NEWS OF THE WEEK.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume II, Issue 80, 7 November 1874, Page 6

NEWS OF THE WEEK.

According to a correspondent of the ' London Times,' a rather effective method has been adopted in the French National Assembly for checking the disorderly propensities of hon. members, — for it appears that even that august assemblage is not above the weaknesses of our own councillors. When it is found necessary for the President to call a member to order, and to "name" him, ■which implies a record of the fact on the proceedings of the House, the offender is fined one-half his pay as a deputy, for fifteen days. As this is £1 per diem, it amounts to £7 10s. The ' Times' correspondent adds :—": — " I£ a deputy called to order is visited with censure some higher penalty is inflicted. He may be suspended from voting, and, for a very grave misconduct, a vote of the chamber might eipel him." "We commend the idea to the notice of colonial legislators, and feel convinced that a like practice would considerably reduce the vote for payment of members; we are afraid, however, that if rigidly enforced in our City Council it would result in his Worship being left in undisputed possession of the chair — and the chamber. So great is the dearth of meat at Ghreymouth, that those butchers who have so far -weathered the storm, and have not been»obliged to put their shutters up, have published a manifesto of then* prices. As an | interest may be felt as to the tarif, we give the document in extenso : — For cash, at shop only : Eoast beef, lOd ; corned and boiling beef, 9d ; leg, loin, and shoulder of mutton, lOd j fore-quarter do, 9d ; chops, steaks, sausages, rump steak, Is ; tripe, Is ; suet, lOd ; veal and pork, Is. Private families : Beef and mutton, lOd ; veal and pork, 1b ; chops, steaks, and sausages, Is. Hotels : Beef and mutton, 9d ; veal and pork, Is ; chops, steaks, and sausages, lOd. The following is a list of persons who received out-door relief from the Otago Benevolent Institution during the month ending October 31, 1874: — 51 families, numbering 323 souls, 2 male adults, 15 female adults, 7 children, at a cost of £23 per week. The inmates of the institution are — 30 male adults, 4 female adults, 27 boys, 24 girls : total, 85. At St. Mary's Roman Catholic Church, G-eelong, on the the 4th October, an immense assemblage was present to witness the procession in honor of the change of the month of St. Mary's from May to October. The Orphan Children, and St. Patrick's and St. Mary's Abstinence Societies took part in the proceedings. Colonel Mottle has sent a telegram to Major Cooper, at the Thames, enqtiiring whether a suitable piece of ground could he obtained there on which to hold the next Colonial prise firing. It appears that the present rifle range is not adapted for it, and unless a better one is found ere long, we understand that Taranaki will probably be selected. The ship Countess of Kintore, fox London, is the bearer of tie following parcels of precious metals : — Shipped by the Bank of New Zealand, 17 bars of silver weighing 18,9650z. 19dwt., and valued at £4,,980 ; shipped by the National Bank of New Zealand, 2 boxes of gold weighing 2,2920z. 7dwt. 14gr., and valued at £8,125. The ' Tuapeka Timeß ' says that a large number of cattle and sheep are already falling victims to the poisonous tutu, which is now growing rapidly. In ordinary seasons this plant causes the death of a large number of cattle, and owing to the scarcity of grass this spring, the animals devour this tutu'.oagerly, making the losses proportionately large. Most of the adult immigrants (says the • Weekly Times') who were brought from Dunedin by the Wanganui on her last trip have found situations, many of them having been engaged before they landed. Only four or five married couples, with their families, remain in the' barracks unemployed, but as the men are practical Scotch ploughmen, it is not likely that they will be long without situations, with regard to the old barracks in Esk street, the Carrick Castleites ■who made them famous for unsaintly associations were ejected some time ago, and the old place having been thoroughly purged and purifled with scrubbing brushes, soap, and water, is now tenanted by the •wives and children of several of the married men of the recent detachments received from Dunedin— all, we are informed, sober, respectable people. The monthly meeting of the Fire Brigade was held at the station on Monday evening, Captain Wain in the chair. Letters were read from the Secretary to the Friendly Societies' Fete and the Secretary of the Battalion Band. Captain Wain informed the members that the necessary arrangements were completed for holding a social gathering at the Masonic Hall, on Monday nest, the 9th rnst. It was also arranged that the Brigade should join the Friendly Societies' procession on Monday next. Messrs. Dermer and Beissel were elected honorary members, and Mr Jewett was re-elected one for the enBuing twelve months.

Thb ninth show'of theTimaru Agricultural and Pastoral Association was held on the 28th ult. The weather on this occasion proved remarkably fine, and the number of visitors and exhibits were unusually large. The Timaru Artillery Band was in attendance, and discoursed some of the most excellent music during the afternoon.

An inquest was held at Roxburgh on Wednesday, the 28th October, before W. L. Simpson, Esq., coroner, on the body of the unfortunate man Edward Morrison, late Town Clerk, Roxburgh, -who, it transpired, had on the previous night committed suicide by hanging himself to a rafter in the upper room of H. M'Dowall's house. From the evidence adduced there could be no doubt as to the fact of the man being in an unsound state of mind at the time, and a verdict of " Temporary insanity" was returned accordingly. The jury, prior to arriving at their decision, Avished the Court to be cleared, but,, contrary to the usual and proper custom, the* coroner remained, as also did another individual, at the coroner's request, but who was in no way connected with the case. The jury, after deliberation, arrived at their verdict, and added a rider to the effect, " That they much regretted the long and -unnecessary delay (Sunday to Wednesday) which had occurred in having an inquest held." The coroner, in a rather •warm manner, appeared anything but pleased with the rider, and positively declined to accept of it, adding he was a coroner all over New Zealand, and would arrange for holding inquests when he liked. Some of the jury suggested that any of the resident local J.P.s could have conducted the inquiry ; but the coroner declared that no J.P. Bhould hold an inquest, except with his permission. So in this case, where there was no evidence of a suspicious character adduced, the public had to submit to the painful infliction of having the body of a Buicide remaining i» a private family's house for four days, one witness detained three days awaiting the inquest, and the incurring of cost of travelling by coroner from Clyde, a distance of thirty-five miles, all of which annoyance could have been easily avoided. The funeral, which was largely attended by the residents in the neighborhood, took place immediately after the inquest, at 7 o'clock p.m., under the charge of the Oddfellows' Society, whose service was read at the grave. The Invercargill correspondent of the ' Bruce Herald ' says : — " Constable Boyd, stationed at Winton, was brought into the Hospital Wednesday last, having been severely bruised on the previous evening by being thrown from his horse near to the township of Winton. The occasion of his mishap was a very singular one, and exceedingly difficult of explanation. Shortly after seven o'clock in the evening, the night being dark and squally, Constable Boyd, travelling towards Winton, and being close to the Meat Preserving Works, observed the outline of a man among the tussocks on the roadside, and sboitly after passing him the discharge of a gun from the spot caused the constable's horse to jump from, the road into the drain at the side, when immediately a second shot was fired, at which the horse again plunged and got out, but not without throwing his rider, who was much Bhaken and bruised, and ultimately, with great difficulty, made his way to the township. No clue is held to the discovery of the man who fired the shots, and no motive can be assigned for the act. The constable is going on very well, and will probably soon get round." Oub horticultural readers will be interested in hearing that a Kelson gentleman, Mr Lightband, has discovered a, remedy for the blight on fruit trees. From the ' Colonist', we learn that for a long time Mr Lightband's trees suffered considerably from both scaly and American blight, and he tried many so-called remedies, but without success. At length, however, he hit upon a plan by Avhich he has succeeded in eradicating the disease entirely. For the American blight he found that by grafting an apple tree with another species of the same fruit (slips from trees bearing an early dessert and a late apple being xised as grafts) — the blight was completely destroyed. The grafting process only applies to the American disease, but Mr Lightband happily discovered an equally good cure for the scaly blight. He states that he dissolved one pound of caustic soda in a gallon of water and applied the mixture to the diseased trees with a syringe on a fine winter's day. The trees so treated arc now clean and healthy, the scaly blight having disappeared, at least for this season, and should it re-appear next year, the remedy can easily be re-applied. Mr Lightband desires us to state that he will be happy to show the trees to any person interested, and give a full explanation. On Tuesday morning Assistant Bailiff Gibb found a parcel -which contained a child, apparently newly-born. When on duty near the Cattle-yards, finding it necessary to go into the bush there to obtain shelter from the rain, he observed a paper parcel lying on the ground. On partly opening it he found it contained a young child, and he immediately reported the matter to the police, by whom it was removed to the Hospital. It was then dead. The police are endeavoring to find traces of the mother of the child. Thb Superintendent of the Auckland Fire Brigade, Mr John Hughes, formerly of this city, appears to be giving great satisfaction. In its report of tho fire which occurred in Wakefield street on the 22nd ult., the 'Herald' after having referred to the losses of the insurance offices to the extent of £3350, cays: — "It is fortunate, however, tbat the judicious, and well-timed efforts of oiu* new Fire Brigade Superintendent, Mr Hughes, were the means of preventing further damage. Great credit is due to Superintendent Hughes for his skill and judgment displayed, and to the Brigade under his command for their united and untiring exertions in successfully preventing the spread of tho fire. Great surprise was expressed yesterday by those who viewed the ruins at tho almost miraculous preservation of Mrs. Sandall's premises and the adjoining wooden houses. Expressions of admiration were freely made use of at the indomitable pluck that must have been shown in arresting the progress of the flames us this juncture. The side and roof of tho wooden»built house that saved are one mass of charred and blackened substance, thus bearing testimony to the fiery ordeal which it has passed through. If this is a specimen of Superintendent Hughes's skill, then Auckland city has just gauge to be gaatified. tliut bis services kayo been secured."