LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hastings Standard, Volume III, Issue 861, 6 March 1899, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

We are sorry to hear that a son of Mr A. Ellingham, of Hastings, is laid up with typhoid fever at Waipawa. Michael O'Halloran, a young married man, was thrown from his horse at Dunedin and killed. An attempt is to be made to organise a senior football club in Hastings during the coming season. Twelve eases of typhoid fever are at p-esent under treatment at the Napier hospital. A baptismal service was held in St. Matthew s Church, Hastings, on Sunday afternoon.

During the past season about 8000 bales of wool have been despatched from the Hastings railway station. This will be hard to beat in the Colony. The Maoris captured over one hundred young sharks at the Sugar Loaves, Taranaki, the other night. The Pollard Opera Company has scored a distinct success at Wanganui with " The Gaiety Girl."

A fire at the Belfast freezing works did considerable damage. The insurances are ,£2240 on the building, and stock .£2500, which will cover the loss. We understand that for its June meeting the Hawke's Bay Gun Club proposes instituting a C2OO handicap. This will be the biggest money ever offered in the Colony. Mr Jerry Coghlan, caretaker of the Hastings racecourse, has met with a painful accident. He slipped ou a plank covered with dew, and falling heayily fractured the small bone of his leg. Mr A. L. D. Fraser, of Hastings, has communicated with the Lands Department with reference to the misleading information contained on the plans of the Primley estate.

Reductions are to be made in the staff qf the Bank of New Zealand, principally from the former oihcers of the Colonial Bank. Between 40 and 50 have received notice, and it is estimated that the saving will come to £IO,OOO per annum. Pigeons for the Hawke's Bay Gun Club's match in Hastings nest week had to be procured from Sydney, it being impossible to purchase a sufficient supply in the Colony. The wonder is that people do not go in for breeding pigeons on a large scale. The West Coast Times says that ' s the 30-called Liberal Government is anything but liberal to the gold miners, whose fees are considerably increased whilst their actions have been hampered and restricted in many ways. The new regulations impose many hardships on the miners, and gives them no compensating advantages.' 1 Hair Rbstober stops the hair frorn coming out, and restores it to its natural color. 2/6 per bottle, from As Beeles, Chemist, Napier and Hastin s. —

A Lutherau conference is to be held at Norsewood this week. Several eases of diphtheria are at present under treatment in Ashburton.

Small birds have played havoc with outdoor grapes in Hastings this season. Major George, of Auckland, arrived in Hastings to-day. Entries for the Hasting? Horticultural and Industrial Society's first Autumn Show close this evening. A special meeting of the Hastings Borough Council will be held this afternoon to deal with the proposed by-law dealing with brick dividing walls. A petition is to be presented in opposition to the proposal. The Salvationists of Hastings _ are actively engaged in making preparations for their annual Harvest festival, which, judging by the quantity of produce, etc., received, should be the most successful the local corps has held. The Te Arai Polo Club's team, Gisborne, has arrived at Hastings The team consists of the Messrs Evans Brothers (four). They have with them 18 ponies, and the team are on their way to Palmerston North to fulfil engagements at the Polo Tournament to be held there about the 22nd inst. They propose resting in Hastings a week. There promises to be a great rush for sections in the Frimley estate, near Hastings. Every plan available in the place has been snapped up, and the Postal offiaials have been compelled to send for a fresh supply. The estate was visited by a large number of people on Sunday. The Dresden Piano Oompauy's sale of pianos and organs is causing a stir in musical circles in Hastings, and is very largely patronised. Several very fine instruments were disposed of on Saturday, and a fresh consignment of high class pianos, amongst which are Lipp and Son's, Collard and Collard's, etc., will be opened up to-morrow. The sale is being held in Chadwick's music depot, and the company are in hopes of quitting the whole of their special sale stock by Saturday night next. Those who intend purchasing should make early enquiries. A first-offending inebriate, who was arrested on Saturday, and allowed bail, appeared at the Hastings Magistrate's Court, this morning, in anything but a sober condition, to answer the charge. Constable Smith deposed that the accused had been arrested in a helpless condition, he having to be conveyed to the cells in a cab- He thought the Bench should not deal leniently with the accused, after his appearing in the state he was. Mr W. Beilby, -J.P., severely reprimanded accused for his conduct, and imposed a fine of 55., with costs, 45.; in default, 24 hours' imprisonment.

"Williams and Kettle report having held their periodical sale o{ wool, skins, hides and tallow, when they offered to a fall attendance of local buyers 174 bales, 14 fadges, 50 pockets, and 192 packages of wool, 3543 skins, 230 hides, and 8 packages of tallow. Bidding throughout was spirited, enabling a fair clearance of wool, and a complete clearance of hides, skins and tallow, all lots at prices highly satisfactory to vendors. We realised the following figures • —Wool, ohiefly inferior back-eountry consignments : Crossbred from 4£ to 5 pieces, 2Jd to 3J, locks up to 2M; lambs inferior 4!fd, scoured pieces from 5d to Skins : Crossbred from 3d to 4^d; Merino and good half-bred from 4d to 5d ; Shortwoolled skins from 1M to 3d; pelts up to Bd. Hides : Heavy Ox superior, from 4d to 4|d ; light, to 3 7-8 d ; inferior, to 2|d ; superior cow from 3d to the extreme price of 3 7-8 d for one very fine parcel ; medium to 3d ; Calf up to 3 5 Bd. The Department of Agriculture - has issued another series of leaflets written by the Government Biologist (Mr Kirk) for the benefit of farmers, gardeners, and orchardists. Referring to barley grass, Mr Kirk says that the plant has invaded many pastures in New Zealand, in some places occupying large areas to the entire exclusion of useful herbage. Stook will not touch it, save in a very young state, and then only when driven by hunger. Nothing eats the seeds, and therefore it spreads rapidly. In addition to damaging pastures, as mentioned, the seeds, owing to their peculiar structure, damage wool, cause sores on the skin of sheep, frequently piercing right through into the flesh, causing great pain to the animal, besides seriously affecting the commercial value of the pelts and carcases. This weed is abundant along stock and sale yard fences, along roadsides, as well as on some of our public reserves. The loss caused by weeds is enormous, but it could be much reduced by concerted measures on the part of farmers' elubs and local bodies;

Whilst the delegates were attending the Fire Brigade Conference at Queenstown, about forty of them made an attempt to ascend Ben Lomond, a mountain 5747 feet in height, Of the forty, only twentythree reashed the summit. The time occupied in ascending and descending was four hours. Following was the order in which the men reached the snmmit : Gisborne, Secretary Clf&rles A, Nield, Ist; Hastings, Engineer A. Leipst, 2nd ; Auckland City, Foreman George Moore, 3rd; Fielding, Captain A. Wilson, 4th ; Cavesham, Treasurer George Russell, sth ; Queenstown, Fireman 11. Holiman, 6th ; Paeroa, Branchman A. M'Gill, 7th ; Newton, Hydrant-man H. Rogers, Bth ; Palmerston North, Foreman W. Hall, 9th; Timaru, Fireman A. J. Jones, 10th; Thames, Fireman W. Bain, 11th; liarangahake, Fireman J. Mines, 12fch ; Eastown, Fireman H. H. Richardson, 13th; Richmond, Fireman W. W T ilkes, 14th; Newmarket, Secretary A. Holmes, 15th; Napier Fire Police, Biriasco, 16th, Lawrence, Captain B. Wynne, 17th; Petcne, Branchman J. Armstrong, 18th ; Queenstown, Fireman T. Haines, 19th ; Dunedin City, Pioneer James O'Connor, 20th; Civilian, W. J. Grant, 21 ; Palmerston North, Reporter Nash, 22; Kuripuni, Secretary i'ragnall, 23rd. A photograph of the successful climbers was taken on the summit.

Mr Matthew Henry reports ;—At Palmerston last week sheep mustered in greater numbers than advertised, and the public, both local aud from a distance, formed a representative gathering. From the commencement of the sale it .was evidedt that the withering nature of the gale gave a check to the spirit of the buyers, and trade in consequence lacked the buoyancy of the past few weeks. Indeed bids w«sre retracted more by a winging process that the hearty response of a public eager to possess. The fact of recent high prices causing owners to put stock in the yards that months ago had no intention, has kept the market so fully supplied that it has the appearance of forced sales, hence the apparent apathy to operate. This notwithstanding, a very good clearance was effected, very few local sheep leaving the yards unsold, and most of the cattle changed hands at prices satisfactory to the owners. Subjoined quotations indicate market values : Sheep—2, 4 and 6-tooth ewes, 7s to 7s 6d ; f.m. ewes, 5s to 6s 3d ; 4-tooth maiden ewes, 8s to 9s 6d ; fat and forward ewes, 6s 6d to 6s 9d ; 2 and 4-tooth wethers, 8s 7d to 9s 2d ; shorn lambs, us Id ; woolly lambs, 5s 7d ; cull ewes, 8s 8d to 4s 6.1. Cattle—B;-r steers, X' 3 ; 20 to 2-1 months, 36s ; fat cows, £3 Is to £3 2s 6d. For Headache, Toothache, Earache, I»B Wilton'slifKizST isiafatlliUe. Pries 1,-