GENERAL NEWS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XL, Issue 794, 26 October 1904, Page 3

GENERAL NEWS.

MrE.A. Mills, of.The Limes, Uxbridge, England, recently sold his celebrated bull dog, Champion Heath Baronet, to Mr George Gould, the American railway millionaire, for £1000. The dog has won over 150 first prizes.

The recent bad weather has proved disastrous to farmers in the Sandon and other districts south of the Eangitikei river. Grain planted is now rotten in the saturated ground, while the majority of the farmers have been quite unable to plant at all.

Professor Bickerton stated during a lecture in Christchurch that when he came to Canterbury he was frequently offered enormous bribes to supply favorable reports on mining ventures. On one occasion he was offered a third of £100,000 worth of shares. He declined the offer, saying that his fee was a guinea, and that he would report things as he found them to be. On three occasions he had exposed attempted diamond frauds.

During a recent journey through the Waiau district, one of the Government Stock Inspectors came across a farmer who is evidently one of the least contented of his land. " The lambing seems to be very good," remarked the Inspector. "Yes," replied the farmer, "hut I have had terrible losses . . .

terrible losses." " What's your percentage now?" inquired the officer. "Well, it's no better than a hundred and ten," was the reply which rather staggered the sympathetic Inspector.

People who go to chemists to have their ailments prescribed for occasionally give very strange symptoms. The other day a Foxton man called in at a local chemist's, said he had something the matter with his inside, and desired something for it. "What are your symptoms ? " asked the man of pills. "Every now and again something seems to rise np and then settles back again, and by-and-bye it rises up again." " Look here, old man," said the chemist gravely, " you haven't gone and swallowed a blessed barometer, have you ? "

Says the Stratford correspondent of the Taranaki Herald :—" Fortunately our County Councillors do not often descend to the use of Parliamentary language, but on Wednesday there must have been a disturbing demon at work. Cr Hine accused the chairman of crawling and cringing for; favours from the Government and was met with the " lie direct." The blizzard was soon over, however, and the milk of human kindness flowed again. It was all about a resolution of a month ago hi which, on _ division, the Council protested against an alleged intention of the Premier's to extend local body franchise to the great untaxed. The resolution had been sent to the Premier by j order of the County Council, but the chairman had taken it upon himself to have the division list sent also. Hence these recriminations.

President Loubert has been visiting his old home at Montelimar. He was received at the railway station (says the French newspapers) hy several functionaries, an 4he subsequently took a drive in semi-state with one of his children. Much less ceremonious was the charming scene described by the Eev. A. N. Cooper, the "walking parson." Mr Cooper, in one of his rambles, found himself at Montelimar, and, looking out of the window at his inn in the early morning, he saw the | President escorting his old mother to the market-place, where she continued to sell farm produce, even though her son had become Chief Magistrate of tho Republic. She drove up in a market cart, which was duly unloaded. Then the President gave her his arm, escorted her to her chair, and opened the great umbrella under which she sat. No functionaries were in attendance, and the rest of the market people showed no signs of regarding the incident as anything remarkable. At the end M. Loubet gravely saluted his mother, and went off to read State papers, while she remained to sell cabbages.