LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Feilding Star, Volume I, Issue 283, 5 June 1907, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Owing to sickness, it has been decided to close the Lytton street school. The first meeting of the Feilding Fire Board will take place on 13th inst. Mr and Mrs J. O. Batchelar, of Palmerston, who left for Home in the Nairnshire, have arrived at Bristol. The second term of seven years for which Messrs John Rigg and J. E. Jenkinson were appointed members of the Legislative Council will expire to-night. The teaching profession seems in jrsses a liking for the law Messrs N. G. Armstrong and T. B. Slipper have just passed the solicitors' examination. Ten or fifteen years ago it was the exception for a well-bred woman to be a teetotaller; now it is well-nigh the rule. The amount of water consumed in London ladies' clubs would fill a reservoir. We understand that two petitions will be presented to the Borough Council to-morrow evening, one asking the Council to take steps to form a River Board, and one from the residents of Kimbolton road in reference to further expenditure on the road. At the annual meeting of the Teachers' Institute on Saturday, the fol- \ lowing were elected office-bearers for j ensuing year: — President, Mr C. Bowater; vice-president, Mr Murdoch; hon. secretary and treasurer, Mr Galland; management committee, Messrs Lyon, Lyall, Low, Mitchell, and Campbell: delegates to District Management Committee, Messrs Low and Galland. It seems a pity that even in regard to * prosecution of criminals i political partnership is the first claim to office. Mr C. A. Loughnan lias been appointed Crown Prosecu- ! tor in Palmerston. A much better ! appointment, and one that would I not have been tainted in any way ; with a suspicion of politics of either j side would hare been Mr F. Cooke, a much longer resident of tho district than the appointee. At Palmerston yesterday, Detective Quick arrested a young man, Edj ward Hastie, on three charges — uttering a valueless cheque for £150 I and various other cheques; also a ' charge of arson, in burning down [ the dwelling-house of James Osborne. : at Dannevirke; also breaking and entering and theft from the same. ; He will appear before the Court this I morning, and an application will be j made for his remand to Dannevirke. t The offence was only reported from Dannevirke yesterday afternoon, so that the arrest was very promptly affected. A shocking fatality occurred at Messrs C. Adams and Sons' timber yard in Launceston recently. A boy, George Butterworth, 15 years of age, visited his father ; who was working a planing machine. The boy was carrying a bag, and was caught in the shafting about four feet from the ground, and hurled with terrible force against a large beam. Before the engines could be stopped the lad was shockingly mutilated, 'both legs being torn off, his neck broken, and his skull smashed in. The father was an eye witness of the dreadful tragedy, but was unable to give any assistance. A peculiar incident has occurred in connection with the North express, says a Christchurch telegram. Just before arriving at the crossing between Brindwyr and Papanui the train was stopped by a woman, who was had observed a gap of six or eight inches in one of the rails, a piece having been broken off. The train was run slowly over the gap, but had it been travelling at full speed a horrible accident might have occurred. No explanation was given how the rail was broken, and the piece of metal is missing. Several trains passed before the express, but obesrved nothing, and the line in- 4 spector and ganger failed to notice the gap in the morning. Some interesting religious autobiography was given by the Minister of Education at the Wellington Primitive Methodist centenary celebration. Mr Fowlds stated that he had started life in Scotland as a Presbyterian. When he went out to South Africa the nearest place of worship in his locality of settlement was a Wesleyan Methodist Church, and he became a Wesleyan, and he did not find the change in any way upsetting. Subsequently, at Capetown, he was married in a Congregational Church ; and on settling in Auckland he had become a Congrega^ionalist, finding their church offering the widest door, and in .'that church he had now rested for twenty-two years. At yesterday's meeting of the Wellington Licensing Committee, the question of issuing New Zealand wine licenses was considered. An application for such a license had been put in by Mrs H. Weiss before the judgment of the Supreme Court in a case against her had been given. When the application came up it was stated that her license had already been refused. Two new applications were made in respect to New Zealand wine licenses. It was reported that they were not in order, as no Magistrate's certificate of character as required by the Alcoholic Sale Control Act, 1903, had been sent in. The president intimated that it had been decided not to grant any more New Zealand wine licenses. Yesterday, Margaret Cuttle was charged at Dunedin Police Court with beating her daughter, Nellie, aged fourteen, with undue severity. Complainant stated she had been beaten for an hour with supplejack across the body and arms. The second beating with a strap lasted about half an hour. The defence was that the girl was punished, but not excessively L for going to houses improperly conducted. The mother had dressed the girl in boys' clothing in order to prevent her going to such places. Owing to conflicting evidence the Magistrate dismissed the case, it being understood that the Salvation Army would look after the girl in the meantime. It is announced that the vacant captaincy in the 7th Princess Royal's Dragoon | Guards, at Canterbury, has been filled by the promotion of the senior subaltern. Lieutenant Michael E. Lindsay. Captain Lindsay joined the gallant "Black Horse" iv March, 1900, from the New Zealand contingent, then at the front, his grade being that of second lieutenant •in the New Zealand forces. He served with the New Zea landers in the fighting 4ot the relief of Kimberley, and was m General French's dash for that place; he served in the operations in Orange Free State, the actions of Driefontein, and Zand River; the operations in Cape Cdlcny, including the actions at ColesJerg, and the operations in the Transvaal, in -he course of which he was slightly wounded. He is tho possessor of the Queen's Medal with four clasps. The Druids had a splendid attendance at their meeting last evening. D.P. Bro. Fullbrook attended in his official capacity, and was' received with Druilic honors. A number of officers and members of Oroua Lodge also attended. Three candidates were initiated, and two proposed for membership. The election of officers was then held, and provided keen competition. D.P. Bro. Fullbrook impressively installed the fol- ! lowing officers:— J. P. A Bro. McMeehan, A.D. Bro. Hastings. V.A. Bro. Hyland, sec. Bro. 1 . .1 (unopposed), M.Sec. Bro Niccolls, treasurer Bro. Askew (unopposed), I.G. Bro. Garrett, O.G. Bro. Furness, A.D.B.'s Bros. Ryan and Prichard, V.A.B.'s Bros Laing and Slight. Bro Fullbrook gave a short address pn the Order, and showed that, while the Feilding Lodge had made great pro-gr-ee, the Lodges in Sweden, Germany, England, United States, and California, were advancing at the same rapid rate. Broi Fullbrook was thanked for his address and attendance. The Lodge then went into harmony, and refreshments were handed round.

Mr H. J. Hayns, of Palmerston North, and for some time engineer to the Pohangina County Council, has been appointed by the Oroua County Council clerk of works on the Lower Gorge Bridge contract at a salary of £5 per week. Mr Hayns was for some yean clerk of works for the Public Works Department, and, if, we are not mistaken, was in charge of the work of erecting the Wellington Post Office. Mr Percy Paul, son of Mre Joseph Paul, of Wanganui, met with a distuesing accident at Waipukurau, where, on Monday last, as the result of a gunshot wound, he had to suffer the amputation of an arm. The operation was performed on Monday last, and latest advices state that the young man is progressing as favourably as circumstances will permit. Sinco the death of his father, Mr Paul has been following farming pursuits in Waipukurau. • Saturday's Oaroaru Mail says: — We have received information rrom a dependable source that th«> Hon. Hall-Jonos is to take a prolonged holiday, with a view to repin his health; that, as his col leagues properly assess his value ns an administrator, they will not allow him to resign; and that a rearrangement of portfolios will talre place, which will result in the Hon. J. A. Millar being Minister of Railways for the present at least, and other possible minor changes. This is the only course that could reasonably be adopted under the hfghly regrettable circumstance." The Government has now definitely decided to . acquire Mr Howard «ooth s Camngton estate, near Carterton, for closer settlement purposes. The acquisition has been banging fire for some months owing to difficulty regarding the beneficiaries* timber rights, and until these 'were settled the Government refused to ratify the purchase, although everything else had been agreed to by the parties interested. The estate covers an area of about 6000 acres, and the price paid is understood to be something near £60,000. Teachers at Saturday's meeting were complaining that other districts would not give Taranaki teachers an opportunity of getting an appointment, and some of the Taranakiborn remarked on the increasing tendency of the local authorities to give outsiders a preference over their own servants. "Never mind," said the President, "wait till we get the oil. Everybody will be talking Taranaki, and every one will be trynig for Taranaki teachers and we won't go." The. very idea of refusing an appointment outside this district seemed to tickle the teachers immensely. — News. News has reached Melbourne that Lieutenant Medhurst, of the corpß of Signallers, Hobart, has been received at the War Office, and that there is every reason to believe that his invention of a field pocket telephone will be shortly tested. Lieutenant Medhurst is an officer of the Tasmanian Telegraph Department, and six months ago went to England to bring his invention under the notice of the War Office. The chief merit of his instrument is that it weighs only 21b. or 31b., and can be' carried without discomfort on the belt. Amidst the millions of sheep that pass through the Homebush (Sydney) fat stock sale yards in the course of a few years, there is an occasional freak,and the most remark- ! able of its kind was seen last week, when a merino with four horns was penned. The animal presented a most peculiar appearance, and was more suitable for a zoo or garden of varieties than a fat stock market (says the Sydney Morning Herald). And, judging by the price realised, it may find its way to some show place before it reaches the slaughter yard. Two horns sprang upwards from the head, not unlike the horns of an Ayrshire, while the other two twisted somewhat after the fashion of a boar's tusks. Spirited competition took the price up to £3, at which it was knocked down to a suburban butcher; in the ordinary course of things its price would have been about 16s. A lift accident occurred on May 23rd at the Hotel Arcadia, Pitt st., Sydney, as a result of which a bedroom waitress at the hotel, Mrs Rebecca Sherlock, aged 36, was fatally injured and the lift attendant. Alfred Kingman, 17, sustained a fracture of the right arm, and a crushed foot. Mrs Sherlock was on the second floor, and in endeavouring to step into the lift tripped by some means. In falling she threw her weight on the guide rope, causing it to ascend. She clutched the front portion of the lift for a second or two, and, turning round, seized the wicker work of the door. The door, however, opens inwards, and the unfortunate woman, being unable to retain her hold, fell down to the bottom of the lift well, a distance of 56 feet. Meanwhile the lift was ascending, and the attendant in leaning over with the object of rendering assistance, was caught by the shoulder in the brickwork above the fanlight. He was thrown through the fanlight, and was left suspended on the sash until rescued by a pantryman. The injured woman was picked up from the bottom of the lift well, and conveyed to the Sydney Hospital, but she was dead when the institution was reachedAn account of a sensational fight to the death between two stallions appears in the Canadian Press. The horses ocupied one compartment of a "palace horse car," on the special freight train running down to the port of Montana. Just after the train had crosed the Cove Bridge, near London, one of- the animals became suddenly frightened at the rolling of the car. After rearing once or twice he hung back strongly and snapped his halter. Before the two attendants who were in charge of animals realised the situation the excited animal began a savage attack upon the other sire, biting and kicking him alternately. The two men did their best in the jolting car to drive him off, but without effect. For a couple of minutes the halter on the second stallion held, but then it, too, gave way, and the horses at once engaged in a wild combat. Rearing as far as possible, they savaged each other violently. Several times they were overturned by the' swaying of the train, but, were soon up again and locked together. The scared attendants with difficulty kept clear of the melee, and were powerless to stop it. The brutes, covered in lather and blood, became steadily less violent in their movements, but continued to fight with terrible earnestness. Then, one began to gain the mastery; the breath of the other came in gasps, and weakening steadily he suddenly collapsed and died. The victor quietened down almost immediately, and was secured and -fastened without trouble. A peculiar case was heard at the Supreme Court sitting at Wanganui yesterday. Mr and Mrs A. Lewis and Mrs E. W. Pharazyn sued W. Gruar, sharebroker, for £160 damages and the return of certain moneys paid in connection with the purchase of Waihi mining shares. The plaintiffs alleged that the shares had been purchased by Gruar himself at a lower price than was charged to the plaintiffs, instead of being Bought on commission on their behalf. Lengthy evidence- way given by the parties, and in giving judgment Mr Justice Cooper said that, "-as regards the 50 shares the onus of proof is on the defendant; as to the 100 shares the onus of establishing agency is on the plaintiffs. Looking at the evidence, I have two witnesses, one of whom is saying what is deliberately untrue. I can't say which. Either the plaintiff has commiitted wilful and corrupt perjury from beginning to end, or the defendant has. It is impossible for me to say which. There is nothing on one aide or the other to make the balance lean towards the plaintiff or the defendant. I don't know which to believe." His Honor assessed the amount the plaintiff was entitled to at 3s per share, or £7 10s, and costs on the Magistrate's Court scale. On the 100 shares the onus of proof rested on the plaintiff, who must be held to have failed. His Honor allowed defendant costs on the original statement of claim on the lowest scale, these to be deducted from. the £7 10s awarded plaintiffs. The very latest news is supplied in j the Stab. ' I

Mr C. C. Miles, formerly of the Rangiwahia Hotel, has taken over a leading hotel at Nelson.

Our Wellington % correspondent wires:— Mrs Seddou's handsome new house in Park terrace is nearing completion, anl will be ready for occupation next month. It is understood that when Mrs Seddon moves in, the Hon. Dr. Findlay will oc oupy the Ministerial residence in Molesworth street.

A London correspondent writes — Mrs West (Wellington), with her three daughters and Miss Rathbone, come Home by the Gothic; they are now settled in Gower street, which will be their headquarters for several months to come. Mrs West expects to make a lengthened stay on this side of the world — probably two years.