The Wairarapa Daily. THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 1887.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 2493, 6 January 1887, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. THURSDAY, JANUARY 6, 1887.

The monitors of the Mastertonßorough Council were placed in a somewhat humiliating position by Mr A. W. Renall last evening. If, as contended by this veteran borough politician, they have ceased to hold office they must accept tho situation, If, on tho other hand, they had a right to assemble in their representative capacities, it is their duty to vindicate their position as free and independent councillors by makinp an example of Mr Renall. The meeting being a Bpecial one, was not, by the Act, open to the public, and we believo Mr Renall had no le?al right to have been even present in the Council Chamber, We are also of the opinion, that the Councillors, as a perpetual body, must hold office till their successors are appointed and that Mr Renall has misapprehended the position which he took up on this point. Then, again, the petition on which the Governor has divided the Borough, contains on the face of it, flaws which invalidate it, and the Gazette notice is evidently a blunder of tho Government, as it was published before the provisions of the Act were complied with. Mr Renall has, we fear, placed himself in the position of a disorderly person, interrupting a legally and properly constituted gathering, and we regret that an old settler, holding a position as Justice of tho Peace, should have appeared in such a character. It is, we consider, the duty of the Council to vindicate its right to the free and unobstructed discharge of its duties, by taking a prompt legal procedure against Mr Renall

A-general meeting of the MastertonOpaki Jockey Club is convened for Saturday evening next to consider the autumn programme. At the Supreme Court this morning, Davis was sentenced to ono year's imprisonment, for stabbing Dunn, at Featherston. We are pleased to hear that Mr M. Caselberg contemplates, building a. ne a residence on the site of his old one at an early, date. Ferrets are paying some attention to the Bpecial settlements jiiat now. Another of theso little animals was caught by some dogs on Monday last at Manephao, The Treasurer of the Masterton Hostal acknowledges the receipt of L2 15s from Messrs Williams and. Beetham's Annieifcle station and LI from Mr ; o. Rogers, Taueru. Mr Cdker, the ifapier station-master, signalised himself again .on Saturday morning by showing'how much dearer to him is the observance of ,the strict ieitcr of- the law than the convenience pf the travelling pubjje. It was a holiday train and a gexitl.o.iiinn had seon his wife and children in a carriage, aftd was standing by the side of jttalking to a friend. When the train began to move ; the gentleman was ahout |to put his foot on the carnage platform, wjjen sflmebk (behind Jijra pulled him back, and the jpin- went off with his family. who had obstructed 'ftiijJt'Jfy & Ms? redotibtablo Mr Coker. We womiej ftow many people have had their holidays spoiled through Mr (Joker's excessive zeal. —Telegraph.

■We notice that our local contemporary joins -Mr Hawkins in barking at üb, These are the dog days I

Miss Letitia Frances Selwyn, a sister of tho lato Bishop Selwyn, of New Zealand, died at her. residenco, Keiidal Lodge, Richmond, on Sunday, November 7. The whale-fishery of Scotland having proved a failure this Beaeon, the price of whalebone has suddenly advanced from H 460 to L 2250 per While the engine drivers were shunting trucks up at Mauriceville yesterday, they allowed sortie of them to overrun their distance. The trucks went into collision with the closed goodshed doors, smashing .them to fragments.

The annual meeting of contributors to theMasterton Hospital is convened for. the 13th inst at £ p,m. The business is' to •'elect two trusteos, Messrs W. H. Beetham and W. Perry, the retiring members, being eligible for re-eloction. The following is a specimen of Western eloquonco: Where is Europe compared with America ?' Nowhar. Where is England? Nowhar. They called England the mistress of the sea, but what makes the sea? The Mississippi makes it, and all we've pot to do is to turn the Mississippi into the Mammoth Cavo and the ■English Navy would be loft floundering in the mud."

A branch of tho New Zealand Temperance Allianco has been formed at New Plymouth and a witty contemporary has' got off the following on tho names of the office-bearers: The President is Mr Bellringer, the secretary Mr C. E. Bellringer and the Treasurer is Mr A. Bell. What with A. Bell and two Bellringers the branch should be ahll to ring out its way to fame merrily. The Corkill no more be drawn, which is Shaw to help some Sole to the Goodacre, where every man will get his jf he Collis tho opportunity. A fishing party which went to White's Bay by the Tainui on Boxing Day, caught with the lino a conger-eel, five feet long, and weighing 241bs. Inside the monster (says the Marlborough Express) was found an octopus or "devil fish," with tentacles or suckers two feel: long. The body of this creature was partially digested by the eel, but somo of the suckers, which had only been partly swallowed, were quite entire. A combat between an eel and an octopus would be an interesting sight,

The Economist and several of its correspondents have made a direct attack on the half sovereign as an unnecessary and troublesome little coin. The testimony is to the effect that it could be dispensed with, with positive advantage, It is certainly a coin which suffers very much from wear and tear. Ono writer suggests that the coinago of crown pieces should bo resumed, and that of half-sovoreigns discontinued, and another writer goes so far as to urge the issue of ten shilling notes, The Economist advocates the issue of one pound notes in England, and there can be little doubt that this project is becoming more popular than formerly,—Banking and Insurance Eecord. ;•

An elephant escaped the othor day from a monagerieat Woolwich, and found its way into the back premises of the dwelling house of a working man. It succeeded in forcing its trunk through a window, aud reached tho' table, upon which were the remains of the previous evening's supper. These it quickly demolished, as also the breakfast for the master of the house, which was carefully tied up in a handkerchief, the animal having succeeded in undoing the knots after the most approved fashion. One of tho inmates, imagining that burglars were in the house, struck at the intruder in the darkness with a poker, at- which the elephant started a. terrific roar to the consternation of its assailant. A light, however, was soon obtained, and when the true facts of the case were, elicited, the animal was duly restored to the custody of its keeper.

Palmerston was travelling north, on one occasion, by rail, He purchased a third class ticket, lit his cigar, and entered the coach. One of the employes called the attention of the manager to the fact, remarking, " What shall we do if Lord Palmerston rides third-class? Everyone will follow suit, and no first or second-class tickets will be sold." The manager thought for a moment, then took two third-class tickets, handed them to two chimney-sweeps standing on tho platform, and ushered them iuto the coach where Palmerston sat. Palmerston looked up, and immediately comprehended the position and the motive. Arriving at the next station, he purchased two first-class tickets, took the sweeps out, and put them into a first-class, coach. The retaliation was appreciated on tho part of the railroad managers. An interesting attempt at a Yankee swindle has been made public. A bet was proposed by a supposed simpleton, that he could prove that this side of the river was the other, and the bet was taken up by a supposed clever fellow, Hereupon the simpleton said, " Is not that one side of the river ?" •' Yes," was the answer, "of course." " And is this not the other side 1" " Certainly," "Then pay me the wager, for by your own confession I have proved that this side of the rivei is the other side." He was not paid, but kicked for attempting to swindle. Such, among other items, is one of the misfortunes of genius, In a report dated Savannah, Ga., Sept. 7th, the New York Times says:—" A strange incident of last week's earthquake shock is tbe recovery of the power of speech by Miss Mamie Marks, daughter of a retired officer of tho regular army, At the close of the war her Father was put in charge of Forte Pulaski below this city, While at the former fort tho daughter, then a bright intelligent child, had an attack of meningitis, which left her voiceless, The best medical skill was obtained, and tho father took his afflicted child travelling, but nothing did her any good, Sho was dumb, but had all the other senses, During tho excitement of the first earthquake shock on Tuesday night she in her fright attempted to call hor brother. He was frightened 'himself when he heard her whisper his name, Since then she has gradually regained her voice, and now talks with perfect fhioncy. She says she was almost delirious with joy when she found that she could speak. Her voice was low and her throat sore for throe days, and she had trouble in finding words to express her thoughts, It waa like learning a new tongue, except that she knew the words but had forgotten how to pronounce them. City physicians are deeply interested in the caso. Their explanation is that the recovery was due to intense, mental excitement." A Wonderful Eta-Many „aro tho instances cited of tho astonishing fecundity of the various species of domesticated fowl; but the celebrated Wellington Eta (whijh, strange to say, in of the masculine gender) has a soul nbove tho niera production of eggs. Tho manner in which ho turns bit Ycnetian Blinds, etc., is ■the womlor and admiration of .everybody from the Governor downwards, The li'amo ,of this wonderful bird is R, W, Henk,' and his well; known fowl-house ia the Ponoko Steam Window Blind Factory, 'Molesworth-street, Wellington, -Advt

ASQJJT THAT i' 36 TO be given away To the Editor—Sir, Will you allow me through your ,eokm#B .to let the people of the Wairarapa know that I pm going to sell iill my stocjc, ■ consisting or men's, youth's, and boys' .-clothing, shirtsj hats', icisJOT, &c, at a great reduction in prices uplill jtiie ppd of the year; and also to Remind ,tWw <jj?fipy one who buys goods .to.tlie,value of ,2s ,Cd ge£sft.ticke,t to n)y £35 competition'.' of* |hsJ tff §sW§jsS ?s 6d with me, yo.u may win to 'carry"you' fork' trip round New mmir-mi Tpqkb.urk, Clothier, &c„ Willis at,,Welllns-ton,' ' '

4' fifty-two inch bicycle in good order is advertised for sale, Particulars can bo obtained at. this office,

It has been 1 arranged to havo back soats at tho concert oii Monday,- tho admission to which will be ono shilling.

Mr H. Broom, of the Waipoua Apiary, Oolumba Road, has a large quantity of this season's honey for sale,

Messrs J. H. Befchune & Co, announce, the sale of a valuable freehold farm in the Waipoua Block, containing 399 acres and subdivided into sections, details of which are given in tho advertisement in another column, .."'.,

Up to this season the pretty little birds i called silver eyes have-been looked upon as the friends of the orchardist. They have generally made their appearance in the autumn, when they have done good service'by clearing trees of bli?ht. They changed their diet occasionally by eating the wild native berry called the purapura, but wero not known to do any harm to fruit; indeed they generally delayed their appearance until after tho fruit season was over. This summer, howevor, they havomado an earlier visit than usual, and.in some parts of the district are playing havoc with the cherries. They do not eat the fruit in tho same way that the sparrows do, The latter tab out large bites, and consume it in that manner. The silvor eye is more dainty. It simply punctures the skin, and sucks out all the juicy part, leaving the cherries hanging with nothing but skin and stone. They are also very destructive to figs, which they attack in the same manner, eating out tho centre.