NEWS AND NOTES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume IX, Issue 1573, 12 March 1887, Page 2

NEWS AND NOTES.

Lieutenant-Colonel Eobeits has been appointed commandant of the Permanent Militia.

Albert Wachsman, manager of Mr. A. Adams' station at Hopefield, Wairau. has been fined £50, 3 d per head on 4000 sheep, for having sheep iufected with scab on his run. Mr, Martin, Crown solicitor, prosecuted. Mr. Acton Adams gave notice of appeal. Other charges of a similar nature against the same i-unholder are pending.

The Wangarmi Kerakl in an article on the Education Board elections says :—: — " Mr. Bate is an old and a thoroughly reliable member of the board, and has always been outspoken and fearless in defence of the committees. He should receive the vote of every committee iv the district, and come out at the top of the list."

The Hawera Baud, under the leadership of Mr. Sniait, have decided to play the following selection of music, on the Square this evening (weather permitting) : March, " Dear Little Jessie ;" quadrilles, " Alliance;" polka, " Cavendish ;" waltz, "Fond Memories;" march, "Broken Blossoms ;" shottische, " Ever Dear ;" lancers, "Victoria;" march, "Jack's Come Home To-day;" and galop, " Eosy Cross."

In one of his addressee Mr. Glover, the temperance advocate, expressed his astonishment that Greymouth should support twenty-three public-houses; but an old inhabitant tells the Argus that less than twenty years ago there were ninetysix public houses in Greymouth and vicinity, and no fewer than 15G iff Hokitika. The temperance party and the depression have done something between them to limit the traffic in drink.

At the R.]\l. Court, New Plymouth, on Friday^ James McLauchlan and James Hook Coad were charged that they did rescue certain goods, to wit, 3 A baies of hops, 3£ sacks of malt, 7 hogsheads beer, •J cask beer, two and a part bults beer, on" Jot beer, and one pixno, levied voder process of the District Court of Taranaki, bolden at Hawera. in the matter of an action brought in the said court by Mary Coultharfc against James Hook Coad and James McLauch'an. Mr. Samuel appeared for the infoimatit, and Mr. Standish for the defendants, and at the instance of the latter the case was adjourned till 25th inst. It was stntert that nn important civil action in connection with the suine matter was pending.

The ordinary monthly meeting of the Normanby Town Board, convened for Wednesday evening, was postponed till next Wednesday evening. As an example of the progress of flat racing: in America it may be mentioned ihat 25 stakes, representing over 40,000d01. of added monej', will be run for on the Coney Island Jockey Club track at Sheeps hpad Bay during tbe June and autumn meetings of this yeir. Six of these stakes are new, and the value of the remaining 19 last year amounted to nearly 100,000dol. Entries to the 25 stakes closed on New Year's Day, and it is the opinion of a prominent member of the club that their value in 1887 will not be much short of 150,000d01. This would make the races worth, on au average, more than iIOOO. Tasman has taken his final leave of the turf, aud is now for sale as a stud horse. The following full record of his performances will he interesting to sporting readers : — At 3 yi'3, ran in 17 races, winning 8, second in 5, third in 1 (the race in which he finished first, but was di'squ&ttfiedl and unplaced in 3 ; at 4 yrs, ran in 19 races, winning 12, second in 3, third in 1, and unplaced in 3 ; at 5 yi s, ran in 10 races, winnnins; 8, and unplaced in 2 ; at 6 yrs, ran in 7 races, winning 2, second in 1, third in 2, and unplaced in 2 ; as an aged horse, ran in 8 races, winning 1, second in 4, third in 1, and unplaced in 2. From this it will be seen that Tasman has run in 61 races, winning 31, finishing second 14 times, third 5 times, and unplaced 11 times ; and it may be further noticed that his winnings in stakes have amounted to a trifle over £5500. The New Plymouth High School is in a small way a " shocking example " of the manner in which public money is used for the education of children whose parents are perfectly well able to pay for the education of their children. The estimate of receipts and expenditure ior this year is as follows: — Income: Government grant, £150 ; rents ot reserves, Waimate, £244 ; Onaero, £176 ; receipts from school commissioners (average of last three years) , £172 ; school tees, £296 ; total, £1039. Expenditure : Overdraft, January, 1887, £80 4s lid ; management, £50 ; present salaries, £737 ; printing, advertising, etc., £25 ; cleaning and fuel, £25 ; prizes, £5 ; repairs, painting, etc., £60 ; taxes aud water supply, £10 ; rent of streets, £2 12s 3d; total, £994 17s 2d. Surplus, £44 2s lOd. About one-third of the cost of the establishment is covered by the fees, and the other two-thirds come directly or indirectly out of the pockets of the general taxpayer. The figures quoted above are no doubt in close resemblance to those which grace the balance sheets of other high schools in the colony. Our readers will be ioterested, says a Northern paper, to learn of the success of the tobacco crops, raised this year lor the : New Zealand Tobacco Company (Limited). ; The manager, Mr. August Vollbracht, has received the followiug information from the Company's agents in various districts : At Bay of Islands the crops are good, especially the hybrid Havanna. In ! Poverty Bay the crops aye rather (ate. The natives, having received seed and piinted instructions iv Maori from the Company, have done well. Some fair crops are expected from the Bay of Plenty. Hawke's Bay has suffered from want of rain, but will have some good Connecticut leaf. In Taranaki the crops are better than la^t year. At Nelson there are good crops, and as far south as Canterbury fair returns are expected. Taking it all round, the crops are better and more plentiful than was anticipated. Growers are reminded that they should not on any account use seed of their owu savins for next year's crop. If they do, the crop will prove worthless in most cases, as the seed needs acclimatising first ere it can be of any value.