TABLE TALK.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIX, Issue 149, 27 June 1898, Page 7

TABLE TALK.

Abundant rain. Fighting in ".Cuba. Severe battle near Santiago. Parliament resumes to-morrow. Elingamite arrived from Sydney. S.s. Westralia from the South to-day. Eain has fallen heavily all through fche South. Thirteen Americans killed in a skirmish in Cuba. General Sh after is advancing on Santiago deCuba. ' r Steamer Kotomahana has arrived safely at Wellington. Next Monday will be the "Glorious Fourth " of July. The disabled steamer Time has arrived safely at Melbourne. Railway concessions inimical io England have been refused by China. An American brigade has occupied Juragua on the Cuban Coast. _ Newton, Parnell and Suburbs scored victories at football on Saturday. Newton football Club has won seven successive cup football matches this season. Half an inch of rain fell in Auckland from 9 a.m. on Saturday till 9 a.m. to-day. Wednesday, July 13th, is to be observed as Arbor Day throughout New Zealand. English mails per Aorangi via Vancouver, London date May 21st, were delivered here to-day, Public meeting of citizens this afternoon re congratulating Uncle Sam on "the Glorious Fourth." Constable Cullinane was badly assaulted and ill-treated while making an arrest on Saturday evening. : Forty-two saloon and 32 steerage passengers arrived here from Sydney by the s.s. Elingamite to-day. Hone Toia and the other Hokianga Maoris will be brought up at the Supreme Court next Monday. The Fram, Dr. Nansen's celebrated steam-schooner, has sailed on another Polar voyage from Christiania. The Christchurch Kinematograph Company gave their farewell performance at the Opera House on Saturday night. In this issue will be found an account of an Aucklander's invention for firing dynamite safely by means of gunpowder. Captain Svcrdrup, who has sailed in the Fram for the North Polo* hopes to meet with the adventurous balloonist Andre. Sergeant-Major Carpenter has been at Coromandel instructing the new company of volunteers there and putting the men through.elementary infantry drill. The young King of Tonga's counsellors are trying to choose a wife for him. Two 5 Tonga belles are "in the running" and their names are to be put in the hat. A large model of a Maori mold er raffc made of dried raupo, formerly used for crossing streams, made by an old Maori in the Ksripara district, has been placed on view in the Auckland Museum. John Wm. Herrold, master mariner, of Remuera, is dead. He originally came here from India many years ago, and was the first to introduce Darjeeluig teas into the Auckland market being interested in the Indian tea market. This is a sample of the American " war poem" from the "Minneapolis.Times":— • " We didn't want to fight, But, by thunder, when we did, The mouth of hades rumbled " And our tars took off the lid." An American paper says :—-" The sailor who protested against -stopping-, for., something to. eat during the fight at Manila, tearfully pleading—' Let's keep on and finish 'em now, Captain. To with breakfast!'—cannot be recommended for a position in a Sunday-school, but he is a handy sort of man to have around in a scrap." A new departure has been made lately in the shipping of copra from Fiji by steamer. -It has always been the custom for steamers to carry it in bags but on recent trips of the Ovalau and^Taviuni it has oeen carried loose. It is an experiment and if successful (says the " Fiji Times") will no doubt do away with the sailing craft to Australia. News from Fiji states that recently the annual Vaka Misinare (missionary meeting) was held in Levuka native town, and' this year was largely attended by European spectators. The day being fine and cool was most enjoyable and the various ntekes were performed with great spirit by the many performers. The Revs. W. A. Burns, J. Bathgate and A. J. Small were present at the meeting, and the collection most satisfactorily amounted to no less than £20 10s Id. A Fiji paper states that when the S.M. at Levuka was recently on a magisterial visit to the ancient city of Bau, a case in volving most peculiar circumstances came before him. A man laid an information against a native woman charging her with the illegal detention of a gold ring which he believed to be his property. The woman declined to give it up, averring to have found it in the stomach of a sumusuniu (a fish) which she caught. The man withdrew the charge, and subsequently Ratu Epeli, a Fiji chief, declared that he recognised tho ring as oi,ie belonging to Ratu Mudraiwiwi which had been lost some years ago in the shallows off Bau. Wonderful value in dresses, 6yds for 1 lHd, 2s 6d, 2s lid, 3s lid, 4s lid, and upwards ; also braided robes reduced to 9s lid, at Smith and Caughey's great stocktaking fair.—Advfc.