement respecting the anticipated arrival of a trial shipment by the mail~steamer of Australian potatoes for table and seed purposes. The potatoes were packed in diewt boxes. Should the shipment prove a success, there will doubtless be a considerable demand for potatoes of Australian production, and there is no reason why those grown in Weiv Zealand should not find as good a market. Meeting of Creditors — A. meeting of the creditors in the estate of J. S. Calder, baker, «as held .yesterday afternoon, inthe Courthouse, Mr_T_4lkjQu.mmins in the chair. The following creditors were present, or represented by proxy :— T. D. Cummins, '£15 14s 6d ; M. Neil, £10 10s 8d; J. P. Watt, £8; P. Bain, £13 13s 4d ; W. Lewis, £1 4a ; G.Carson, £2; M. V. Hodge, £20. The assets were stated at £165 ; liabilities about £100. On the motion of Mr Hodge, Mr J. J. Crawford was appointed trustee. A brief examination of the bankrupt was held, and, his replies not being satisfactory, the offer of os m the £ was rejected, the trustee being directed to make a searching examination of the estate. Scholarship Examinations.— These examinations commenced to-day, in the Girls' High School, under the supervision of Mr Inspector Foulis. 'The following is a list of the competitors : — Class A — Jane Peat, Wanganui High School ; Frederick Joseph Walker, do ; James A. Young, do ; John Selby Morton, Turakina Classical School ; James McAlley, do ; James McDonald, do. Claas B — Emily Laird, Wanganui -High School ; B. S. Barns, do ; David J. S McFarlane, do ; Otto G. Blakey, do ; Samuel Strachan, do ; J. B. Flower, Foxton ; William McAlley, Turakina Classical School ; Margaret Patterson, Maxwell ; J. C, Paulin, BulU ; Nellie Thomson, do ; Alexander Guffin, Upper Tutaenui ; William Aiken, do ; Sarah Amelia Kirk, Wanganui High School. Claßs C — Maria Peat, Wanganui High School ; Robert Sim, do ; Ebenezer Bishop, do ; George S. Laird, do : Hugh Mclntyre, do ; Thomas B. Kendall, do ; Thomas Munro, do; Fred. S. Parkeß, do ; Wm. Jas. Ballantyne, do ; Murdoch I' oss, Turakina Classical School; Edward Hunt, Jfarton ; Louisa A. Billinghurst, Maxwell ; Robt. K. Simpson, South Makirikiri ; Eobt. M. J. Thomson Bulls ; Katie Stevenson, do ; Thos. W. Downes, do ; Henry Fletcher, do ; Robert O. Bydder, do. With reference to the request of the Board that a modification of the regulations should' be allowed at the present examinations, so as to admit of candidates going up in fewer than four subjects, the following telegram was yesterday received by the Secretary: — "The Minister has con- j sidered your memorandum of the 29th I July, re amendment of scholarship regulations, and he does not think the concessions should be made on the eve of the examination, Mr Habens- agrees with my interpretation of Regulation 7, stated in my memorandum of 12th July." It will thus be Been that competitors who are not prepared to go up in at least four subjects will have no chance of obtaining a scholarship, Gasotiing. — A new application of the garotte (says the Melbourne Age) has been adopted by some of the crimi nals of fbis city, if we may rely upon the statements of a cQrregpqndent, who has furnished us with the following particulars, for the accuracy of whom he vouches. He states that on .the evening of Friday last a gentleman was going up Latrobe-street, on his way home, about eight o'clock. He was walking carelessly along with both hands in his pockets, when suddenly as he was passing a lane near the corner of Swanson-street, a • rope was thrown lasso-fashion over his head, and he was dragged to the ground a»i.d pulled up the lane as quickly as possible for about thirty yards. Fortunately for himself he was strong, and catching hold of the rope he braced his leg against a stone and was pulled to an uptight position. By a sudden | jerk he got possession of tb,e rope, and finding himself attacked by from twelve to twenty of the larrikin class, he turned the rope's end into an effective weapon of resistance. By swinging the rope round his head he succeeded in keeping the ruffians off, and) regaining tho street, took refuge in the nearest public-house. Deadlocks. — The August number of the Victorian Review contains, a letter to the editor from the Duke of Manchester, on " A Curative for Deadlooks." The letter, a short one, is not a very valuable contribution, so far as wo can judge. " 1 think we may assume," says his Grace, " that a ' deadlock ' is generally, if not always, caused by one Chamber being of opinion that the other had by some vote exceeded its rights. . . It is probably caused by the Jjower House thinking that the Upper Hojjso had unduly interfered in money questions, or by the Upper House holding that the Lower was endeavouring. to force upon thorn, under cover of a money bill, a measure to which they were known to object." His Grace sees no reason why an elective Upper Chamber should not be allowed to amend money bills, or even vote supplies. The Bule to fche contrary is a servile copy of the practice of 1 thp British Constitution without the reason for it, or the circumstances that gave rise to it, which circumstances he briefly refers to. He points out that, local governing bodies as well as the House of Commons levy taxes, whiGh thpy do under authority granted by the Sovereign and tho Upper House in addition to the Lower House. His Grace eveu doubts whether a nominated Chamber should bo precluded from interfering in money bills, seeing that it represents all classes except the very lowest. The best preventative of deadlocks must always be the moderation and calmness with which the two Cumnbcrrj deal with, mutters in which they diXEor ia oPißip£,

The Chatham Islands. — The Evening Chronicle of the 13th instant says : •—The Government intend to add the Chatham Islands (which, is at present a sort of Tim Tiddler's ground, and unconnected with any body or anything) to the constituency of Akaroa, and they certainly, do not (as Mr Bowen seemed to wish) intend to relieve the guileless pastoral inhabitants of those islands from payment of the Property Tax. Te Whiti. — The, Evening Po3t. says Te Whiti is supposed to be acting on information supplied him from Wellington — the sources being vehemently suspected, although it would not be judicious even to hint at its direction— to the effect that the Government have spent nearly all their money, and that) therefore, if he continue his present plan of action he must be victorious in the end. If this be true the fencing is likely to be continued for Borne time, especially as fresh contingents of Natives are constantly arriving at Parihaka. Submaeine Volcano. — The people of Napier have been somewhat excited of late by a rumour haviDg gained currency that a volcano under the sea has been discovered at a place called Blackhead, which is situated nearly 100 miles from that-town. The phenomenon is on the coast near Porangaliau, and the wafer is constantly being thrown at a great height. The earthquakes that have been experienced of late may no doubt be attributed to this volcano. Should it bo a very active one, earthquakes may occur more frequently in the future than they have done before. Me Gladstone's. Correspondence. — The following letter recently appeared in the London Daily News : — " Sir, — I am reluctant again to trespass on your columns for the purpose' of asking the •indulgence of my correspondence^ but for some -weeks past .the, daily. arrivals at my door by post havo^ exceeded 100, and I must trust to the kindness of very many, whose communications might well claim 'a distinct notice/ to believe that they receive from me the best .attention -which circumstances, permit me to give. — I. have,, the honor to be, Sir, your obedient servant, W. E. Gladstone." • ( ' . „,..■ . A Turquoise Mjne.— For, the first time in two hundred years the old turquoise mine in Chalchuti Mountain, New Mexico, has been" re-opened. In 1680 work was suspended 'on the mine, the cause being the caving in of one of the shafts, and the subsequent death of some 100 Indians, who were hard at .work below. An attempt made by the .Spanish to force the Indians to begin again and re-open the shaft led to a rebellion, and probably was one of the causes which forced the Indians to an uprising, and the subsequent exclusion of their rulers from the country. The extent to which these mines have been worked may be conjectured by the vast amount of. debris lying around the old shaft, covering no less than 15 acres of ground. This mine is the only turquoise mine on the continent, and, as the gem has always a market value,' it will ere long be one of the recognised sources of wealth of New Mexico. The Cape Colony.— Now that the troubles with the Zulus and Boers are at an end, there is no doubt (says the .Home News) that the colonisation of South 'Africa will rapidly progress, especially as great inducements are held out By the Cape Government to surplus humanity to go to those parts. Any man with a few pounds can become a farmer there. This is what the Cape Government offers to respectable agriculturists, married or single, not •over 45 years old, desirous of- emigrating to Cape Colony : — A free passage for the settler and family, and land in the finest agricultural and grazing district of the Cape at 10s per acre ; the payment to be made in 10 years,jat Is fee acre per year. In some districts, where the poor rates are heavy, the means of relieving the burden suggests itself to the advantage all-comers. Perhaps the labourers will, however, want a sprinkling of diamonds in the soil guaranteed. E^opus of Laboueers.— We clip the following from the Ashburton Mail of August 11th : — As might have been expocted the recent gold discoveries on the West Coast are producing an effect .upon the labouring population, in this district. In the course of the last week a considerable number have left for either the Lake Mapourika or Seventeen Mile Beach diggings, and many others, talk of following the example. As to the first of these two fields it may be worth mentioning that the intelligence concerning it to be obtained from the Hokitika papers is of the most meagre description, although telegrams of a very glowing character has been sent round the colony. There is no reason for doubting that an important field has been made, but as to the extent of the lead, alleged in late telegrams to have been traced for several miles, further information is decidedly necessary before a rush is justifiable. Old Weßt Coasters will not need to be told of the many bogus rushes got up in former times on various parts of the Coast, as they can hardly have forgotten the bitter experiences of the Haast and Okarito rushes. As jto the Seventeen Mile diggings, the information at command is somewhat fuller, and there is no reasqn for do,ubtjng that this will bocome a large and prosperous alluvial digging. But at the same time those who think of going there will do well to bear in mind that the West Coast is not short of population, and that almost all hopeful ground is certain by this time to be occupied, and also that many months' work will in any case have to be done before any return can possibly be obtained by parties taking up new ground,. A Teaxge Lkgeubee. -^ Thomas Walker, the trance lecturer, who was in Auckland a couple of years ago, has lately been addressing large audiences at Capetown. It is evident that he is not looked upon as a humbug, for the Capetown Express has thiß serious reference to j;}}p impoufor : — '• It is useless to ignore the fact that Mr Walker is drawing crowds of curious and earnest listeners after him. The Atheneeum is crowded each time ho delivers his anti-dogmatic addresses, and among his audience will be found members of nearly every churph in town. It Beems rather g, striding thing (,hat last Sunday evening Mr Walker was exe'rtjng his oratorical powers to tup utmost to prove that the account of the fall of man as related in Genesis is a myth, while across the road a clergyman of the Church of England was exhorting his congregation to believe the Bible from begjnnjng to end, every word and every letter, as fche wb.ole counsel of God. It is useless, we say, to ignpre the influence which circumstances like these exert on the community; and it is the bounden duty of the clergy to step forth and give their hearers something else besides thfj dry bones oE dogma and tradition to feed upon. Far be it fr.qm us to defend all Mr Walker's arguments, but he is at least honest to his convictions; and it is well that ministers of religion should know that he is making ljavqo in their flocks. If they are wise they will arrest the mischief before it is too late, and the best action they can take is to meet Mr Walker on his own ground, and so set at root the minds of doubters."