NEWS AND NOTES.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XXXXI, Issue 70452, 1 October 1900, Page 2

NEWS AND NOTES.

Sporting notes and references by the Minister for Public Works concerning light railways on fourth page. Oddfellows meet this evening. The Manaia Town Board meets on Wednesday night.

The Aorere arrived at Patea on Friday, sails next day, returns to-day, and sails again to-morrow.

A peculiar thing about the calendar this year is. that there are five Saturdays in four of the months— March, June, September, and December.

A Carterton butcher advertises in a local paper that owing to the scarcity of stock he has decided to close his shop for a few weeks.

The weather during the list 48 hoars has been of a most varying character, rain, hail, wind, and sunshine being blended in the most erratic confusion.

The Milton correspondent of the Free Press states that 250 bandsmen are expected to be in Milton for the band contest this month.

The Hon W. Bolleston and Mrs Eolleston booked passages on their return journey to New Zealand, via Melbourne, in the s.s. Ophir, which left London on the 15th of September.

Lieutenant-Colonel Plumer is about to return to the Imperial forces, and has been selected for the poat of second in command of the Ist York and Lancasters, the tigers of Indian, New Zealand, and Soudan fame.

An ingenious address was recently placed on a letter forwarded to the Old Country from Pietermaritzburg by a private in the East Surrey Begiment. The letter bore on the envelope the presentment of a wheel, followed by the letter B. Then the picture of a cottage. Beneath, a roughly-drawn bridge, to which led a road flanked by trees. Finally, there was the head of a young woman. The postman took the letter rightly to Mr Wheeler, of Elder Cottage, Bridge Eoad, Maidenhead.

In order to restrict the sly- grog selling said to be carried on at Pitfield, a mining town of Victoria, several men were employed to obtain evidence. But the scheme fell through, because one of the men drank himself into a state of insensibility in the very house in which he was to spy upon, and another fell in love with the maiden who supplied the beer. ,

A remarkable story of heroism of civil life is told in the New York Press. A fire broke out in the east side tenement home of a poor Jewish tailor on the first Seder (Passover) evening. The tailor, his wife and children were caught in a trap by the flames. When the firemen forced an entry into the tailor's bedroom they found against a further wall four ut> conscious bodies with charred clothing and black faces. Three of them, the wife and two children, were saved by the poor Jew's heroism. He had stretched his body as a shield in front of his family, and gave his life to rescue theirs.

Mr W. D. Webster has received word that the Northern Steamship Company's new steamer, the Ngapuhi, arrived in Albany, Western Australia, all well, on Friday. She : may be expected to arrive in Auckland about 14th prox.

The fishing season opened to-day, and a number of enthusiastic anglers went out early this morning to try their luck. The rough weather we have been having during the past few days will probably be the means of a not too successful opening day.

Lieutenant K. Murchison, of the Pro" tectorate Begiment. who was sentenced to death by General Baden-Powell for shooting a correspondent at Mafeking, has been received into Parkhurst convict prison from the military authorities to undergo penal servitude for life.

Our Manaia correspondent writes : Your Punehu Stream correspondent states in Saturday's Stab that "the Punehu Bridge is still at a standstill, and it appears that the W.R.B. are not particular whether it is begun this year or next." The Waimate Koad Board authorities inform me that the Board has nothing whatever to do with the construction of this bridge. The Government called for tenders (through the Survey Department, New Plymouth), and granted the successful contractors (Messrs Pikett and Grayling) a period of nine months within which to complete the work. A word for the constable. " There's an old stock Baying," remarked Mr Justice Conolly on Friday, "in civil cases when you've no defence abuse the plaintiff's attorney, and I think it might be said in criminal cases, when you've no defence, abuse the constable. His back is broad. It's unfair and absurd to say that constables colour their evidence." — Taranaki Herald. A Bavarian, named Frankenburg (says a Dalziel telegram), who had just been sentenced to two and a half years' hard labour by the Assize Court at Gratz, appears to hold the record for the number of his matrimonial engagements. For a considerable time he had existed by swindling women, to whom he represented himself as a rich man in search of a wife. He receivad large numbers of replies to his advertisements in newspapers, and his plan was to engage himself to all the ladies who were sufficiently well garnished with ready cash, borrow from them, and decamp. He was finally denounced by one of his victims. At the trial he admitted having been engaged to no less than 120 women in all classes of society.

Mr W. S. Moore has taken over the business of the Onehunga Boot Factory. Notice in this issue.

Train arrangements for H.B. show are announced.

An important land sale at Feilding is announced by the N.Z.L. and M.A. Co.

WHAT ! SALE CONTINUING?

Mr J. Brunette, jeweller, has decided to still further reduce his valuable stock of Watches, Jewellery, Clocks, and Plate during month of October, at the enormous reduction of 4s in the £ discount for cash. No puff about this, and no fancy prices. — Advt.