LOCAL & GENERAL.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume XXI, Issue 1066, 8 May 1890, Page 3

LOCAL & GENERAL.

"Poverty's" letter will appear in.next issue. A concert and dance in aid of the school fluid will he held at Upper Kyoburu on Friday evening, May 16. VKKYvalnablo mining property willhosold by auction at St. Bathans ou Monday by Mr. George Faohe. Messrs. R. and S. Inder will sell tomorow, on the premises, the property of Mr. Si Yung, market gardner. The attention of sporting men and others is directed to the notice in another column referring to the Cromwell Derby. The annual meeting of the Upper Manuhorikia Curling Club" is advertised to take place at St. Hathans on Wednesday next. Tenders are invited by Mr. W. Grayson for the destruction of rabbits on Marehurn run ; also by tho manager of Linnburn station for the construction of a water-race. At tho animal meeting of householders at Ginmierburn the following were elected the school committee for the ensuing year:— Messrs. W. Davis, J. Blakeley, A. Cleugh, J. Weir, J. Black, J. Pirie and James Scott.

A notification in the " Gazette " states that Messrs. William Gutfie, William Burnett aud Samuel luder have been appointed by His Excellency the Governor to represent the Maniototo County Council on the Central Ofctigo Hospital Board. The first meeting of householders to elect a school committee at Nenthorn was largely attended. The following were elected : Messrs. James Dawson, Thomas Callery, A. R. M'Ncill, Smithyman, P. Ryan, W. Donaldson and J.-C. Burman. • , We understand the Chairman and Secretary of the Mt. Ida Miners' Association recently visited the land (blocks in and iv., iManiototo), which was withdrawn from sale on the representation of the association and &!bo the County Chairman arid Mayor,' and are quite satisfied that the whole of it is gold-bearing. ' ' TnE "Star" understands that Mr. Tvvopeny has resigned the editorship of the "Otago Daily Times," owing to changes in his opinions on important matters of public policy —notably, in consequence of his adoption of the principles of .Protection for youue countries and progressive taxation.

Tiie annual meeting of the Naseby Pastoral Investment Company (Limited) was held at Naseby on Thursday evening, when there was a good attendance. Mr. Walter Inder presided. The balance-sheet and directors' report, which recommended the payment of a 10 per cent, dividend on the paid-up capital of the company, were adopted. The retiring directors (Messrs. T. Jackson and 8. Law) and auditors (Messrs. Wilson and M'Carthy) wore all re-elected. The following alterations in the electoral boundaries of the South Island have been made by the representation Commissioners : The township of Gordon has been added to tho Mataura district, which has caused a slight alteration in the boundaries of the Olutha, Tuapeka, Mount Ida and Wakatipu districts. Dunedin Suburbs and Port Chalmers districts arc altered by adding West Harbor to Port Chalmers and tho rest of Maori Hill to the Suburbs district. The Gcraldine district is altered by adding a | small piece which it was orgtnally intended to place in Ash burton.—Probably the alteration in the Mount Ida electorate is in the Roxburgh district.

The annual report of the Education Board has just been published. For examination in the standords, during tho year, 14,137 pupils were presented. Of this number 13,848 were present, and 393 :>! the latter wero excepted, while 11,596 passed. The absentees wore 325, or less than 2.3 per cent, of the presentees, " The percentage of absentees has never lief ore been so low as this." The percentage of passes was 84 or an advance of 4 por cent, over that of the past two years; that te to say, 84 out of every 100 presented "got through." The Board are quite justified in regarding this result as "highly satisfactory." Of the 188 schools examined, seventeen had n percentage of passes ranging from 0 to 5 ; thirty from 6 to 10 ; seventy-four from 11 to 20 ; thirty-four from 21 to 30; nineteen from 31 to 40 j clover from 41 to 50; and three from 51 to 67. In 25 per cent, of the tchools the percentage of failures was under 11, while in 04 por cent, it was under 21. The proportion of schools in which good examinations wero passed remains about the same as last year. In the list of effieioirjy the schools standing highest are in the order now given : —Benevolent Institution, Ca\ crshatn, Norrnal, Evausdale, Havvea, Inch Vulley, Kaikorai, Lawrence, Murton, Miller's Flat, Waimi hi vv...f Wanaka.

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Dcatlii!, a buy of eight or nine years, was charged l.y I.he Police with having damaged u limning, the pioperly of Mr. Muion Hewitt. The circumstances i;f the casj are as follow : Mr. Hewitt [)o.-.si:s.-,es a water-race in Shepherd's Creek, about six miles from Naseby, which runs round a very steep hill. While walking along the race a few weeks ago lie discovered, at a spot A-here, owing to the nature of the ground, a considerable quantity of flutning has to bo used, that the bottom of the fluming had been broken, Apparently with n pick. Owing to the very dry weather there was but little water in the race, otherwise Air. Hewitt is certain damage to the extent of £IOO would have resulted through the effect of the leakage on tho hill. Jt is only about 12 months ago that Mr. Hewitt incurred an expenditure of £OO through a portion of this nice breaking awny. Constable Willis, ha\in" been informed of the occurrence, visited the ground, And within a few days traced the offence to young Beattie, who admitted it, saying that ho was in quest of rabbits and broke the fluming with the pick that he carried. Constable Willis informed the Bench (hut the father of the acumed whs in very destitute circumstances, and thill, therefore, although the matter was very serious, Mr. Hewitt did not wish a tine to bo inflicted. This being so, His Worship severely cautioned the boy, who promised that he would desist from such practices in the futuro.

A Manawatp journal characterises the abuse of the credit system in. New Zealand as the tradesmen's curse. At h meeting of the newly-elected School Committee Mr. David "Barron was appointed Chairman. The appointment of secretary vas allowed to stand over, Mr. M'Carthy declining re election. . The survey of the Maniototo run (about 19,000 acres in extent) will be commenced by Mr. Barron this week. The land will be thrown open for settlement under the various systems on March 1, 1891. It appears that Mr. Henry George has not yet given up all idea of visiting New Zealand, and the Single Tax Society. ha 3 asked the Wellington City Council to give him a public reception if he comes. An entire family of six persons were wiped out of existence near Kingston,: N.Y.,.0n Sunday, February 6th. Four children were skating and' went through the ice, and '.he parents, who attempted a rescue, were also drowned. j Mails for London per R.M.S. Tongariro i will leave Wellington on May 15. Correspondence must be., specially addressed. J R.M.S Arawa will leave Lyttelton on May j 29 for Loudon.—The San Francisco mail will j close at the local office at '8 a.m. sharp on Thursday, 15th inst. The Greek Church forbids the marriage of those more nearly related than third! cousins, and this is also the Russian practice ; at th*( present time. In Sweden marriages •

within the third civil degree are nominally ; forbidden, Marriages between first cousins : are illegal in some States of the American Union. I • At Christehurch on Satnrday a husband of | eighteen years was ordered to find a surety of £SO that he would pay 15s a week towards the support, of his wife, aged seventeen, and their one child. " She didn't care about living with him " ; and he " didn't want to live with her." " You are a pair of yoring fools," said the Magistrate. . In regard to the labour demonstrations at Home, the Auckland Knights of Labour have passed a resolution sympathising with 'the labour movements throughout the world in their efforts to obtain the legal recognition of eight hours per day, and trusting that our Parliament will in its forthcoming session pass an Eight Hours Bill. Sankey's hymns have had the phenomenal sale of forty-three million copies. One does not hear them very often now. They mi-

doubtedly served the excellent purpose of introducing a livelier element in church music, but at the same time they are accountable for somewhat vitiating the taste of the devout for more solid, and devotional melodies. At the election of the City School Committee in Auckland, the householdersprcsent were so indignant at the result of the cumulative vote as worked by a clique, that by a majority of ten to one they passed a resolution that the new committee communicate with the Government requesting them to-take steps to repeal the cumulative clauses of the Education Act. The Dunedin correspondent of the " Tua peka Times" says :—" Sir Robert Stout intended to pay the .VI t. Ida electors another visit, and will do so providing his interference does not assist Mr. Pykc, whom he dislikes just as cordially as he does Mr Scobie Mackenzie. Yet it strikes me that after his last encounter with the latter gentleman he will be in no great hurry to meet him again." The session of the Otago University was inaugurated on Thursday evening, when Professor Gilray, the new professor of English language and literature, gave a lecture on the development of English literature. Contrary to expectations, the students were very orderly. The Chancellor, Dr. Stewart, announced that the University was now in a position to appoint a lecturer on metallurgy and ussayment, and complete the school of mines. At the close he congratulated the , students on their behaviour. j There is to be a great national exhibition ' in Berlin in 1894, and the idea has been mooted of out-Eiffeling the Eiffel tower by . raising a colossal equestrian statue of the j old Emperor William. Against this, however, the notion has been started of building, ' as a monument to the old Emperor, a mighty : series of baths, with halls and porticoes, such as shall rival the baths of the Romans, with a central hall as big as the Pantheon, surrounded by a loggia that shall contain ' sculpture of the highest order and of all i periods. It is proposed to set up in the hall a stntute of Kaiser Wilhelm I, with his heroes around him. j A hole which was accidentally burnt i through the roof of the caisson of the huge, j North River (Hudson) tunnel on April 3 j cnused its flooding, and the engines are unable to expel the water. The accident reaches the magnitude of a disaster, aud it | is feared a new start will have to be made ; from the New York end), in which case years j of work may bo considered lost. The tunnel ■ is now 2000 ft. long from the New Jersey end, but only 140 from the New York end ; yet tli is represents the work of years, great engineering difficulties having been en-

* The " Evening Herald " of Thursday last j has a very bitter article on the. management , of the Ncnthorn mines, which ia certainly | not undeserved. We make the following j extract from it :—" In case of the Pios- ' [lectors, the Victoria, the Blue Slate, and | Cnesus mines matters have been carried I with far too high a hand by the directors, I nor have the wishes of the shareholders been sufficiently consulted before important steps were taken. In the case of the Blue Slate, we are informed, liquidation was determined on without the shareholders having been asked as to whether they would prefer to carry on. The Prospectors was let to trihutors, and the first the unfortunate shareholders heard of it was the paragraph in the newspaper of the tributors' finds. The lnaiiiiguinent of the Criusus mine is veiled in an impenetrable secrecy, the directors having constituted themselves into a kind of ve/uue rjtriclit. The same studied indifference to the feelings of shareholders is to be seen hi the j Victoria, though at intervals of every mouth or two an inspired paragraph finds its way into the Press that the Victoria has a hundred tons or so of quartz at grass. This carrot has r.ecn held before the nose of the public donkey from time to time since last Christinas, and it is just about time some new delusion was invented if the public is to be fooled any more. We have seen a letter from n high functionary in the Victoria Company dated last December, in which he says that there will be no necessity for further calls after 2s had been paid up, and that dividends might be hoped for in February last. It is now May and not a ton has been crushed at the Victoria battery, though, we suppose, the previously mentioned tons of qmutz are still at grass, where they seem likely to remain. Investors in the Victoria have the satisfaction of knowing that their money is scrupulously expended npon directors' fees, the legal ' manager'* or secretary's salary, and a j something also upon the men's wages." I