Untitled

Bruce Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 3103, 29 September 1899, Page 4

By request we commence iv this issue " Craigielinn," a Scotch story written by Vincent Pyke. Mr Jas. King, of Benhar, hag been gazetted as a ranger under the " Animals Protection Act," and also as an officer under "The Fisheries Conservation Act, 1884." The fine weather of the past few weeks has beep very favorable to the lambing, and there is now a good percentage of flue, healthy lambs to be seen all over the district. At San Francisco a law has been made forbidding the throwing of rice and slippers at weddings. This enactment has been passed because many have been blinded or iujured. Speaking on the question of insanity in the Supreme Court, Christcburch, and with reference to the opinions of Dr Maudsley, His Houor, addressing a medical witness said, " Dr Maudsley holds that we are all more or less insane, does he not, doctei?" The medical witness replied, " Yes, but some have firmer nerve centres than others." About forty members of the Bruce Rifles turned out to the usual fortnightly pirade last Wednesday. The company were put through manual and firing exercises and extended movements by Captain Stewart in the drill hall. After the parade the recruits who had assembled in full force, were put through drill by Lieutenant M'Clymonfj. The members and adherents of the Timaru Presbyterian Church mustered in large force on Wednesday evening, says an exchange, to welcome back their pastor, the Rev. William Gillies, after an absence of about four months, and to take leave of the Rev. James Chisholin, who has been suppling his place during thab time. The meeting was very enthusiastic, and both old and young testified to the very able manoer in which Mr Chisholm had carried on the worii of the church. A pur.se of twenty five sovereigns was presented to him as an indication of Mie high place he had won in the affections of the people. The members of the Band of Hope also presented him with a token of their esteem.

Wheat sowing is now completed and a few days more of suitable weather should see the bulk of the oab crop in also. So far as we can learn, the area under crop will nob differ appreciably from that of last year. The River bank contractors are getting on rapidly with the construction of the Company's dredge. Satisfactory arrangements hay« now been made with Mr Maley, who^e property adjoins the River-bank claim, Ad '-.? the dredge is being bailb on his land. Our readers will regret bo hear of the death of Mr Robert Hutton, which occurred at Akatore on Wednesday. Mr Hutton had been ailing for some time prior to his decease ; he was quite a young man, being only 29 years of age. Great sympathy is felt for M 3 widowed mother. The aunual meeting of the Cycling Club postponed from Tuesday, will be held tonight, when we trust that all the officebeara of the club, and every other cycliab in Milton who «an possibly attend, will put in an appearance. It is to be iioped that the cyclists will prove that they arp made of the right stuff, and thafc the Cycling Olub will not have to be numbered amoug our dead institutions. The Salvation Army is again actively ■ engaged in preparing for its annual week of Self Deui*J. Last year a large sum waa raised by this means which enabled ib to pursue it-i Missionary, Spiritual, and Social work with unqualified success. In connecbijn with the local Self Denial effort, a very interesting and instructive limelight) lecture will be given by the N.Z. commaader Colonel Estill on Tuesday October 3 iv St. George's Hall ; tor further particulars see advertisement. A very pleasing ceremony took place in the vestry of St. Paul's Church, Kaitangata after the service on Sunday afternoon, when Miss Edith Kirby was presented with a very handsome travelliug bag and a purse. Canon Dodd, in making the presentation referred in complimentary terms to the good work done to the church by Miaa Kirby. Mr Sharman suitably-replied on behalf of Miss K.rby, aud all testified to her good qualities ami future well-fare in her new sp.iere of life. The travelling bag was neatly initialed and bore the following insciip'ion. "Presented to Miss Edith Kirby by the parishioners of St Paul^J" Kaitangata, for hur honorary services as organist and to the church generally on the occasion of her leaving Kaitangata for fresh fields and pastures new. Up Oxford way a Prohibitionist storekeeper of economic turn got some free envelopes, with Strike out the Top Line flamingly shown, and sent out his accounts in them. Result : The top line was in nearly all cases, "To account rendered £ — ." Well (says a Christchurch paper) they all started striking out this top line and calling to pay the monthly amount only. At first he treated in as a joke. But one after another of his customers cama pouring in with the top line religio\?^ Struck out, . and asking for a clean receipt on paying the balance. At last he could stand it no longer, so finally he set to work and made out a fresh set of accounts, and this time sent them in proper envelopes. Whether he himself in desperation fell back for comfort on a tin of kerosene this deponent sayeth not. The 'Weiner Tagblatb ' states that a daring young Englishman of good family (name noc given) has succeeded in abducting "4 and eloping with one of the ladies of the Sultan's own harem. The young man made her acquaintance at the recent festival of the Leilat El Kadrat, when all men and women go to mosques to pray. Each one of the Sultan's harem that goes is jealously guarded by a eunuch, but the hero of this adventure succeeded in winning over the guardian of the beauty he admired by heavy bribes. The eunuch acted as go-between, and made the necessary arrangements for the elopement. The Englishman succeeded in getting his Mohammedan lady-love on board a steamer bound direct for Bombay. Several eunuchs suspected of being accomplices, have been thrown into dungeons, and the Sultan utters fearful maledictions on the English. Mr Stead writes as follows in ' Review of Reviews': — At the Hague the other day there arrived a letter from the director of one of the best news agencies, ordering the curtailing of the reports from the Peace Conference. "No one in London," so ran the missive, " cares for anything at present but the news from the Transvaal and the latest scores of the test matches with the Australians." Yet the Peace Conference was engaged in founding what everyone admits to be the most important of all international institutions. It was busy creating at last, at the close of the nineteen centuries of nominal Christianity, a Court which would at least give the nations a chance of appealing yin their disputes to some other judgment seat than that of the God of War. But what does the man in the street care for such things ? Nothing, and less than nothing. He never did ; he probably never will. Ho does not think ; he only feels. And he does not understand.

The demand for hoggets still continues, 1 and those who were fortunate enough to lecure lambs at a cheap rate before winter have now a good chance to make a substantial profit on their transaction. Mr Reid has received instructions from the Otago Education Board that the examination of the local High School will take place next Monday, Mr Goyen and Mr Bonnin being the acting inspectors. The funeral of the late Mr Jag. Fahey, trbo was accidentally killed at Clarendon on Saturday night last, took place on Wednesday, and was one of the largest that has taken place in this district for some time. The Very Rev. J. O'Neill officiated at the grave. The Non-Confidence debate on Captain Russell's amendment collapsed at two o'clock on Thursday morning. Every member of the House was account td for, and the division resulted in a victory for the Government by-five votes. The voting was 28 for the amendment and against 33 The Left Wing and Mr Montgomery voted against the Government* Potatoes are now almost unsaleable and with the prospect of the new potatoes from the north being soon on the market, local growers, who have still a quantity of last season's crop on hand, are at a loss as to how they can dispose of their surplus. Its is reckoned that present prices scarcely pay for the labor of bagging, railage, commission, &c, to say nothing of the initial cost of growing and harvesting the crop. Mr Andrew M'Gill, an employee on the Coombe Hay estate, met with a rather peculiar accident last Tuesday. When putting on his boots in the morning he knelt down on his left knee on a woollen mat to •nable himself to pull on his boot, when a needle, about two inches in length, which was concealed in the mat, ran right into his leg above the knee. M'Gill, who is a strong young man, attended to hia usual work all day on Tuesday. On Thursday the pain became so great that he had to come into Milton and have the needle extracted by a doctor. Although the accident is not of a serious nature, M'Gill will have to keep to his bed for a time. The usual fortnightly meeting of th Loyal Milton Lodge, M.U.1.0.0.F., was * fheld last Monday evening in the Council Chambers. The meeting was made the occasion of a pound night, Bro. J. Taylor in the N.G.s chair. About forty members were present. After the business of the evening had been gone through and the usual toast given and honored, the lodge went into harmony. Songs were sung by Bros. J. Hagen, H. Lilburne, C. Clark, W. Alcock, W. King, A. Lymer, M. Lynch, J. Brownlee, and A. Beesley. Bro. J. Hagen also gave a recitation. The receipts for the evening amounted to £15 10s 3d. At Limbach, in Saxony, a barn has been burnt down and a laborer who was sleeping in it burnt to death. The police hare received an anonymous denunciation from a person who tells the following almost incredible story :— Some students of the Technicum, at Limbach, on the evening of the fire, after a wild debauch, made a wager as to the one of their number who would show the greatest courage at a fire. The hero was to be allowed to take part for a whole year in all the drinking bouts without paying anything. To decide the bet at once, they set fire to the barn, which is of considerable size. A man who was inside was, as has been stated, burnt to death. The police have verified this story and five students have been arrested. At the annual meeting of the South Otago Cricket Association, held at Balclutha on a recent date, Mr W. 0. Thomson movei — "That in order to foater junior cricket the Association procure a trophy for 2nd eleven competition, and that the secretary again write to the secretary of affiliated clubs asking them to give the matter their attention, and request clubs to send into the Association as soon as possible fter first practice the names of those who a c to constitute the first eleven for the season, all other members to compete in 2nd eleven, and when necessary in the first. Two elevenß for same club not to play on game day in shield contest, and that secretaries of clubs advise secretary of Association of transfer of members from one team to the other." This will do away with the necessity of defining a junior cricketer and prevent a Ist eleven man playing in a 2nd eleven. The following may be of interest to local draughts-players : In the billiard room of one of the Fraserburgh hotels the other night a game at "brag" took place of a proposed game of draughts. A commercial traveller who can play a decent game at the "brod," and knows it, was, like Neal i Malone; "blue moulded for want of a batin." He could play anj man in Fraserburgh, he vowed, and became offensive with his brag. A quiet man in the corner said — "Ye micht do that, but ye'd lose." "I'll play you for all you are worth," said the commercial. "Ye dinna ken fat I'm worth," said the " quiet one," •' but I'll play ye for a fiver," and he produced a five-pound note, and asked the commercial to " cover that." The commercial funked, and began to mumble about draughts not being a gambling game. He had no objections, however, to play the " quiet one " for a dram. " Na, • na," said the latter, " doon wi' yer siller or ■top yer gassin." And the commercial traveller chose the latter alternative. The point of the joke comes in with the explanation that the "quiet one," as he himself put itj dosen't know the difference between a " king " and the " double six." " Was you not frightened about your money ?" I asked him. " Not a bit, man," he replied. " The marker tell't me there wasna a board in the hoose." — * Fraserburgh Herald '

We have been asked by the trustees of the Kaitangata Wesleyan Church to thank, through pur columns, all the friends who assisted to bring to a, successful issue the Sale of Work held recently by the above church. They desire to especially thank the members of the Band for the assistance rendered by them.