LOCAL AND GENERAL

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume I, Issue 69, 19 November 1887, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

News continues to reach us (Napier paper) of the lightness of the Clips. On many of the stations where shearing has been completed the number of bales show a decrease of from fifty to one hundred and fifty on the number of last year. The London Financial News declares 11 That the Bank of New Zealand was the centre and mainspring of a class of dangerous financiers and the tool of Ministers like Sir Julius Vogel, in the wild extravagance and reckless expenditure which has overwhelmed the colony with debt.”

A company is proposed to consolidate the timber industry in Hawke's Bay by buying up all the sawmills, and by concentration reducing the cost, and by extending branches to Australia and tbe South, and to expand the business, The capital, £lOO,OOO, will ba raised locally. The funeral of the late George Wesley Bishop took place at Auckland on Monday last. The estate of deceased is valued at £BOOO, and is divided as follows: —£100 to his youngest child, £lOO to a young daughter, and equal amounts to another boy aud girl; £lOO are also left to his executor.

In commenting on the Financial state of New Zealand the Sydney mail says:— The country is fertile, and the people are intelligent and high-spirited, and we cannot doubt that they will pull through, but they will have to pass through a period of strict economy and intense industry. Professor Chainey says that one cause of the depression is the lack of interest taken in the subjective side of life. A very large number of the laboring classes, he said, are becoming sceptics and .materialists, and a large number of Church members are becoming hypocrites by keeping up a form in which they did not believe, merely for appearance sake and business purposes. Mr Valentine, M.H.R., the general manager in New Zealand of the Agricultural Company, has received from one of the directors of the Gore Dairy Factory the following highly satisfactory telegram respecting an experimental shipment of cheese to London “ Gore cheese sold in London at 60s per cwt. It is reported to be equal to the best American.”

When the British fleet, which is cruising in the Mediterranean, arrived at Bougie, Algeria, recently, the officials went aboard the flagship to pay their respects to the Duke of Edinburgh, Admiral of the Squadron. They were informed that the Duke was in bei, and retired without having seen him. The French press has made angry comment on this indignity. Sydney Taiwhanga declared his belief in Protection, and said he had not faith in either Major Atkinson or Sir Julius Vogel. They were both bad, both making promises, and in the meantime the country was sinking. He thought what the country wanted was an entire change in the Ministry. He could not support the present Ministry because they were too severe upon the Maoris.

The Americans are going to strive to strengthen their mercantile marine. The present weak state of the mercantile marine of the United States is causing great uneasiness, and Chambers of Commerce in various parts of the States are forcing on the Government the necessity of subsidising the carriage of United States mails to Mexico, Central and South America, and Transpacific ports.

It is now stated that in 1892 the Suez Canal will be opened for traffic, and as the time approaches it is understood that the United States will adopt certain modifications in their tariff that will prove of immense importance to the wool-growers of these colonies. The sea j< uriwy to the Atlantic ports of the United S ates will, when the canal is finished, be shortened by nearly three thousand miles.

The usual weekly sale will take place at the auction mart of Messrs Berry, Daniel and Co. at half-past one to-day. A mail for Chatham Island closes at seven-to-night. The mail goes by the Tarawera,' and catches the brigantine Oamaru,'; leaving Auckland next week. During the passage of the ship Soukar from Hull to the Bluff some very heavy weather was encountered. On two occasions oil was thrown on the waters to lessen the force of the waves, and the experiment gave eatisfootory results. From what we can learn relative to the late fire at Ormond gieat praise is due to a number of people who assisted in keeping the flames from catching hold of the Ormond Hotel. Mr Searle, storekeeper) deserves special notice, for had it not been for his prompt action in climbing on to the roof and pulled oft the burning shingles, the building would have been destroyed.

A special meeting of the Harbor Board was held on Thursday afternoon to discuss the charges brought by a number of persons against the overseer, Mr Beecheno. Letters were received from Mr Beecheno, Mr Thomson and Mr McLoughlin. After these had been read, and there being no evidence brought forward to prove the allegations, the Board dismissed the petition and censured the petitioners. The nomination for the Maiden Race and handicap events for the Hospital sports close at 9 to-night, at Mr McKay’s office. It is anticipated, that the sports will ba more successful this year than they have ever been before—and that is saying mubh in their favor. In entering for the sports competitors must bear in.mind that they are assisting in a charitable purpose, as well as contributing to a good day’s amusement and showing their own capabilities. The Wellington Press stigmatises the debate on tne Financial policy of the Government as “jawbone politics”—the debate, it says, began badly with a foolish and useless speech from the leader of tha Opposition, and it has never since risen to a level at all worthy of the occasion. It is not the business of the Government to raise debate and pick holes in their own policy, and the Opposition, according to the Press, has brought nut nothing worth replying to-. Some Waikatos perpetrated an impudent hoax on the Waikato public on Monday last. They announced the sale of the saurian monster, lately captured, and after admitting about fifty at six pence each, cleared out, leaving those present to Uncover with much uneasiness, a bag of straw with a bullock’s head stuck at one end, and an empty bottle at the other. The perpetrators had to disgorge, and handed over the takings to the hospital. It’s an ill wind that blows no one any good I The Ngatiporous, we understand, are not coming to Poverty Bay this Summer to skve grass seen. Their services will be required to cut that which has been sown on the large area of land broken in by Mr Williams, extending from Pakarae. We are sorry to hear that there is not likely to be any market this year for this staple article of export. The storekeepers will be heavy losers thereby as the natives during grass seed season usually spend several thousands amongst the various tradesmen in the town and district.

Primitive ideas of the conditions of life in the far off British possessions still obtain among certain classes in the old country. The following paragrejah nppeared recently in the London Evening News :—“There are Vancouver’s Island, British Columbia, parts cf New Zealand, and other British colonies, were, if a shipload of hundreds % ere landed one day, they might all be married the next, and have their passages paid by the Bridegrooms, What to do with our surplus female population is, therefore, not nearly such a difficult question as many people imagine.”

Puff writes The Chief Justice has fixed the 30th for the hearing of Bryce’s petition 1 Hooray 1 That’s all right I I wonder how Hutchison aud Bn Hance feel 1 Oh, they're bluffing it very well 1 At least Hutchison is 1 He says Bryce has got hold of the wrong end of the etick 1 Balance isn’t so chirpy, though 1 He’s gone to Wanganui to fix things a bit, and looks a- if he’d, got cholera morbus! Pea green, eh! Well, we’ll have some fun out of it any way, and if Bry oe pulls it off, n ’body’ll mind the olher chaps having to pay ! The trial of an election petition affords a cheap and healthy form of popular amusement, doesn’t it ? Oh, very i Quite as exciting as a glove fight and far more demoralizing I One noticeable feature in connection with the production of “Fedora” on Thursday night was the bad taste shown by a number of people coming into the Hail some ten minutes after the performance had commenced, thereby causing those in their seats to lose many of the words spoken by Signora Majeroni. This is very annoying to those who were absorbed in listening to the plot of the piece, Again at each interval many persons, who certainly ought to have known better, kept coming in at very inopportune moments, evidently thinking that the music of their clodhoppers was sufficient to make up for any loss that would be occasioned though not being able to follow the performers. We would also advise some who ought to know better to make their offerings of approval at the proper time. A large bouquet of flowers thrown on the stage at a very critical part of the play is hardly in accord with good manners. Without endorsing the action of those who got up the petition to the Harbor Board, we must take exception to the comments of our contemporary on the matter. “They are discharged workmen of not an intelligent type. Such men require very little encouragement to induce them to make foul accusations against overseers who discharge them. There is generally a rankling sense of injury in their minds, and any opportunity is seized for revenge, . There are present in their minds few of those checks which prevent intelligent and decent men from making imputations against their fellow-men, except on solid grounds.” We must assume that these remarks are the result of ignorance—otherwise the Herald has gone beneath itself to make the most despicable assertions. Most of those who signed the petition are well-known and respected residents, and, though they may have been misguided, in their action in regard to the petition, their indiscretion in no way justifies such an attack on their private character.

Presbyterian Church services to-morrow as follows Te Arai 2.30, Mr B. H. Scott; Matawhero 2.30, St. Andrews 11 and 7, Rev. J. McAra.—(Advt.)