NEWS AND NOTES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume X, Issue 1835, 23 January 1888, Page 2

NEWS AND NOTES.

Mr. Sydney Taiwhanga, M.H.R., appeared as defendant in a civil case at the Magistrate's Court on Tuesday, having been sued by P. O'Callaghan, boardinghouse keeper, for .£3B 8a for board and lodging. The defendant admitted the debt, but asked permission to make a statement to the court as to the reason why he had not paid tbe money. Mr. Wardell, who was on the bench, objected to this proceeding, and gave judgment for the plaintiff for the amount sued for, with costs £3 125.

The loss of life that frequently occurs through the want of knowledge on the part of those who are in a position to render assistance, of being able to swim, has induced the Royal Humane Society of Australasia to offer encouragement to pupils at schools to become proficient in the theoretical and practical knowledge of the art of saving life from drowning. With this view tbey offer bronze medallions and certificates as prizes annually for competition. These will be open to tbe pupils of any school which shall contribute a guinea to the funds of the society, thereby constituting its head master or teacher a member thereof. The Resident Magistrate, C. A. Wray, Esq., the local correspondent of the society, has full information on the subject.

It is not improbable (says the Auckland correspondent of the Wanganui Herald) that a legal action will arise from the conduct of a certain unsuccessful candidate for one of the local Parliamentary constituencies at the last general election. The gentleman in question has not satisfied in full the claims of one of the agents who worked on his behalf, and the agent has tried various means to enforce payment of what he considers his just claims, and having failed has placed the matter in the hands of a legal firm in this city. Unless the money is shortly forthcoming, the agent threatens to place the ex-candi-date in difficulties by instigating proceedings against him under the Act for prevention of bribery and corruption. He is prepared to produce witnesses in suppoit ot his action, who are said to be able to prove that certain moneys were paid over to various agents for expenses to be incurred on the day of the general election. It is also said evidence will be forthcoming to show that an agent was given coin by the candidate with instructions to pay the same to one of the " free and independent electors" of the district he was contesting. Should the case ever reach the court, interesting disclosures may be expected as to how electioneering agents work business.

What's all this row with the Crofters at Lewis ? Where's Lewis ? Lewis is the name of the northern part of the northermost of the Hebrides 1 It's a very poor country and the Crofters can't get a living out of the land when the fishing fails ! Yet they won't leave it 1 And they won't pay rent? They can't! They can barely get food, let alone rent 1 They've taken to raiding the deer partly for tucker and partly because they think the deer forest ought to be turned into farm land ! Well, ought'n't it? The proprietors don't think so 1 They find that game pays much better than farming 1 The soil's too barren and the climate's too severe for farming 1 If the whole island were put into crofts the crofters would soon be in as bad a plight as ever! They seem to be a pretty tough loc I They routed the police ! Oh, they're a splendid lot of fellows, and if they'd only leave their miserable island and go to some place where moneys to be made, the'ddo splendidly 1 An Edinburgh jury acquitted them of deer raiding ! That's rather strange, for there's precious little sympathy for them in the lowlands ! The case must have broken down somehow ! It's not an easy thing to prove deer-raiding in a wild spot like Lewis I Are not these crofters the men that Macandrew wanted to bring to New Zealand ? The same 1 There have been many attempts made to emigrate to the colonies, but they won't budge 1 Not even when they have land offered them for nothing 1 No, they prefer starvation and misery in the Hebrides to wealth and independence in New Zealand or Australia I—Wellington1 — Wellington Press, " Puft."

An English contemporary writes : — " There appears to be good reason for thinking that England will, lor the next year or two at any rate, get both less beef and leas wheat from America. The American farmer is feeling the pinch of hard times almost equally with the English agriculturist. Low prices, severe winters, and droughts have played serious havoc with the breeding of live stock in the Western States and the number of cattle kept has, according to Mr. Sturgess, one of the leading ranchmen, diminished by 2,000,000 since 1885. Mr. Sturgess predicts a scarcity of beet within a few months, which will result in a considerable rise in the prices. As to wheat, Mr. William E. Bear, on 6of our chiet agricultural authorities, calls attention to the fact that the American wheat area has shrunk by nearly 1,000,000 acres since 1880. In spite of the cropping of new land with wheat, the decline in the old states has been so great that the average is stationary or decreasing, and on all sides American farmers are advised to Rive up continuous wheat growing, and to go in for mixed farming. Thousands have been ruined, and most of tbe rest, if owners, have their farms mortgaged heavily and their crops, too, in great numbers of instances."

The Canterbury Press says :—Canterbury may not unreasonably expect to enjoy this year one of the best harvests that she has ever been blessed with. To say nothing of a very large extra acreage under white crops there is the circumstance that the weather has on the whole been extraordinarily lavorable. The somewhat prolonged rains in the early part of the season have been followed by weeks of fine warm weather, almost unspoilt so far by the dreaded nor'wester, and this in its turn has been improved recently by one or two days of gentle showers, when it might truly be said to be " raining sovereigns." In spite of early drowned out fields here and there the result is that most farmers throughout the most important counties of Ashley, Ashburton, and Selwyn are now looking forward with a certain amount of confidence to yields considerably above those of last year, and average yields of 26 to 28 bushels of wheat, and 28 to 30 bushels of oats are talked of by good judges. Another week or two and we 6hall be in the midst ot the harvest, which the peculiar season above described has delayed considerably beyond the usual time. The hay harvest has been an excellent one both as regards quality and quantity, and it is safe to say that there will be no grumbling this year over the quality of oaten hay and chaff. With the prospect of a fairly remunerative price, there is therefore an encouraging prospect before our farmers, and should the warcloud at present hanging over Southeastern Europe break, it is probable that further improvement in that prospect would result.

" Buchu-Paiba." — Quick, complete cure, all annoying Kidney. Bladder, and Urinary Diseases. At chemists and druggists. Kempthorne, Prosser & Co., Agents, Wellington. 1

" Rough on Rats." — Clears out rats, mice, roaches, flie3,ant3, bed-bugs, beetles, insects, skunks, jack-rabbits, sparrows, gophers. At chemists and druggists. 1