Local and General.

Mr Cecil Rhodes landed at London without any demonstration being made. There are 138 men now employed on the Eketahuna-Woodville railway. Six parties of co-opr-rativo labourers are now engaged forming the road between Malawi and Pongaroa. The lion A. J. Cadman and the Hon W. C. Smith were visitors to Woodville yesterday. The Post states “that some important changes in the management of the Bank of New Zealand will presently be made.” William Heffornan, who was severely injured by the explosion of a cask of blasting powder at Mangaweka recently, died on Monday. Some novel sights are mot in the village of Eketahuna occasionally. The latest, was a lady cyclist—drunk I so says the Wairarapa Daily. The Woodville main and side schools opened yesterday. The attendance at the main school was 290, which Mr Stevenson considers satisfactory, The following are the returns for the Waipawa District Hospital for the week ended January 23, 1897;—Patients in hospital, 22 males, 2 females ; admitted during week, 2 mates, 2 females; discharged, 2 males, 5 females. Mr O’Meara, M.11.R., returned to Woodville yesterday from a trip to the South Island. Mr O’Meara appears to have completely recovered from the fatigues of the election. We arc very pleased to know that Mr O'Meara is interesting himself in the reconstruction of the Gorge pridge. There is also the road to Ballanco from the Upper Gorge bridge, which Mr O’Meara might make a note of. The New Zealand Rille Association’s annual meeting commences at Auckland on February loth. Seven or eight members of the "Woodville Rifle Club will take part at the meeting. Johanna Gourley, aged 15 years, employed as a servant at Wyndham, escaped from the house in a fit of insanity, and her body was found in the river at Fortrose on Sunday afternoon. The Very Rev Father Lynch, who is about to leave Dunedin on a trip to the Holy Land and the Home Country, was on Monday night presented by the Catholic laity of Dunedin and suburbs with an illuminated address and a purse of about 200 sovereigns. Chappie, the man accused of burning the woman Hay, was committed for trial. The S.M. said it was a very strange case, bnt he did not feel justified in taking the onus of dismissing it, as the woman’s story since she recovered her memory was consistent. At a special meeting of the Borough Council, held on Monday afternoon, the resolution appointing Wednesday for the half holiday in the Borough was confirmed. Those present were:— The Mayor, and Crs Scally, Troup, Burnett, Sandel, Grinlinton and Btaepoole. Some people in Napier are anxiously inquiring for a gentleman who was secretary to a number of institutions, says the Herald. lie has taken with him a little spare cash which the owners would like to got back, His present place of abode is not known. A Baltimore man and his family have for their homo four unused tramcars, which ho has had moved to a piece of ground in the suburbs, where he docs not have to pay any rent. He bought the cars for lOdol (£2) each, and he declares that they make comfortab Q dwellings. It was a pretty sight, says the Ashburton Guardian’s Methven correspondent, to sec the harvesting of Mr Duncan Cameron’s crop at Springfield. Thirty reaper and binders were at work in one field, one following the other in regular succession. Mr Cameron is one of the largest farmers in the country, having 7000 acres under cultivation. Two new telephone offices have just been opened at Makuri and Ngatuii. The. hours of attendance are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The olfioos are to bo closed on Sundays and holidays, and telegrams will bo delivered regularly. The office on Tuesday morning received the first telephone message to Woodville from Makuri. A widow has called upon the Auckland Observer to expose a man to whom she was recently married. She alleges that he has married widows at Melbourne, Wellington and elsewhere, and has left them all in the lurch. Ho pays his attentions solely to widows with means. Ho is setting himself up as a mining expert. A cricket match, Married v. Single, will be played on the Woodville ground on Saturday. Following are the teams : Benedicts; Bagley, Loader, Monteith, liaise, Smith, Scott, Stevenson, Pease, Ilawkon, Pillans, and Dr Milne. Single : Wilson, Cato, Galloway, Jardine, L. Moncklon, O. Monckton, Elliott, Inglis, Mi chell, E. M. andM. R. Grant. The losers have to stand a tripe and onion supper. A Wairampa sotjler has adopted a vqry simple me hod of'preventing thp dosimtfi lon of fencing, &c„ by fire. He says that if water' and clay are mixed into a thin paste end plastered on every post or building by means of a largo brush, a fierce fire can sweep right across without having the slightest effect on the plastered ma-erif.l. This method hghas proved to be a (borough success on Borne of his own fences aufi ytufis, and strongly advises all other settbrS who are in danger yf bash fines tv follow his example. ,

A meeting of Mr Manist’y late election committee will be held In the Jockey Club rooms this evening at 8 o’clock. There is no truth in the rumor that Mr Jensen is buying Mr Mortensen’s business. An important letter on the Frozen Meat Trade is published on our fourth page ; also an article of interest to Prohibitionists. In future the names of those confessing judgment are to be called in the Magistrate’s Court at Masterton. The Russian Government, since it has had the liquor monopoly in its own hands, has realised about 40 per cent, on its invested capital. A dealer states that there is more steel used in the manufacture of pens than in all the sword and gun factories in the world. Messrs H. M. Lucos & Co. announce that their great clearing sale will ho continued for another fourteen days. Everything in the shop is being sold at considerably less than cost price, and no reasonable offer will bo refused. How the mighty have fallen ! The Egmont Post says that the Maoris at Parihaka are so hard up that Te Whiti has had to descend from his high pedestal of prophet, priest, and king, and make himself useful as a hoer of the potato, A Kansas girl of 17 won a prize in an unusual contest the other day. She was matched against two most expert blacksmiths in the city, and, to their dismay, turned out a perfect horseshoe in less than four minutes. Commander Booth- Tucker has originated a fresh plan for Salvation Army work. He will start a floating Army Barracks, which will cruise from port to port in America, doing the rescue work by the way, rescuing “ Jack ” from the clutches of the harpies. The boat will be commanded and manned by seamen selected from the ranks of the Army, will carry the Army flag, and bo painted in the Array colours. According to report an interesting experiment is soon to made in the •Joliet, 111., penitentiary. It is proposed to have three kinds of suits for prisoners, indicative’of their deportnnd: green suits will be worn by prisoners of good behaviour, cadet-grey by tl os» who are less orderly, and red by tho; o who are extremely unruly. It is ch-imcd, and justly so, that this innovation will give the convict the idea he can make an advance n his fellow-man’s opinion even while confined behind thepris n bars. A meeting of the Wonuv’J'-- E-rly Closing Association was be •’ i > the Jockey Club room on Mo eh; dug. to consider the request of (h ■ Jockey Club, that two half days holiday be granted on tho occasion of U'o’r race meeting. Mr Siacpoole occ tpied the chair, and there was a good attendance of members. It was unanimously resolved that the request be granted, and tho shops in Woodville will close at noon on Tuesday and Wednesday, 2nd and 3rd of F ebruary. We (Herald) learn that Mr W. Douglas, the well-known Hawke’s Bay sportsman, has entered'five of his horses for tho Britannia Steeplechase, of 5000 sovs, and the Britannia Hurdles, of 5000 sovs, to bo run at the. Warwick (England) spring meeting, 1900. The horses comprise Toriki, a brown gelding by Torpedo—Kapeld ; Penrose, by Torpedo —Primrose ; Waterstone, by Waterstone, by Waterfall—fEgyptilla; The Brook by Torpedo—Rivulet; and Sarda, by Torpedo—iEgyptilla. At tho Palmerston Court yesterday Mr 8. Bolton was Hired £2 and costs for lumping on the train while in motion. The train had left the station and was a quarter of a mile on its journey before Mr Bolton got .on board. Mr Bowles, the local stationinaster, stated that the practice of boarding and alighting from trains while in motion was becoming very common, and extreme difficulty was experienced in suppressing it. He considered that no matter how pressing a man’s business was it did not excuse or mitigate tho offence. Had there been a fatal accident in the present case, the public would certainly have blamed the department, and would press for a penalty with a view of preventing a recurrence, Tho Magistrate said that it certainly seemed an aggravated case. There might have been some excuse for getting on at the station in view of pressing business, but to board the train after it had gone a quarter of a mile away was certainly tempting Providence. During the genuine Summer Clearing Sale notv. on at the Bon Marche, ladies wih be able to have all dresses made first class stylo at greatly reduced Acutes. C. Sundford &■ Co. 489. MR HUGHES, Dentist, hogs to announce that being now able to buy Dental requirements cheaper, ho will reduce (lie price of sets ol teeth. Terms strictly cash. —Advt. HG9st The following conversation took place recently. “ You’re a fool.” “ Well, what if 1 am, takes wise men to make them. But since I used Gallicbau’s A.C. Corn Cure there is none of tho fool about me; cured my fifteen years collection in loss chan fifteen days. What Price '! Only Is. Chemists and stores. —Advt. Elsewhere in this issue it will bo ob" served that Messrs D. G. McKibbiu &Co., ol’Lomlon House, intend clearing out the balance of their summer and surplus stock. They state that owing to having had to dispose of M. A, Bowen k Co’s, stock in addition to their usual heavy importations, they are now overstocked. From the reductions that are made oil the usual prices wo should think that they will quickly accomplish their object. The sale commences on Saturday first and continues for 21 days only, and we should advise intending purchasers to bo early on the hold so as to get an early choice. —