Local and General.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume IV, Issue 351, 19 January 1876, Page 3

Local and General.

Captain Morris-returned to Tauraoga-»from Poverty Bay, overland, on Sunday. Theophilus Heale, Esq., Inspector' of I Sur-. veys, is a passenger on bGard the- s 8 Rowena. Nine men of the Armed. Constabulary, were yesterday morning sent to thY works on the Tauranga and Katikati Boad. We learn from Maketu and inland that the late Maori election reflects the highest credit on the good sense of the native electors. Thej3roceedings at each polling place were of ~tfct**pßt orderly nature, though great interest was*taken in the result and emulation was strong. The result of the contest is not yet officially declared. We understand that very voluminous testimony of a very reliable nature has been elicited re the alleged bribery and corruption practiced on Mr If. Gt. Bead's behalf at the late election. At the preaent time, we refrain from entering fully into the question for very obvious reasons. We can but hope that if, as we have every reason to believe, the statements made to ub are truthful, the prosecution may be energetically carried on and attain a successful issue. On Monday afternoon Mr Douglas's horse and cart met with a mishap. The dray, partially loaded, was standing at the end of the wharf when the horse suddenly started off and jumped from the road on to the beach. Cart and horse were both upset, but the former having been emptied, and a little gentle persuasion applied to the latter, in five minuteß' time the horse was quietly pulling the dray along the beach. There can be no doubt that the wheat crop throughout the district must have suffered very considerably through the last few daya' heavy rains. We hear with great regret t*iat at. Matapihi a considerable area has been knocked down, and the returns which at one time promised to be very abundant throughout this neighbourhood are now quite problematical. Mr Snodgrass, of Ofituneetai, has, we are glud to learn, already cut his wheat, and has it "stooped," and anticipates a yield of between forty and fifty bushels to the acre. A meeting is convened to be held on Saturday evening next, at seven o'clock, at the Tauranga Hotel, for the purpose of forming a committee of management to- carry out the necessary arrangements for the holding of the Tauranga Annual Regatta on St Patrick's Day. We hope to see a large attendance, and feel sure that if matters are again relegated lo the supervision of the gentlemen who formed last year's committee of management the Annual Begat t a of 1876 will be as great a success as that of '75. It would appear from " information we have since received" that the probable catas> lrophe which Mr Maxwell's information led us to anticipate on. account of the axle caps having been loosened from the axle of his cart was never likely to come off, as the wbeels -would sbill hold on safely even though the caps were off altogether. We are glad to be able to notice this, as it lessens the' probability of the act having been committed* in such a manner as it was natural to suppose it bad been from the statement first made to our reporter. We would warn bathers in the harbor to be cautious in the water, and not go too far out into deep water, sharks and dog. fish being very numerous this season. On Saturday morning last, when the Armed Constabulary were firing at the butts in the early morning, six or seven sharks came close in shore ; the men succeeded in capturing one, which was found to measure over four feet in length. Parents should be careful- aofe to allow their children to bathe alone, as the sharks frequenting the harbor are mostly of the ground epecies, and naturally cruise in water of any depth. The following is taken from a Viotorian exchange : — Two young telegraph olerks of a somewhat hilarious disposition,, found great amusement in carrying on a conversation with each other at an hotel table by tioking on their plates with knife, fork, or spoon. For the information of those not acquainted with telegraphy, it may be well to state that a combination of sounds constitutes the telegraphic alphabet, and persons familiar with these sounds can converse thereby as intelligently as with spoken words. While these fun-loving youths were seatedt afr breakfast, a man entered the dining»room with a ' handsome girl upon his arm. The telegraphic tickers commenced as soon as the husband and wife had seated themselves, No, 1 opened the discourse as follows:— "What a lovely pigeon this is alongside off me— ain't she ?"' Ho. 2. — "Perfectly, charming; looks aa if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth- Just married, I gues ;. don't you think so &•'* No. 1 . — " Yes, I should think she was. If that country bumpkin beside her was out of the road, Td give her a kiss for luck." No. 2. — " Suppose you try it, anyhow." The reader may form some i3ea of the young men's consternation when the partnev.of the lady picked up his knife and tic&edi off' the following vigorous message: — "This lady is my wife, and aa soon as she gets through her breakfast, I propose to wring both your necks — you insolent whelps." OxraEN 13 Life. — Db. Beight's Phosphodxne. — Mttititudbs of Feoplb are hopelessly Buffering from Debility, Nervous and Liver Complaints, Depression of Spirits, Hypo> cliondria, Timidity,. Ibdigesfrion,, 'Failure of Hearing, Sight and Memory, Lassitude,, Want of Power, &c, whose casesadmit of a permanent cure by the new remedy Phosphodtne (Ozonio Oxygen), wbioh at onco allays all irritation and excitement, imparts new energy and life to the enfeebled constitution, . and rapidly cures every stage of these- hitherto incurable and distressing, maladies. Sold by all Chemists and Druggists throughout ■ the Globe.— Caution : The large- and increasing, demand for Drßrighfc's Phosphodyne has led to several imitations und6r somewhat similar names ; purchasers of this medicine- should therefore be careful to observe that' eaoh case bears the Government Stamp, with the words- " Dr Bright'sPhoephodyne " engraved thereon, and that the same words- are also blown in tiie. bottle,.

We are in hourly dread of hearing from Opotiki of the re-occurrence of floods: If the heavy rain experienced in Tauranga during the -laat'three dnys has also fallen in Opotiki there is- every reason to anticipate serious consequences in that neighbourhood.

•• We draw attention to Mr Clarke's letter in reply to our remarks relative to the action taken by the School Committee with regard to the proposed Greerton School. We may mention that our remarks were based on the information given by Mr Clarke at the late meeting relative to Mr Moss's com* munication, as- taken down by our reporter ; the fact of it being the petition itself that the Committee was requested to report upon, and not the advisability or otherwise of establishing a school at Greerton, < placing a different complexion on the matter. We are glad, however, that the Committee seems inclined to entertain favourably the idea of the Greerton school, but we must express our regret that any such expressions as "distruat" and "dictation" should have been brought on the tapis.

A daughter of Mr Stewart Rae, about 11 years old, one of the Katikati special settlers, was recently nearly poisoned through eating tutu berries. On the child being taken ill Mr Rae sent to Mr Shepherd's store for castor oil. Mr Shepherd, who is a very old colonist, remembered having heard years ago of a Maori cure for cases of this nature, and immediately hurried to Mr Rae'e house where he found the child in a state of convulsions, eyes glazed, and apparently in the jaws of death. He then applied the Maoti remedy, namely, burning linen rag under the child's nose, and thrusting a feather up eaoh nostril j the smell of the rag caused the nerves to relax, and the mouth, which previously was fast locked, slightly opened sufficiently so as to admit of the insertion of a cork. He then poured mustard and warm water down the child's throat, which caused immediate vomiting, after which she gradually recovered. We recommend parents and others to take a note of this really invaluable recipe, as at any time it might be the means of saving life, especially in the case of settlers going on to new land with young families.

The Immigration Officer has handed us a paper containing "Precautions against the spread of Typhoid Fever," drawn up by William Ogle, M.A., M.D., F.R.0.P., London, Medical Officer of Health for the combined districts of East Herts, and circulated by the sanitary authorities. In many places in the colony during the summer of last year this fever raged with great virulence, many falling victims to its ravages, the mortality doubt lag j berg incroDSed on account of the ignorance existing as to the necessary precautions to be taken among those in whose houses the diseaße had entered. Dr Ogle, in the paper before us states that " typhoid, enteric, or gastric fever are names given to one and the same infectious disease, this being a fever produced by excrernental poisoning, and almost invariably accompanied by diarrhoaa." Among other instructions which it might perhaps offend the taste of our readers to peruse were we to give them in extenso, Dr Ogle gives a liet of rules to be strictly observed by those who would keep themselves and then* neighbours free from infection, among which it is directed that all carpets, curtains, and other objects likely to get fouled must at once be removed from the sick room, that every one whose presence is not absolutely neoossary must be kept out of the room, and by means of open windows and open doors, that as much fresh air as possible should be given to the patien f . Instructions are then given as to the nature of the disinfecting fluid to be used and the disposal of the discharges, which must be buried in the garden or field in a deep trench as far as possible from any well or water supply. The bed and body linen immediately it is taken off should be put into a tub of water to which carbolic acid has been added, but on no account must the linen be sent to a laundreßS without thorough previous disinfection,norwithout informing her of its oharacter. The nurse must observe the most scrupulous care to keep everything clean. When the illness is over the bed, if soiled, should be burnt, or the tick or sacking cover disinfected by thorough boiling, and the flock or straw stuißngburnt. The floor of the sick room and the bedstead and other furniture should be thoroughty scrubbed with soft soap and car* bolic aoid r and all the implements and utensils i that have been used in the sick room should 'be well scalded. In conclusion the instructions direct that no water should be drunk that is open to the least suspicion, or if no other oan be got, that it should be previously boiled. That immediate notice should be given to the Sanitary Inspector of any nuisance, suob as stinking drains, heaps of offensive refuse, and the like, and' that every influence should be used to insist upon the necessary precautions being carried out by neighbours whose houses are already infected.

The Educational Monthly says : The follow 1 ing grotesque, yet solemn, "prayer is a verbatim report, taken in the winter of 1862-3, at a Methodist meeting held by plantation negroes in a settlement noar camp : — " OLord God of dis glorious-universe, wilt dou look down in de omnipresence of dy eye upon dese dy collared children bowed upon de knuckle-bone dis night. Take a solemn peep upon us, and let a heap o' light in. Dou knowest what dese dy poor darkies need. Dore be Sam, and dere be Jerry, and dere be Pompey. Dey are in dere . sins,., dats what I reckon. Help dem to git . up and' git from de wilderness of sin and come .into de clearing of salvation. Take a solemn peep also upon de darkies in de oder cabin, who fiddle and whirl upon de bombastic toe, while dy servant fulminates words to do Baler of all humans upon dis earth, wilt dou Dress de generals in de field dis night, if it be circumspection in dy eye. Bress de Colonels iv de field dis night, if it be circumspection in in dy disoreet eye, and also bress de Union isoldiers who carry de musket and chew do cartridge, fighting for de Stars and Stripes. Dey. fighl in> a scientific cause, and be de bestesfe ob men ; but, good Lord, may dey swear less and pray more. And finally, bress dy. humble servant now supplicating dee in behalf of dese benighted darkies. In do lan. .guage of de mighty Washington, dis world is all a fleeting show. To .day we are alive and hoppin' around like grasshoppers j to-morrow de eiokle of death cut us down and Bpreads us out like grass in hay time, Many dere will be wid slick countenances, white collars, and fine clothes, who will find de gates shut against dem, while be blind old woman, hobblin' on crutches, she goes-straight in. Amen."

A woman loecs^one- tenth of her life looking fox her. thimble— a man. looking for his kaife*