Local & General News.

Feilding Star, Volume IV, Issue 7, 26 June 1883, Page 2

Local & General News.

• We have to acknowledge receipt of a batch of Parliamentary papers from the Government Printer. On Friday night last, the coach running from Makatoko to Palmerston, came through without a single passenger for the first time within five years. The Post says : — "We understand that Captain William's barque, the Anne Melhuish, has changed hands, Mr Francis Loudon, of Foxton, being thepurchaser She has been bought to trade between Sydney and Foxton with timber. Mr Postans, the master of the State School at Marton, is about to lead to the Hymenial altar Miss Flavall, of Makino. The marriage will take place in the Anglican Church, Feilding, at 3 o'clock on Thursday next. Probably the smallest R.M. Court ever held in Feilding was tbat of Saturday last, the only persons present being the J.P., the Clerk, the accused, and our reporter. There was not even a gentleman in blue to politely show the prisoner the way to the police station, had such attention been required. j Several new cottages have recently | been erected on the Taonui Road. Mr Pleasants has just finished a nice fourroomed house, and Messrs Pringle Bros, have followed his example, while other erections are in contemplation. Tlie property fronting this road is fast besoming settled upon. I An adornment to the neighborhood of the Makino Railway Station has just been i completed by Messrs Hubner and Sons, carpenters and builders. We allude to the very neat and substantial dwellinghouse for Mr Penberthy, of the Makino Store and Post Office. The design is a pretty one, and the workmanship is excellent. The neighborhood of Makino has, we notice, become somewhat celebrated of late for some unfortunate accident, or noteworthy event, our columns having frequently had to be occupied with reports of painful accidents, sudden deaths, fatal disasters, fires, cattle killed on the line, and not omitting the domestic calamity of elopement. " New Zealand mutton on the table of the Prince of Wales," sounds something like a feather having been placed in the colony's cap. His Royal Highness, we are informed, visited the lonic, was much struck with the pe.rfect refrigerating arrangements on board the steamer, and commanded Captain ,Huilet to be sure and bring home one of the finest sheep procurable for the royal table at Sandringham. A social party, consisting of members of the Primitive Methodist congregation, and. other former friends of the wife of tlie Rev J. Clover, met ia Mr Thompson's old store last evening in order to welcome the said lady back to Feilding. A very pleasant evening was spent. We are glad to find that Mrs Clover has so far recovered her usual health, although not look ing quite so well as when in Feilding some three or four years ago. We noticed the. other day two Maori encampments on the Harbor Board Block Road. A large number of "dusky sportsmen" were assembled at each, and judging from the large heaps of pigeons and other game we saw, they had evidently been having a good time of it. We were sorry to see a number of tuis among the dead game,, and think that something should be done to put a stop to the shooting of these birds, which is illegal There was a little breeze in Parliament recently. Mr Green accused the Govern ment of conniving at the escape of one of the Government officials who had been committed to takehis trial for embrzzling Government moneys. The charge was stoutly denied by the Government, and Mr Bryce charged Mr Green with makme a false statement, ais Mr Green refused to give tho name of theofficinl he was'alluding to. Mr Fbaw then -'said that there could be no doubt the official referred to by Mr Green was Rattray..; . but he would inform the, House that Sir : G Whitmore, and Mr Sheehan were Rattray's sureties, and the bail had been estreated. An extradition warrant had been issued for Rattray's arrest wherever found.

The Dunedin gaol enquiry is still pro ceeding. Mr Messenger, of New Plymouth, has killed a hoar in that district whose tusks over-lapped a complete circle, and measured 16 inches. Old settlers and Maoris say they never saw such tusks before. They have been forwarded to the Wellington Museum as a caution to the southern meuihers. The new Archbishop of Canterbury has a commanding and even striking presence. His is a countenance which, in a more worldly walk of life, is called a good singe face, only with him, instead of tragedy and passion, the expression is one of extreme mildness and benevolence. It is a singularly winning face, and reminds one strongly of Ralph Waldo Emerson Recently, at Home, an old dirty and disgraceful looking oil painting was sold at an auction sale for a trifle. A Catholic priest bought it again for £7, had it cleaned and restored, and submitted to an expert, who declared it to be a portrait of St. Jerome, by Bottecelli. A London dealer afterwards paid £'700 for the picture. A pleasant entertainment was given in the school house at Sanson on Friday evening in aid of the fund for purchasing a piano for the Literary and Musical Association. Thanks were given on behalf of the committee by the Rev Worker to those attending, and also to those assisting, and the singing of the National Anthem closed the proceedings. A rumour has been freely circulated in England in explanation of the Lady Florence Dixie mystery. It is said the assault was a joke, perpetrated by two very close relatives, and that they intended to inform her next morning, but found to their horror that her ladyship had lost no time in getting the occurrence reported in the London papers. The Volunteers of Wellington are about to go to war with each other, the only ball to be used, however, being a football, the Navals having challenged the Gnards to a friendly match, and the guantlet has been taken up. We should like to witness similar games between some of the country corps, or if that could not be done, a battle between Vol. and Civilians would be sure to excite some interest. Monsieur Prudhomme lauds the advantages of gymnastics. " There is nothing like it for health," he says ; " it iucieases a man's strength, prolongs his days ." " But our ancestors did not practice gymnastics, and yet interrupted a pupil. "They did not," returned monsieur ; " and what is the consequence? They are dead, every man of them !" It is time the Borough Council paid some attention to the matter of the outlet for the overflows of the the Makino near the residence of Mr Beattie. Th's morning quite a heavy cataract was running over the road into the dyke fronting the said property, the cause being that the culvert under the road is much too small to carry off the water which so rapidly accumulates after heavy rains. The recent rains have had the effect of greatly raising the Makino and Kiwitea Streams, which in many places have overflown their embankments. Mr Beattie had to wade through the water by which his residence was this morning entirely surrounded, and several residents in Grey street had to do the same, as that street was under water, as was also tue lower part of Denbigh street. The ditch alongside Kimbolton road overflowed. Near Mr Caldwell's mill there was a strong stream rushing over the road, while at the Makino near Mr MeCrae's residence, the water on the road is said to have been as high as a horse's knees. The overflow of the Makino in the neighborhood of Denbigh street was to a.great extent due to the accumulation of logs brought down by the current.