LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS,

Warpek's Cpnß? proceedings and other matter will be found on onr fourth page. The nnmbar of medieii practitioners registered in New Zealand is 6f3, and of dentists 211. i The suggestion has been madeSfo the ' l( Otago Daily Times "by a country oorrea? pondent that *s many Sid people in the ponn* try are aoable to pay Cares to town at tb« approaching Jubilee time, the Government should consider tbe propriety of issuing 1 tickets through the Demonstration Oomin fytee at ft third or fourth of tbe fare, to tbttihota J old people might b« an*bl«l to r(itt Duntdjn,

A notice apDeara in the " Gazette " appointing Mr John Ry*n, Waittbuna, to be a trustee for the management of tho Havolock Commonage, in succession 10 Robert Sutherland, deceased. The fat lamb season, tho Invorcargill " News " says, is likely to be better than farmers bad boped for. We learn on j;ood authority that Messrs Nelson Bros, (of Ocean Beach Works, aro offering from 8a to 9a for lambs in the paddocks. THE beat in Australia daring the past three or four days has been intense. On Wednesday tbo heat registered 109 degrees in the •hade Id Melbourne and much higher io other parts of the colony, The crops are suffering badly.

Mr Bex Tillkt will leave (be colony fo London about the middle of the month. Th London County Council elections are to tak place early in the year, and he is anxious t< be back in England some little time befor they are held. It is understood that he in tends to seek re-election as alderman. . - AT the meeting of the Land Board on Wed nesday Miss A. Manuel's offer of surrender o small-grazing rnn 199g, Teviot district ; A Smith, small-grazing run 199f, Teviot dis -trio*, and' Mrs H. M. Sutherland, pastora license, sections 14 and 15, block 7, Tatl ■Hill district, were accepted. We are informed by ageDtlcman who passec through Liwrence a day or two ago thai .for over 60 miles of tho roost fertile Jandi in Hawkes Bay, through which the railway rans, the country is of a dark brick color. there are no crops, worth spenking of and ih( formers despair of getting any return wha' ever for their labor and expenditure. The two motor oars which Mr W. M'Lean, of Wellington, ordered when he was in Paris a few months ago are on their way to Australii by one of the Messagcries Maritiraes aieamers, and are expected to arrive ah their destination itl about a fortnight. The vehicles are driven by means of benzine, and are capable of attaining a speed of thirty miles an f< hoar. The tyres are solid rubber, and the ' oars are said to be almost noiseless. AT the old age pensions meeting in Cathedral Square, Christcburch, tbe o.her night, one of the speakers, not an old man, said that when aVl'ad in Eogl&nd he had been employed in a calico factory, and had worked from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. for 5s a week. He pertinently asked if slavery was extinct in England. The same man, referring to the charge nf want of Ihrifc brought against the working classes,remarked: " They say, ' Why do you squander your money?' and they don't let us have it to squander." Tee stallion Zulu, recently stabbed at Cbristchurch, was valued at £400. With the astuteness which has characterised the horso killer since December 13tb, three years ago, when be killed bis first horse, he has left no trace of bis identity and no clue by which his dastardly crime could be sheeted borne to him. During three years be has killed 17 horses whose aggregato value is nearly £1000. During these years tbe police have strained every nerve to catch him, and yet Hie only result has been that he has grown more audacious. Tbe harvesting of oats is pretty genera] on the plains (says the Chris! church " Press ") 'and now that the crops are being cut into it is seen how extremely light they are in mo-t cases. A great deal of tbe straw is too short to cut, and some stripping has been done, bub generally the crops are too uneven to do this successfully. The later crops are, however, much better, and along tbe foot of the hills, wbere there has been more rain, some good yields are looked for. At the second day's races at Gore on Thursday tbe public appear to bavo been pretty well at sea in " spotting " the winners. Three large dividends were paid during the afternoon, the largest being £144, paid to each of two investors on Mr Daly's Ruth in the Three Milo Trot. Ruth had 67see handicap, and won very easily in 9min ljsec. In the Farmers' Plate, Letty returned £33 each to seven investors; and in the Mile and a Half Trot, Prairie returned £13 7s to each of 14 investors. The Governor of New South Wales in tbe interviewer's hands :— •• If I, as an Englishman, wanted to go fanning, it is to this colony (New Zealand) that 1 should come. The regularity of tbe seasons and the fertility of the land constitute a tremendous advantage in favor of the farmers here. Then is just one thing that I am inclined to be » little nervous about — (be very extensive development of the dairying industry. Wherever one turns in New South Wales, in Victoria, and in New Zealand the same thing is seen — dairy factories springing up here, there, and everywhere, and I am very much afraid of the industry being overdone." A GROSS case of- company inhumanity is reported from London. The Aerated Bread Company this year pays 37i per cent. • and tbe dividends for the previous four years were 30, 32, 34, and 35, and there were some bonuses besides. Tbe £1 shares are quoted at £12, and a shareholder was hissed down a 1 the annual meeting and ruled out of order by the chairman because he hinted that the nnique prosperity of the company should be ' accompanied by some rise in the wages for the girls in the shops. The wage for these girls is between 10s and 12s a week for their whole time. w ,JT is stated that Detective Maddern has >•▼ been appointed to go to America and will take ■ warrant with him for the arrest of Dr Open, who is alleged to have omsed the death of the unfortunate young woman, Miss M'Callum, at Aucklaud. Maddern proceeds first to Wellington with the depositions, leaving by steamer on Thursday. It is understood .that the Justice Department has already communicated with the Home authorities on tße matter. Tbe Alameda, by which Dr 'Orpentook passage, is due, at 'Frisco at the end of this week. " . * "A PLEASING ceremony took place at the Lawrence Railway Station on Monday afternoon,' prior to the departure of (ho 2.50 p.m. train. Mr Angus Cameron, who has been promoted from fireman to relieving driver, and transferred to Balclntha, was presente I by his fellow employes with a gold Malteso "cross suitably inscribed. Mr George Black, in^ making the presentation, referred to tbe many good qualities of Mr Cameron, both as • man and a workman, and dn behalf of the Lawrence railway staff wished him every success in his new sphere of labour. Mr Cameron in reply thanked them for their congratulations and tbe kindly feeling they bad dis- . played towards him making him the recipient of a souvenir on his departure from Lawrence. ON Sunday last a valuable mare owned by Mr J. E. Humphries, Waimumu, near Gore, was struck by lightning and killed. On Wednesday afternoon at Myross Bu3b, near Invercargill, a farmer named Crack bad tbe misfortune to lose two draught horses and a > back by the same cause. In Tnvercargill on the same day a flash of lightning found its * way into a dwelling-house, and after travelling through tbe house, found an exit by fore- ■ .cinq off several weatherboards. None of the '^inmates, fortunately, were injured. " TBE " Christcburch Press " states that an • extraordinary illustration of the danger of . - glass in hot weather was afforded at Lytteiton last week. A lady, on going into her bedroom, found a bole burnt in the counterpane. She examined the burn to see the amount of damage, .and to her astonishment found that a small white bead on the trimming of a jacket lying on the bed had focussed the sun's v rays, and bad burnt through the jacket and down through the counterpane and two blankets to the sheet. The bead, which was only tbe size of two pin hf ads, bad got burnt " from its fastening on tbe jacket.tnd was lying in tbe centre of the burnt bole. ATTENTION has been called in a recently issued volume of the " Wealth and Progress of New South Wales " to tbe large increase of divorces granted, since the new Divorce - Act of 1892 came into operation in that colony. Thus in 1893 there were 304 ;in 1894 * there were 369 ; in 1895 there were 302 ; ami in 1896 there were 173. All these are ab- • normally large it would seem, but the first r three years excessively so, due, it is said, to the long arrears of unhappy marriages made prior to tbe new bill coming into force. The drop in tbe fourth year demonstrates this, but even the figures for that year are far in excearof the other Australian colonies ; tbe rate in New South Wales for tbe 10 years ending 1896 being 189 per 10.000 marriages (and this too with the new Act; in force only for four * years) as against' lß in Queensland, 25 in South Australia, 58 in New Zealand, and 71 4n Victoria. Db J.".M. CoKMEIiL, Kansas Cty, Kans, M « a .__" I use Sander & Sons Eucalypti Ex tract frequently as an antiseptic, and for neuralgia* it b«s given me great satisfaction. Can has to be exercised not to be supplied with spurious preparations, as done by my ■noply-druggist.'— lnsist getting Sander and Sons Eucalypti Extract, or else you will be ■upplted with worthless oils. Certainly the best medicine known is Sander and Son's Eucalypti Extract. Test is eminently powerful effects in coughs, colds, influenza — the relief is instantaneous. In ■erions cases and accidents;' be they nonn<?s, barns, scaldings, bruises, sprains, is tbe safest remedy— no swelling, n-> inflammation. Like surprising effects produced in croup, dipb(heria, bronchitis, inflammation of the lungs, I swelling, elc., diarrhea, dysentry, diseases of the kldjieys and urinary organs. In use at hospitals and medical clinics all over the globe; patronised by. Hia. Majesty, the King of It«ly,and crowned with meds'a and diplomas »t International Exhibiticoj Amsterdam, lnaiit getting Sander and Son's Eucalypti .- " Bxtraot, or elw 700 will 1m supplied wUb irprtwuioiu,

'■ THERE were nine patients iv the Tuapeka _ Hospital last cveuiuß— B mule and I female. k Four wore admitted during the week aud '- three discharged. We have authority for stating tbat the 1 request made to the Railway Department 1 relative to train arrungciuents between Dune- _ din and Lawrence lias been acceded to, aud 1 will come into force after Is t February. Our Blue Spar correspondent writes : — Oa Saturday last Mr T. Miles, junr., met with » 3 slight accident at the Consolidated Co.'s . mine by a piece of cement falling off the f»ce > aud striking him <<n tbe )<% No bones were r broken, but so heavy waa the blow tbat he had ; to bo driven to his home. He is, I hear, progressing as well as can be expected. MESSRS Murray and party's dredge, , Tuapeka Flat, will be lit to-night for the first time, by means of the electric light. Tho plant for generating this- has been entirely manufactured by the firm of Messrs Murie and Wakriield, Engineers aud Electricians of Invercargill, and has been placed in position by Mr Wakctield. As a cheap and «fftcive means of illumination for dredging put poses the electric light should prove iaimeaaurrably superior to kerosene. Mr Livingston, at yesterday's meeting of ' the County Council, expressed tbe opinion, ' while certain contracts were about to be taken ' into consideration, that the successful tenderers should be debarred from tendering for fresh contracts until those already in hand were completed. If they were allowed to continue tendering and taking fresh contacts and prolonging the time the result would be that other poor men would be kept out of employment. He believed in a fair partition of the Council's contracts. Mr Livingston's remarks appeared to recommend themselves to the other members preseot, though nothing definite was done in the matter. A slow recovery. When a man has had an extraordinarily severe spell of sickness he asaally recovers alotvly, and it seems as tbOdgb the same principle applies to the weather. A late winter prolonged beyond tho usual time softens into balmy spring wuh reluctance, aud now here it is the middle of December and we have bad hardly enough sunshine to make the Mowers bloom. But one result cf the tardiness of the season is that W. Talboys ' is determined to quit his enormous stock of summer novelties at once, price no object. — 4DVT.] ; The Jubilee Minstrels are nnnouooed to give an eatertuinment ia the Town Hall on , the evenings of Wednesday and Thursday next, race niches, under the auspices of the Lawrence Cjding Club. The lust entertainment given by this talented combination was < an unqualified success. The curtain rose to a ] packed house, and at a season when so many / people were away from Lawrence to witness j the Diamond Jubilee celebrations in Dunedio. < The minstrel combination are being assisted ' by several talented vocalists and entertiiners who will make their first appearance in Lawrence, among whom is Mrs Neave who is 1 highly spoken of as a charmiug Hioger. With so many capable entertiiners a first class programme and a real good night's enjoyment is assured. l t At the Police Court, Lawrence, on Friday, I Messrs D. M'lntosh and T. Pilling, Js.P., r presiding, William Simpson, a youth, lately \ ltaes Junction, was charged with seven v offences, Ist with stealing a blanket value 7s, t the property of James Beunet;, for which he f was convicted and sentenced to one month in Dunodin gaol wi^h hard libor, and on the ' six following charges he was commit ted to Uke £ his trial at the next criminal sittings of tbe s Supreme Court-, to be bolden at Dunedin oa t 28th February, 1S98:— (1) Forging tho name I of Archibald Motfat to a cheque for £7 12j c Od ; (2) with alterop ing to c>sh tho same ut - Mr It. Montgomery's ; (3) forging tho name uf James Bannet to four cheques amounting s to £40 odd ; (4) with attempting to cash oce j. ufHuem at Mr E. Dimant 's ; (5; forging the t name of John Michael to two cheques amount- j. iog to £17 2s ; (6) wirh attempting to cash one of them at the Bank of New South Wales, | Lawrence. n To the doaf and thoso troubled with noises c ■n the bead or other aural troubles. Dr Nicholson, of London, tbe world famed aural Jj specialist and inventor of artificial ear drums, g has just issued the 100' b edition of his illustrated and descriptive book on deafness and • kural troubles. This book may be bid from X: Mr F. Shaw, 160 Adelaide Road, Welling- f tou, N.Z., on receipt of stamps. Mr Campboll, of~the same address, was greatly relieved r of his deafness by Dr Nicholson's system, and t< takes pleasure iv spreading the news of the o great specialist in New Zealand. A little tl book on the cure of rheumatism, corpulence, IV lumbago, and indigestion by tbe same author, n may be had from Mr Shaw on receipt of j stamps. — [Advt.]