NEWS AND NOTES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume IX, Issue 1663, 30 June 1887, Page 2

NEWS AND NOTES.

Captain Edwin telegraphed at 2.7 p.n . to-day : — Glass further rise, and hard frost to-night. About 80 New Plymouth school children passed through to day by train en route for Wanganui Exhibition. They are in charge of Mr. Dempsy, of the Central School. It is very probable (says the Wellington Post) that the New Zealand Alliance for the suppression of the liquor traffic will thortly take a plebiscite in Wellington city for the purpose of ascertaining the public feeling in regard to the local option question. That the " sun never sets on the British Empire" is shown by a correspondent m the Timaru Herald as follows : — About four honrs after the sun has risen on Great Britain he will rise over some of the British West Indian Islands. Two hours later he will be visible in the western part of Upper Caoada, Newfoundland, New Bruuswick, and Nova Scotia. Three hours later he will have risen on the western part of the Hud'-ou B iy Territory. Three houi s later still, when just setting on the British Island he will be rising on the eastern part of New Zealand, and two hours after this he will have risen on Australia ; four hours later on Calcutta ; two hours later on Aden ; about an hour later on Cape Colony; and two hours later on Great Britain again. At the "mass meeting " (by ticket ouly) at the St. James' Hall, Colonel Saunderson perpetrated a bull which almost deserves to lank with that of the orator who smelt a r.it and declared his intention to nip it in the bud. "He did not thiuk " (he sad) " that the Irish hot water attained boiling heat until November last, when Ireland was visited by those two Radical Siamese twins — Mr. Lsbouchere nnd Conjbeare, who came over to Ireland like two political Colorado beetles, to infect with a double portion of their venom •.he Irish stew which they came to stir up." Water made boiling by two Siamese twins, like two Colorado beetles who infect an Irish stew wiih their venom — surely, for a mixture of bad English, bad entomology, bad rhetoric, and bad taste, this would be hard to beat.

We hear of several dogs having been poisoned within the limits of the borough during tbe past day or two. A valuable dog, the property of Mr. New«ham, was o>e of the animaU ; one owned by Rev Mr. Bunn has also been poisoned, and we believe there are others. It is a highly improper thing to laj' poison about, in a town especially, from any point of view, and it is a matter for great rpgret that it should have b6en done. We are not aware whether it is legal to do so ; but if it is not, and the owners of the dogs poisoned have any remedy, it will certainly be pursued. Detective Benjamin returned from Mangamahu on Sunday, (says the Wanganui Chronicle) bringing with him the re mains of the skeleton discovered there several days ago. The gun found with the skeleton is a single-barrel muzzle loading one, and is covered with rust, so that it is impossible to distinguish the maker's name — if there is one on it. The boots found by the remains are heavy tbluchers (factory made). The edge of he hat, which is of soft felt, is cut as if by a knife or a pair of scissors, as if the pieces had been used for gun wads. Inquiries have been made by the police, and it has been discovered that about four years ago a man left Mr. Duncau's at Pjiraekaretu with the intention ot imking for Halse's Track, near which the remains were found. The man who left then had a billy and a gun, and has never been heard of since. Another man named Jackson Gilinour w.is missed from Hawera about December 4th, 1881, and was never heard of after. Yet a third man, named Murphy, was missed from Patea a few years ago, but was supposed to have gone into the Whenuaknra Block. None of the three have ever been heard of since, but of the three the fir.it s-eems most likely to be the one whose remains were recently found. The Auckland Star cills for a Government inquiry into the circumstances of the hardships surrounding the case of special settlers .>n the Hukerunui Block, as disclosed iv a letter addressed to Dr. Sissons, of Kamo, as follows : — '* The bearer of this note (Mr. Webb) and his family have been living at my store, Hukevunui, for some time, they having come to this district with the intention of taking up land under the Village Settlement Act. They took up 50 acres here iv Auckland, and when they came to look at it found it situated in a swamp covered with water. Therefore, they had to throw it up. They had to live in a tent made of sacks, and winter weather setting in they were all, excepting the father and mother, laid up with sickness. The whole nine children were sick at one time, aud the little baby died. Then the father was liid up aud had to come into Kamo. Latterly the family has been living in a hut belonging to me near my store. Three of the children are still laid up sick, and they have no means whatever by which to support themselves. The mother (Mrs. Webb) is in a ciitical state, expecting to he laid up in a couple of mouths' time." Dr. Sissons, in his letter, says he believes the statement to be perfectly correct. The family are laboring under fever, caused by exposure and the crowded slate of the tent.