LOCAL AND GENERAL

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume I, Issue 10, 2 July 1887, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

. There is some talk of establishing co-opera-tive st ores in Napier. Brisbane cannot be very depressed when at a recent two-days’ meeting nearly £12,000 was passed through the totalisator. The sham Liberals in Auckland are howling at Sir George Grey because he had th® courage to tell them the truth and did n'di wor- up Ballance, , Leyden University, in Holland, is the richest in the world. Its real estate alone is said to be Worth 4,000,000 dol. A groat deal of sympathy is being expressed with “Paddy Murphy,” poor Tom Bracken, who has just been declared a bankrupt. He lost a pile o' money in running the Dunedin Harald, A mem. for girls! . The Rev. Mr Lewis, of Auckland says; " You might as well try to build a house with suplcjacks as to make a Christian of a flirt.” The'balance sheet of the Union Insurance Company shows an available balance of £16,695. The directors propose paying a dividend absorbing £lO,OOO, and carrying forward £6,695. A meeting of the Working Men’s Political Association will be held on Monday night next at the Templar’s Hall,—W. ThAbbatt, President.—Advti A considerable amount of interest was evinced by the public in the libel case at the Supreme Court yesterday, the ([large attendance including a number of ladies. Some of the answers given by the witnesses provoked much laughter in the Court. The contractors for the new building of the Loan end Mercantile Agency arrived yesterday by the Te Anau, They brought with them a number of their own workmen. A start will be made immediately. Mr McConville applied at the Supreme Court yesterday to be excused from serving on the special jury in the case of Brassey v. Chrisp A Muir, as he was engaged as Engineer on the steam tender Snark. Counsel on both sides agieed that Mr McConville should be excused. At the Supreme Court yesterday, in the libel action Baldwin v. Chrisp & Muir, Mr Bees objected to Mr F. Morgan, bunk-clerk, sitting on the special jury, as he was an officer of a Bank, which might in some way be drawn into the action. His Honor said he could not see how he could order the juror to stand aside. On Mr DeLautour objecting to the application Mr Rees did not press it, and Mr Morgan took hie seat. ' Common jurors summoned to attend the Supreme Court on Monday next, that is those who were originally summoned for the 20th June, are notified by the Registrar of the Court that their attendance is not required.

The Gisborne Customs receipts for the quarter ending yesterday were £2,850 7s lOd, as compared with £2445 10s 4d for the corresponding quarter last year. Imports from outside the Colony totalled to £3009, and exports from Gisborne to places outside the colony only amounted to £6ll,

It was remarked that when the sentence of death was passed on the Maori murderers, the words “ May God have mercy on your souls ” were omitted. Perhaps the omission is due to the strong probability of a reprieve being obtained. The captain of a Dutch barque which arrived in New York on May 9th, reported that on March 19th, a huge meteor dropped into the sea close by the vessel, it was so large that it raised waves which washed over the vessel. It occasioned a blinding light and an uncomfortable warmth. Immediately after solid lumps of ice fell, and decks and rigging became coated with ice. Dr McGregor, of Oamaru, an ardent educationist, says of the primary school syllabus, that far too many things are prescribed, and there is too little freedom both for teachers and taught. The system tends to be too systematic, as if the system were the end of education. He did not want their boys to be sent from school crammed with learning ; he wanted them to go away ignorant and thirsting for knowledge. “It is,” he concluded, “a man I want in the future, and I don’t want a little wretch crammed with ologies.” From an advertisement in another column it will be seen the annual meeting of subscribers to the Gisborne Library will be held in the Reading-room of that institution at half-past seven p.m. on Wednesday next. The business before the meeting will ba to receive the annual report and balance sheet and elect officers for the ensuing year. The present directors may be credited with having vastly improved the condition of the useful institution under their charge, especially when the scantiness of the funds at their disposal is considered, We trust there will be a good attendance of subscribers. Our local leather-hunters have their annual tussle with Hawke’s Bay to-day. Some of the team went down on Thursday evening, and the remainder by the Te Anau lest night. The Hawke’s Bay .team is a particularly strong one just now, including as it does men like Warbrick and Taiaroa. Nevertheless we trust or.r boys may go in and win. All the more credit if they succeed, There was considerable astonishment in Court yesterday when the verdict of the special jury in the Herald libel case was returned. The Judge’s summing up was considered to be greatly in favour of the plaintiff but Ue jury were only absent for about a quarter of an hour, and gave a verdict for the defendants.

The J Battery is evidently becoming everyday a more popular corps. Four new members joined at the last meeting, and the corps is now a very strong one. The personal popularity of Captain Boylan has no doubt much to do with this. In future would-oe members of the corps wil have to be ballotted for.

The road being made from Taupo past the Buka Falls to Waiarakei, is going on to join the old mam road near Puketarata, thus avoiding tha steep hills on the present coach road, and enabling travellers to get a splendid view of tho Huka Falls. The road to the little lakes near the Waiotapu Valley is finished, with the exception of the culverts, and these are in hand. Unless a special vote is given for the road on to Paeroa and Waiarakei, it will not ba finished this season in time for the summer tourist traffic.—Auckland Herald.

In the libel case yesterday Mr Rees attempted to get in evidence of aspersions cast upon the plaintiff previous to November 24. He produced a paper containing a paragraph stating that Baldwin was drunk at a Hospital meeting. His Honor said he could not see how the evidence could be admitted, whereupon Mr Bees said if it were not admiseable Taylor, on Evidence, was not a proper authority. His Honor remarked to Mr Rees that his language was hardly a proper way of speaking. Ur Rees apologised, and the matter dropped, Mr H. E. Johnston, of the Wharf, has a new _ advertisement this morning. The facilities for shipment possessed by him for the economical and proper shipment consigned to his care result in his getting a good share of the wool and other produce sent away from this port. Mr Johnston is agent for the Roeina, by which vessel freight is taken along the Coast at very cheap rates.

Whilst riding down the Wainui beach yesterday Mr William Cooper discovered a ghastly relic of some of the recent shipping disasters. This was the bone of a human leg, totally divested of flesh except the foot which was encased in an elastic-sided boot. A blanket and a portion of a Jersey jacket were close by. Mr Cooper has given information of his discovery to the police. In the annual reports on native schools for the East Coast District, the Superintendent, Mr James Booth, R.M. reports :Wai-o-matatini : Very fair results were obtained, but the school has not yet quite recovered from nearly a year’s enforced inactivity, caused partly by building operations and partly by the building of a Land Court in the district.—Akuaku : Under its new master this school has been extremely successful. It is probable, however, that it will have to be removed to Hiruharama, some distance inland, where a new and large native settlement is being made.—Uawa : Negotiations for handing this school over to the Hawke’s Bay Board have been successful,