NEWS AND NOTES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume IX, Issue 1604, 20 April 1887, Page 2

NEWS AND NOTES.

Tbe Hd». Msv>ov Atkinson amvc& by train this morning in Hawera liom New Plymouth. He addresses his constituents at the Town Hall this eveniug at 7 o'clock.

Tho Wellington Meat Export Cmip'iny have let tenders for extensions to their works oa Waterloo-quay, building and alterations, etc. Mr. H. Taylor, o{ Clinstchurch, is the successful teudeivr. The tender of the new boilers had {>rpvi'>;isly been let to Mr. Jolm Antlevbon, ali-o o[ Cbristehureh.

A notification appears iv the Gazette to the effect that in future examinations of candidates for the civil f-ervice, and of candidates for certificates as teaciieis «H be held simultaneously once a year, generally in the third week of Decemler. The junior examiuation for the civil service will be equivalent to th" examination for the " E " ceitifica'e now granted to teacher--, and the senior examination in die civil service will bo (quivaleni t> that lvqniri i) iov a camtuUie in taking ,i '• D " certificate. Of curse, in the case of teachers and surveyors special papers will

hi necessary in addition to the ordinary pass subjects.

A movement is on foot in Anckhnd to start 'i football club under Association rules, by which neither hoHinc lucking, or tripping is allowed, and no player except the goal keeper may handle the ball.

An An ok land papor, w riling on new buildings in Queen-street, says that " at present there are several old-style buildin«s that might with profit be removed, but strange to say the incendiary l'at with the traditional lucifer in his teeth pas-ses by these buildings, apparently preferring those on vvhich the insurance companies kahe heavier risks."

The Auckland Star says '• that between Kaipara and Ahipara, and extending from the East to the West Coast, there is a hundred miles ot the finest fruit-growing land in the world — fertile valleys, genial climate, and abundance of wood and water. Vhis country, dotted over with small forms and orchards, would be a perfect paradisp."

The Army Clothing Company at Vienna received orders at the end of Febmary to supply the War Office with 1,000,000 pairs of soldiers' boots, and wool for as many uniforms by the Ist May. The wool for these uniforms comes from Hungai'y, and this gigantic order is said to have completely cleared the wool market. The sum now being expended on army requirements, stores, Ac., is £2,000,000.

One of the heaviest clips of v,-00l we ever heard of is reported from Southland. The wool was shorn from tour Lincoln sheep sent from Mr. Ma the w Holmes' estate at Awamo to ths Merivale estate, Southland. The four clipped 111 lbs. of wool, the champion ram's fleece weighing 30 lbs., the other four-tooths 29 lbs., and the two hogget rams each producing 26^ lbs. wool. To make this record complete, the number of days growth of wool should be given.

In the course of his address last nitrht, the Rev. Mr. Bunn told the following anecdote. He said : — After divine service one day, a yonnj; girl on leaving the church " got up " a faint — perhaps some of ihe y^ims; )a'Vies in'i^hb nnDerslnnil what he meant by " getting " a faint. Forthwith a young man, a Wesleyan, ran up, and lifted her tenderly in his arms. Another young man, a Quaker, fanned her with his broad-brimmed hat. A third young man, a Baptist, ran and got water to revive her. A fourth young man, a Methodist, as she revived, linked her arm in his and marched her off. This was given as a humorous illustration of the sort of wav in which fcbe several sects should work together with a good object in view.

The Czar must feel comfortable if he is allowed to read the newspapers. He is at present a sort of " running deer Wimbledon target " for an indefinite number of his own subjects-, who take flying shots at him, and dump up dynamite in book form for presentation at the first convenent opportunity. Now it seems that American Ni)ii))sis have annoimc^A their readiness to assist al; this Imperial covert shooting, and they are noted revolver and rifleshots, a fact vouched for by all authorities, from Fenimore Cooper down to Mark Twain. Sporting men may be expected shortly to quote the odds in the betting whether the Czar will be shot, stabbed, or blown up this month. Last month he seems to have been on\v w'maeA.

The London Times says : — Some thousands of people visited Princes-end, Tipton, on February Bth, to witness the funeral of Mr. Samuel Mnrfitt, who was receutly exhibited as the largest man in the world. The deceased, who died on Friday after a few days' illness was a uative of Wimblington, Cambridgeshire, and wan 55 years of age. His dimensions were as follows:— "Height, Gffc lin ; weight, 40 stone ; girth of waist, IOOm ; and he measured 20in round the calf of the leg. A hearse could not be found lai'ge enough for the deceased's removal, and the body had to be conveyed on a flat. The sashes had to be removed from the windows, and nearly 20 men were employed to get the coffin through the window of the flat.

At thp Oceiil a»tal Hotol on Saturday night, a Large number ot " sports " assembled to hear the preliminaries arranged for the glove fight to take place on Monday, May 9th, between Jtimes Pettengell, champion ot New Zealand, and Harry Lang, champion of Wanganui, for £100 aside and the championship of New Zealand, the winner to take the sjate money. Petten^e' was represeijte'l by Mr. J. Wafcson, Hudson acting on behalf of Lang, and Mr. W. H. Eeel was appointed stakehold. The timekeeper will be chosen by the referee. The articles and rules having been agreed to, the first deposit of £50 aside was placed in the hands of the stakeholder. The final deposit of £50 aside is to bp in the k^nds of the stakeho'der on Saturday, May 7th — Chroniolß.

The British Navy had in commission in July last, apart from training, gunnery, drill aud harbor ships, troopers, and armed traders, 135 fighting ships, of which 32 were ironclads of 5000 to 11,000 tons displacement each, 12 were protected ships not ironclad, and 91 were unarmored steamships Of these 135 ships only 11 were built of wood. The average size of the ironcladd was 7500 tons, and the unamimer] ships 1400 tons. The grosx \onnage (th'splacementl was over SdOfiOO. The gross tonnage of fighting ships in the American Navy in commission was under 50,000, and the average displacement per thip was 1890 tons. So far, therefore, as she American Navy goes, its fleet of unarmored '-hips consists of vessels which aue, on tho average, larger than English uuarmored ships hut are mainly of wood, of old type and armament, and of low speed. While the number of fighting ships in commission may be taken as from 26 to 135, and the fonnage as from 50,000 to 180,000, they have in the United States Navy an engineer corps numbering 233 on the active list, while the British Ijst only numbers 667.