Notes and Events.

Manawatu Herald, 14 August 1894, Page 3

Notes and Events.

From the Christchurch Press

learn that the Agricultural Association passed resolutions declaring the Noxious Weeds Bill to be totally unworkable. If it becomes law it will be more harassing to the farmers than the weeds. The schedule of noxious weeds should only bo exercised by the Governor on the recommendation of Lhe local body. A number of practical modifications of Clauses 7, 8 and 14 are sug" gested.

In the short debate in the Legislative Council on the Designation of Districts Bill the Hon. Mr Bowen threw out the suggestion that the word " New " should be eliminated and by changing the " Z " of the second word, for we could not claim 11 Zealand," to an " S," we would have Sealand, which would, he thought, be appropriate, and get rid of the prefix " New," which in time to come would be out of place, while it would not destroy the history of the original name, nor yet be so great a change as some colonies had made ; Tasmania, for instance, from Van Dieman's Land. The only two Councillors who spoke afterwards, objected to the change on sentimental grounds.

Tho revenues raised by the six chief Missionary Societies in Eng land total to close on one million pounds.

Miss Ida Wells, a young lady of " colour " is now in England urging for an expression of opinion as to the horrible lynching of negroes in the United States. The assertion that lynching has been exercised only when criminal assaults had been made on white women is disproved, as the Chicago Tribune publishes a table showing that in 1893 there were 199 lynches, and 155 were of coloured people who were supposed to have been guilty of only 53 assaults on women and guilty of 102 other offences.

Hard work the poor London Omnibus horse has. Though he is only put to work when he is five years old, and only works four hours a day and travels only sixteen miles, yet in four years he is worn out. The bus is an expensive turn out costing £160, and the tyres sometimes only last three or four weeks. Every morning the coachbuilder examines every bus before it leaves the yard. A bus is snid to receive from 18 to 20 ««»*- £ pa ; n j. before id is delivered fco the company.

We find an account of tbe " Wombat " in a Homo paper. It says: — The wombat, or Australian badger, is one of the most apathetic animals in creation. At least, it is usually credited with this, and fcbneo who have sep* iL „, , ■—- v ••• ... i V urn readily believe ... it is too sluggish to make any serious objection to being captured, and is a good deal sought after for gastronomic purposes. All the same, once it is roused it becomes a very ugly customer, and can inflict nasty wounds with its sharp claws. It is tameable, however, and has often been made a pet of. Ifc will even make friendly advances, in its own lumbering fashion, to those i who treat ifc kindly. A tame wombat has a lazy desire to sleep in one's lap, and will elevate itself on its hind legs with this end in view. Ib is a vegetable feeder principally, but it has a weakness for milk, and it will make a tour at night to search for the milk which has been left out to cool. Once it is found, the animal pushes off the lid, and when it has drunk its fill it quietly gets into the milk pan and has a bath. One can imagine the disgust of the housewife on coming down in the morning to find her milk-pan chiefly occupied by a wombat.

That comp. again ! ' The conflict was dreadful, and the enemy was repulsed with considerable laughter. 1 1 Robert Jones was yesterday brought before the sitting magistrate on a charge of having spoken reason at the Barley Mow publichouse' 'In consequence of the numerous accidents occasioned by skating on the Serpentine River, measures will be taken to put a top to it.' ' When Miss de Verve late of Covent Garden Theatre, visited the Hecla, she was politely drawn up the ship's side by a hair.' A gentleman was yesterday brought up to answer a charge of having eaten a hackney cabman for having demanded more than his fair ; and another was accused of having stolen a small ox out of the Bath mail ; the stolen property was found in his waistcoat pocket.'— The British Printer.