NEWS AND NOTES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume III, Issue 310, 4 October 1882, Page 2

NEWS AND NOTES.

1 There are several important matters to be dealt with at this evening's meeting of the Borough Council. .There is the motion for rescinding the resolution passed at last meeting with reference to billiardqable licenses; Mr. Winks' motion for reduction of salaries ; and Mr. Partridge's motion re dispensing with an engineer ; and then among the reports will be one in respect to furnishing the new council chambers. On account of the heavy weatlier at New Plymouth, the barque Port Glasgow was compelled again to put to sea yesterday. Eight tenders were yesterday received bytjieJWaimate E^ad^ Board for* seventy chains of road-formation at Okinawa. They were opened by the Chairman of the Board and Mr. W. L. Martyn in the presence of the Secretary. Mr. J. Kearn's tender was accepted at the rate of 7s. per chain. Mr. Briglitwell tendered at 6s. (sd. per chain, but omitted to enclose the deposit required. His tender was therefore declared informal. The Canterbury Press observes : — " The announcement that arrangements are now in progress for the complete reorganisation of. , the volunteer force of the colony is somewhat perplexing. This means that the existing legislation is considered sufficient to meet all the requirements of the case. Of course this' may be so, but it appears to us that there is very great danger indeed of the work being only very imperfectly done if an attempt is 1 made during the recess to accomplish it without the aid of fresh legislation." The Auckland Weekly News, speaking of Sir John Hall's position, says :— To lead au Opposition against the Government is quite another matter from indulging iv occasional growls. In another Parliament Sir John would possibly assume the position of leader of a section of the House, that section, namely, which is more conservative than the present Ministers, and less inclined than they are to give legislative form to " Liberal ideas." But the bulk of the present Opposition profess to be more Liberal than the Ministry, and the idea cannot be entertained that Sir John would put himself at their head. ' ' '. Their notion of the proceedings of a dancing assembly at Footscray, near Melbourne, appear to be peculiar. At au assembly in the Royal Hall we are told : — " Shortly before 10 o'clock, when the dancing was at its height, the doors of the ballroom were locked, and the master of ceremonies having passed the word, 'Wire-in, Footscray,' a general fight began. A constable hearing the noise of the row, and cries of ' Murder,' attempted to force open the front door, but wns prevented by a number of those inside lying against it. The constable then went into the gallery (the hall is a small theatre), and saw some twenty of the dancers pummelling one another on the floor." Our Stratford and Ngaire correspondent writes ; — The local bodies on this part of the coast seem resolved to make people understand that when they strike a rate, they' expect it to be paid by everyone, instead of Jetting the burden fall upon the shoulders of about half the land owners. The Ngaire Road Board has had one innings, and it is reported to be getting ready for another. The Hawera County Couucil is said to have " gone for" twenty of those to whom parting is such secret sorrow. And the Manganui Road Board, finding that a big list of back rates is bad material for road making, h&s invited forty friends to a little interview With the R.M. It is not a pleasant task, of course; but men know perfectly well when they own property, that they are rated for it, and it is downright meannesßito seek to evade payment of the few' shillings that they are. asked to contribute,^ the general fund; '

The Hawera KiflgS'paraded last night. A good number trilled up. Manai&sTo^toJ'Board meets this eveniQe- M /-■ It is stelaf^hat Sergt-Major Pardft^of Aucklana^Snd Sfergt- Major Goodatt,*of New Plymouth, are to exchange places. It cost £70 to remit Home £2000 for the purchase of plant for the Wanganui Heads' railwavwyr p^n '-} p " > 5 -The Tra&ewoW k "Wssh! Wv*icsrs' new mill, on the Waiokura, is now up. w lt"p~romise"s~to T)6""2"largF v "and' roomy building, ... . , . t ... -r ■ . i . The Telegraph Department has' taken a lease of one of the rooms aktjhe.PriU Hall, Manaia, for a temporary office, pending the erection of tbfi' new bffide^.j / j The violence of last night's gale was something to be remembered. But we hear of no damage being done except a few old fences being blown down. i Lieutenant-General Sir Henry !Wylie Norman,' KJGJBJ.O.I.'.E., Bengal, is likely to be left in command of the forces., at. Alexandria. . *' ) ' The committee , oi the, various: trade societies in Auckland are making great preparations jfpr,a> projected Eight Hours' Demonstration. The Beaconsfield memorial fund has been more than secured ; there are surplus funds amounting to between '.£2,000 and £3,000. The Bulletin asks which of the two Arabis are troubling England most at the present time, Arabi Bey or Arrah! be jabers. Nearly 200 persons signed the pledge on Monday, at New Plymouth, at the close of Mrs. Hampson's Temperance lecture. As an instance of the mildness of the weather at the "White Cliffs, the Herald learns that they have been picking ripe strawberries there. At Wimbledon, Corporal Bates, of the Ist Warwick Volunteers,' made ! 99 btitof a possible 105, at 800, 900, and 1000 yards, which is said to be the highest score on record. It is proposed that the Borough of Hamilton be dissolved wjth a view, to allow the separate portibnib pff T^efct and East Hamilton the opportunity of ' being constituted town districts. In contrast to the success of the shipment^' of li'qu.t ova from" Ot&gb 'to New Plymouth for Hawera; it way be' mentioned that of 4000 sent by the Christchurch acclimatisation society to Gisborne, only 500 were landed alive. The following is the address of a letter which was received at Hobarfc by the last mail: — "Hobat ,Town, New Zealand, New South Wales, Sidney, 'Australia." The letter bearing this address ivas posted at Birmingham. A gentleman .of ,0-iasgow.has isefc Up a' novel defence of a breach of promise action. He • acknowledged' to having courted a young lady for four years, . but broke off the match on discovering that she was of illegitimate birth. The judge has taken time to consider the verdict. Eighty-one sections of laud, ranging from 50 acres to 316 acres, in the Waimate,; Cpunakej Oeo, Kaupokonui, and Ngaire survey district's will be open for application for cash on Monday, November 6th, and thereafter until sold, at the land offices at Patea and Hawera. A considerable area of wheat has been sown this year in the Paterangei and Tuhikaramda districts. Indeed, (says the Times) the settlers of these districts seem to have come to the conclusion that cropping pays better in Waikato than grazing ; for the area of wheat sown 1 this year far exceeds that of any previous year. Messrs. Eoyce, Stead, aud Co. purchased from Mr. G. M. Bell, of Waiinea, his wellknown of .shorthorns. The herd is bred- ftom Frederick, '* who was sold fdr over £4000, and Billy Knight imported him from England at a cost of 1000 guineas. A New York telegram of July 25. says : The Tribune reports an amusing interview with Aristarchi Bey, the Turkish Minister here, on' Egyptian matters. The wily Minister managed to dodge all the questions, and turned the tables on the reporter, literally interviewing him. He declared he knew little of the Egyptian question, buff what he did know he did not gather from the " Metropolitan Press." The only point he communicated to the reporter was that the word " Arabi " should be accented on the second syllable. The " ironclad train," so often referred to in the war telegrams, seems to have been a singular affair. In front was an empty waggon. This was intended to shunt on ahead — the train stopping suddenly from time to time — to explode any mines which might have been laid beneath the lines. Then came the first iron-clad truck, with the Nordenfeldt barrels .projecting in -front like the horizontal pipes of an organ. This truck was followed by three others crammed with blue-jackets ensconced behind sand-bags. Then came the engine, behind which were three more iron-clad trucks filled with men. Close behind the train followed another with the reserve. Investigations made iv Germany concerning the comparative vitality of children under various methods of feeding exhibit some peculiar results. Thus, of 100 children nursed by their mothers only 182 died during the first year : of those nursed by wet nurses 29.33 died; of those artificially fed GO died ; and of those brought up in institutions 80, died to the 100. Again, taking 1000 well-to-do persons and 1000 poor persons, there remained of the prosperous, after five years, 943, while of the poor only 655 remained alive ; after 50 years there re* mained of the prosperous 557, and only 283 of the poor ; at 70 years of age there remained of the prosperous 235, and but 05 of the poor. The total average length of life among the well-off class was found to be 50 yeais7 as against;" 32 am^ng the poor. J' The Auckland Star relaljest that a'gentleman, who the other day was amusing himself with his boys in getting stones out of his ground iv the suburbs, came upon one 18 inches under ground, so big that. they could, not raise it. . On clearing away tlfd soil and Dreakirig tlie'stone wits a large stone hammer they found a nest of ants in the centre of the stone. Ag.it was a close grained one, with the exception of a sponge-like piece in the centre, he was much perplexed about' the way they got into it. Of coure there is no doubt they got in from a hole on the outside, although it was' too small for him' to see. But such a case shows how little air a nest of auts can live upon. The Lancet describes the chief processes employed by the principal Italian embalmers; the special processes are kept secret. First, cold water is injected through the whole circulatory system, until it issues quite clear. This may, take as long as five hours. Alcohol is then injected for the purpose of extracting all the water from the body. This is followed up by the injection,.of ether, to dissolve out the fatty matter. After this, a strong solution of tannin is slowly injected, and full time is allowed for its soaking into all ' the' tissues ; this takes from two to five hours. Lastly, the body is exposed for from two to five hours to a current of warm air, which is previously dried by passing it over heated chloride of calcium. The body can then be preserved for any length of time and is as hard as stone. ,' , ' >/, . i;.t>. .'f . . • • ' I- J

twelve mSnths. A Home paper says that " there is not another man alive who has such a hold and. exercises,- suohx sway ov/er jfcberlwaßts , of; Irishmen C'^O^rjnibisuC^.iixoJieJns Cashel, and late of Auckland. A prominent 'official-comiecUsfl" wltlrthe New Plymouth harbor works, referring to the gratuitous advice^ flfe^uentily • given, remarked the other day that when he went there first- 11 the-people were alrcaptains, or colpnelg ;», but they are all ■etogjneers^owl/', j: \ To-day being the "glorious fonrtb," and the first of the quarter, there has been a little briskness in the direction of the ' banks. The engagements of the business men . in the district .are not ■ perhaps of great magnitude, ''•but ? it 'is encouraging to be assured that they are diet satisfactorily. , For some days' past men have been em • ployed picking up the boulders in the. rnord recently gravellefl part jofjPrinces-i street and breaking them. Good work is being done ; but people remark on the' inconsistency of a public works committee deprecating day labor work and then!immediately putting on more omen than, had been engaged before. Iv connection with the most unexpected win of the Duke of Hamilton's Fridays' of the Goodwood Cup, a good s^ory is going the rounds of the English sporting Press. It is related that onmaking the bend for home Friday showed strong symptoms of having had racing enough, and slackened his pace as if disposed to drop into a trot. At this juncture unexpected aid came in the person of a rustic stationed by the side of the course. Sympathising, perhaps, with the youthful rider of Friday, he called out, "Get on, boy; they're catching, you up fastp' aud^at the same time,' rattling his stick vigorously in his hat. Alarmed, encouraged, or, at any rate, moved in some way by the noise, Friday began to gallop again, and continued to to do so, bringiug about, as all tue^world knows^one of the most extraordinary surprises in the annals of racing." 1 Mr. Thomas Walker, a Spiritualist lecturer, well-known in New Zealand, recently 1, made a "< recantation " £n Mdbourne, in which he iB reported ho llate said :—": — " When he was here a few years ago he believed himself to be under the influence of spirits. If he had stopped to enquire how much of the feeling was excitement, love of applause, or of popularity, he might have had other views. He was ' excited ; ' he found that he, could speak without preparation, and could command large audiences. He wanted tjhis f to be ( spirits, T,b,ere was a /littlelieart truth, 1 bat much exaggeration. The Spiritualists might blame him, but he was not alone to blame. They put on the< gloss. They were in the same boat. They gave out to the world that, when not in a trance, he was ignorant and incompetent, and that his ability was only when he was in a trance amj. under the control of spirits." ' ' -The Scotob correspondent of <the Daily TimW says :— •' The agricultural outlook is again causing much concern. For some weeks the weatlier lias been exceedingly broken, with very heavy showers every day, the sun shining out strongly in the intervals. The consequence is that the hay crop is well-nigh ruined ; while weeds are choking the turnip 1 crop, 'in which, as well as in potatoes, disease, is beginning to appear. Floods aiid tjitinderßtornis"are' reported almost daily. Such an electrical seasbn is ! scarcely known' in this part of Scotland. If settled hot weather were to come now, the cereal crops would still be good, but there seems no prospect of this, and jevery day makes tjhings Worse.] ,Our poWfarmers a're'iri straits" enough already without haying to undergo the loss of another harvest. The Scotchman publishes a detailed statement, from an official source, showing the reductions in re«t which landlords hava found it necessja^jA to grant on, eighty - fpur ■' farms ■ in Midlothian. These reductions range from 15 to 25 per cent.".' < ( ; i !■' Iv an obituary notice of the late,, John McGregor, of Wanganui, who died oh Ist October, the Herald says : — There, wil} yet be fresh in the memory of many of our readers the feat knownjas " McGregor's leap," frequently recounted by the newspapers of by-gone days, and the innumerable publications professing to give' a history of the Maori War. At 'that time Mr. McGregor was the owner of Cherry Bank, and having some stock over there wished to bring them to town. Eela^ tions between natives and whites were then most unfriendly, and the natives had threatened vengeance on any pakerbju seen on their side of the river. Wanganji was full of soldiers, and, a party was in command of the old stockades on the Rutland Hill— fitting memorials pf tlie dreadful past. Mr. McGregor was warned not to carry out his purpose, but ' he was always courageous and very determined, and he made the venture. The hill behind Shakespeare's Cliff was then a mass of bush, and Mr. McGregor had not gone far before the natives discovered him and made chase. One fellow overtook him, and McGregor levelled' at his head a pistol which he carried, but it failed to go off. The native came dashing past, and struck at him Avith a large tomahawk, but missed the, blow,, j ' The other natives were coming , up, and McGregor ran for a spur of Shakspeare's cliff, over which he threw himself. He landed in the river, and swimming up to a hole, got under cover for shelter. The natives rolled over stones, to endeavor to destroy him, while the soldiers kept up a heavy fire from the town for the purpose of protecting him, while several others went over in a boat and rescued him from his perillous position. When rescued he was found! to have a shot- wound through his cheek,' the bullet having come out at the mouthand cairied away some teeth of the lower, jaw. Mr. G. A. Hurley, trustee in the estate of W. O'Brien, of Mnnaia, invites tenders for purchase of assets, as specified in advertisement. Mr. Newton King sells stock at tbe WaiwaVaiho to-morrow. ' : , ' Mr. F. K. Jackson sells etook at Manaiu on Friday. Tenders close on .Friday t for work for Noruianby Town Board,' 'and the Board meets same evening. Newland's Hainbletonian, one of the recently imported < •celebrated' Amerfiiaji trotting horses, is travelling thiß d^sfrijej; ns a stud horse., .Full^information (as, to bis pedigree is giVen in another column. Hawera Masonic Lodge, meets on Friday evening. , Mr. E. Godsall invites tender^ for fsingi about 70 acres light bush. ''' '" " Messrs. G. and F. Homer advertise stock sale at Manaia for Tuesday, 10th inst.