NEWS AND NOTES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume IX, Issue 1560, 25 February 1887, Page 2

NEWS AND NOTES.

f The Taranaki Herald relates that Mr. Samuel has written to the Minister of Public Works, pointing out the unsuitability of Waitara as a port irorn which communication should be Kept up with the direct tram to and from Wellington, and suggesting that the Northern Company should be infoirned that in no case will the train be delayed at Waitara longer than a quarter of an hour at the utmost, and that if the company are unable to land their passengers in time to catch the trains they must themselves be responsible to such passengers for any damage they may sustain.

A recent plebiscite taken among subscribers of the Pall Mall Gazette on the journals of the day resulted as follows :—: — The best English and best daily newspaper, Times ; best weekly, Spectator ; best Liberal, Daily News ; best Conservative, Standard ; best comic, Punch ; best " Society," Truth ; best religious, Christian World ; worst English newspaper, Police News. Lloyd's ran the Spectator very close, and the Saturday Eeview, Graphic, and Illustiated London News, were close on its heels. Truth was a long way ahead of the World, aud the Evening News had a close run with the Police News. The Pall Mall Gazette and Budget were of course barred.

The Southland Times gives the following description of Taylor's hydraulic tree or stump extractor, which was tried recently at the Newington estate. It resembles an ordinary shear-legs, having at the apex a cylinder of cast iron of great strength, containing a ram sin in diameter, and 3ft in length. From the top of this is suspended a strong wrought iron yoke, to which is attached to a stout cable chain, which in its turn is attached to a clamp that grips the tree to be moved. On one of the legs is attached a box containing the pumping gear and the necessary amount ot water (about a bucketful), au'cl from the pump a three-eight pipe is connected with the lower end of the cylinder above. Each stroke of the pump raises the ram a quarter of a inch, and thus lifts the stump or tree perpendicularly from the ground. Being on wheels it can be shifted from one tree to another with little labor, and is so simple that any man could learu to work it alter seeing it once in use. Of the speed with which it can work the following figures are a proof: — It was gripped to a stump at 3.42 p.m. aud in three minutes'time had broken ground. In 11mm the stump was lifted, aud in three minutes more the extractor was backed against a large tree and was ready for work."

At the Thames Police Court recently, John Knifton and James Smith surrendered to their recognisances, charging them with being the principals in an intended prize fight. Thirteen other defendants, including two "gentlemen" and a journalist, were also charged with being accessories to the fight. At the conclusion of the evidence, Mr. Saunders said the case had assumed an importance owing to the great number of persons inculpated in it. He had no doubt, as far as outward appearances were concerned, an intended prize fight was going to happen, and the police had acted very properly. It was not their duty to wait until the offence had happened. He had come to the conclusion a prize fight was intended. He himself did not look with horror on the prize ring, and in his opinion it had in former days done a great deal ot good among the lower orders. In the ring there were proper rules, and they were carried out in a proper manner, and contrasted very favourably with the revolver, knife, and stiletto which were used in some parts of the Continent. Prize-fights had been ot immense benefit to this country. But while he said that he must also say that the requirements of the prize ring had now passed away. It had been held that a prize fight was a breach of the peace, but he did not think the case ought to go any further He should order each of them to find a surety in £10 to keep the peace for twelve months.

An order, received by cable message from Europe, lor a million pounds of beef in Gib tins, has been placed in Kockhampton. The assumption is naturally made that the meat is wanted for one of the nations now arming on the Continent. An order iov a million pounds sounds like a large order, but (says the Melbourne Argus) a million pounds is not much for the hosts ol to da} r . The soldier's rations are a pound of meat per diem in the barracks, and a pound aud a-half when on the march or in the field. In 1870 Geimany had mure than a million of men under a'ms, so that she required a million and a-hnli pounds of meat per diem, and a million and a-half pounds of bread or biscuit also. The great ait of war is to get this enormous mass of provisions regularly to the men. Fighting the enemy is often easy enough. The task is to feed your troops. The million pounds of beef ordered from Kockharnpton would have given the German hosts of 1870 a dinner, but would have left them with only a snack for tea, and with nothing for breakfast ; and indeed, when the civiliaus employed about an army are taken into account, it may be said that the million pounds would barely have given the German hordes a dinner. The German commissariat must have had to •see its way to piovide more than two millions ol pounds per day. This would mean an average slaughter of 2500 bead of cattle d lily ; in a month, therefore, fucu an army would consume 75,000 head of cattle. The Franco-German war lasted seven months, and for that period 325,000 head of cattle would be required, and the French hosts would require nearly as many more. When these figures are taken into account, the cost of modern wars Legins lo dawn on one. — Argus.

Mr. Vesey- Stewart, of Tauranga, now in England, has published " The New Zealand Year Book," of which the Home News says :—": — " It is a capital publication of its kind, and will be found of enormous value by those for whom it has been compiled, as well as by anyone who takes an intelligent interest in the great and rising colony with which it deals."

The most satirical shot at illegible prescriptions that we have yet seen is the following from the Medical Age : — A gentleman received a note from his lawyer, which he was unable to decipher. On his way to his office he met a friend at the door of a drug store. The friend, after vainly attempting to read the note, suggested that they should step inside and hand it to the druggist without comment. The druggist, after studying it for a few minutes, stepped behind his prescription case and in a short time returned with a bottle of medicine, duly labelled and bearing directions. When the gentleman saw his lawyer he was informed that his note was a notice to call at his office between 3 and 4 p.m. of the following day. It is a pretty difficult matter to " stick " a regulation druggist.