The Star. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) THURSDAY, MAY 20, 1886. NEWS AND NOTES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume VII, Issue 1312, 20 May 1886, Page 2

The Star. (PUBLISHED DAILY .) THURSDAY, MAY 20, 1886. NEWS AND NOTES.

Constable Franklyn has been appointed an Inspector for Manaia under the Employment of Females Act

Searching enquiry is to be made into the cause of the two recent fires iv New Plymouth.

Messrs. Allen, Hirst, McGregor, Moore, Mortlock, Stead, and West, are gazetted members of the Manganui Road Board.

It is to night (Thursday), and not next Tuesday, that the Gospel Temperance Meeting will be held in the Wesleyan Church.

A jubilee exhibition to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the colony and the completion of the 50th year of the Queen's reign, is to be held at Adelaide next year.

The London Standard, whose attitude has for a long time been one of undisguised hostility to New Zealand, now gives its readers the truthful information that "one New Zealand bank is reported to ha\e lost i' 300,000 through defalcations "

A Parliamentary correspondent says :—: — "Confidence appears to be growing in the Government, that they will propose no startling loan policy, but that if it is ithe safest plan to live from hand to mouth, 'it is better to live so for awhile than to fall into financial jeopardy."

An old soldier in Edinburgh has just had removed from his neck, a bullet which had lain there for more than thirty years. He was wounded at the storming of the heights of Alma during the Crimean war, and in spite of several attempts to extract the bullet, it is only now that the doctors have succeeded.

The Grey Argus stigmatises a reply sent by Mr. Maxwell, manager of railways to a civil request made by a public body as '• official puppyism," and predicts that before another year is over Mr. Maxwell's management will receive more attention and criticism at the hands of the public than he will care for.

The ladies of St. Mary's fire busily engaged preparing for a sale of work, to be held on Whit Monday and Whit Tuesday. A largo quantity of very protty goods are on hand ; and contributions in money or kind will be thankfully received by Mrs. Root, at the Parsonage. The proceeds will go towards the schoolroom and parsonage fund.

The Hawke's Bay Herald tells the follow ing bird story :—ln: — In the yard of the Terminus Hotel a cage containing a tui is hung, and sparrows come for the crumbs that fall f "om the cage. In return — and this is a solid fact — at least one of the visiting sparrows hunts up worms and brings them in his bill to the tui, who of couise, bolts them with alacrity.

A meeting of the Hawera Fire Brigade ball committee was held the other e\ ening, when preliminaiies were arranged. A band of good musicians — consisting of violin, piano, and comet — will supply the music ; and a capital programme, comprising twenty -four dances, has been compiled. The catering department will be in charge of competent hands. All similar affairs previously held under the auspices of this institution have passed off well ; and the brigade are displaying their usual energy in the diiection of making the ball a success. The public fully recognise the large extent to which they are indebted to the brigade, and will no doubt fahow it in a practical way next Monday evening. The admission to the gallery will bo Is.

A report lias been presented to Parliament on the subject of Education Heserves. The Commissioners assign various reasons for the reserves failing to find tenants. With regard to the Auckland district, they say—" The reserves have no value whatever for letting purposes at the present time. The price of freehold land is so low in the out districts that there is no inducement to a settler to occupy a reserve unless he obtains its use for a lengthened term free, in return for improvements effected." In Tarauaki "the chief cause why so many reserves are unlet is the shortness of tenure." In Hawko's Bay, " without conditions relating to valuations for improvements on such (forest land), settlers are not inclined to lease them for so short a term as 21 years."

In another column will be found a notice of the special arrangements made by the Railway Department for Monday next, Queen's Birthday. If the day is fine, it is certain that large numbers of people will avail themselves of the reduced fares, and it is to be hoped tljat the comfort of passengers will be studied a little better than v was on Easter Monday. So insufficient was the accommodation provided on that day that no less than thirteen first-class passengers by the train from Wanganui were compelled to stand on the platform, sitting room not being procurable. And withal, the department has the assurance to warn passengers by printed notice that it will not be responsible for accidents happening to those who htand on the platform. The department mean well, of course, but they don't know.

The action of Rnssia in Bulgaiia has been one long course of self seeking intrigue, duplicity, and mischief. It was never iutended by the Russiaus that the Bulgarians should bo free; and from the moment when Prince Alexander shook off the Russian yoke, aud shaped out new destinies for his people, sword in hand, it has been the oue object of Russia to hinder and discredit him, as a preliminary to overthrowing him entirely. If now Russia's pulpable plots are allowed to prevail, the fruita of Prince Alexander's victories will be lost, the efforts of English diplomacy at Constantinople during the last 6ix month will be wasted, and there will be no more security for peace in Eastern Europe. These are notreßults to which the EDglisb Liberal Ministry should lend a hand. — London Times.

Mr. J. Lysaghfc, of Mokoia, and Mr. George McLean were this morning nominated for the vacant seat on the County Council.

The Taranaki Herald hopes that " the House will not be so unjust as to exempt Hawera from the rating district, notwithstanding that Major Atkinson has put pressure on the Board to exempt it, so that the question may not interfere with his election. Better ha\e Major Atkinson opposed to the bill than tbat an injustice should be done to the whole of the ratepayers."