NEWS IN BRIEF.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8726, 17 November 1891, Page 6

NEWS IN BRIEF.

ffHE crong in Maniototo County are said to be looking better than for the past three

years. .. A large area of wheat in South Australia Ifl-so frostbitten that it will be only useful for hay. t blackstmth, of Pahiatua, has Mr. King,blacksmith, of Pahtatua, has bad three of his ribs broken by a kick from fr horse he was shoeing. Anew coal company, to be c»lled_ the Calliope Coal Company, VI estport, is to be formed, with a capital of £oO,OOU. , . The Pall Mall Budget of October Ist reproduces Messrs. Wheeler photograph of Bishop Julius ascending the spire oi the Christchurch Cathedral to lay th„ last

Government of Tasmania have tabooed Robert Elsmere as nob fit to be read by Tasmanians, while the Victorian Customs authorises will not pass Zola s W< A k£ phenomenal hailstorm occurred at Hawera lately. Some of the stones were balf-an-inch through, Several windows were broken, and great damage was done to the fruit trees. , , _ Says the Manawatu Standard : —One or the assessors of property in this district informs us that nearly every settler in the district will be exempt from taxation under the new proposals. , The New Plymouth papers report that the Railway Commissioners have consented to reduce the treignt on butter from 55>s to 4Ss per ton on a four-ton minimum, but will not grant a reduction in lots below that. A Sydney commercial house has written to a Napier man, stating that there is a good market on the other side for farina, and highly praises the sample of this article (made from potatoes) recently sent over from Napier. A man named James Bowers was admitted into the Duuedin Hospital suffering from severe burns caused by phosphorous, which he had been carrying in his pocket. Dr. Roberta attended to him, aud he is now progressing favourably. An arrangement of telephony has been perfected in the Melbourne Tost Office, by which anyone can talk his telegraph message to the operator, the consideration being an additional tee of 6d for every three minutes occupied in dictation. _ Two large special settlement associations i at Master ton have been formed in connec- i tion with the Knights of Labour there. They consist of TO members, and have ap- j plied for two blocks in the Puketoi district, one of 7000 acres, and another or 4000 j acres. . , , .-*» » Mr. Hans Irvine, of the Great Western Vineyard, Victoria, is visiting France in J order to study the process of manufacturing champagne, and of purchasing a plant , which will enable him to commence the : manufacture of that wine on his return to the colonies. „ The members of the Bruce County Coun- j cil have unanimously adopted the following j resolution -.—"That this corporation thank the Legislative Council for the careful manner in which it ,had endeavoured to conserve the interests of the settlers during the last session of Parliament." The natives are supposed to possess peculiar powers of foretelling the character of the seasons by the observance of natural signs, and we (Thames Advertiser) understand they prognosticate a hot, dry summer in consequence of certain indications given by the flower of the nikau. The Bruce Herald says : —" \\ e are informed that a reef containing silver has been discovered on the coast, between Bull Creek and Chryatal's. It would be premature to say any more on the subject at present, save that the parties interested regard their discovery as a valuable one." The Pahiatua correspondent of the New Zealand Times writes :— " Labour of every sort is in demand here at present. Navvies, bushfellers, and handy men are not to be "ot. It is quite a common thing for settlers to invite tenders for bushwork without receiving more than one or two offers to do the work." The Tasmanian Minister of Lands and Works has approved (says the Mercury) of an increase or wages to the permanent way hands on the Government railways on the following scale -.—Labourers) first year, os Sd per day, subsequent years, 6s per day ; gangers, first year, 7s 6d per day ; subsequent years, Ss per da v. The Clutha Leader says .—" The practice j of allowing children to use shanghais, or j catapults as they are sometimes called, is j one that shoald be rigorously put a stop : to Only the other day one of Dr. Smiths i sons got a shot in the eye from one of , these,"which in all probability will result in the loss of the sight of one eye, if nob of them both." As showing the difference in value in sheep now a/compared with six years ago,, Mr. Midgely, manager of Mr. Orinoud si Wailingford property, informs the Woodville Examiner that six years ago they sold 2000 sheep from that station at Is a-head. The same sheep could not now be bought for less than 10s per head. The farmers around Greytown did not look kindly upon the Greytown Dairy Factory this season, and there was a probability of its being shut up. But the promoters made a start, and now the inflow of milk is greater for this time of year than it has been in any year previous. Had the factory closed the loss would have proved a serious one to the farmers. A Wanganui exchange says that whilst Mr James Beck was dismantling an old dwelling in Guy ton-street, formerly occupied by the late Mrs. Campbell, he came upon a rat's nest, which contained amongst other things an unpresented cheque on the Bank of New South Wales drawn by David Murray in favour of "Brandon, for the gum of £2 3s, and dated January 2, 1886. A man named George Hewitt, living at. Bincara (N.S.W.) was the winner of Tattersall's sweep in May last, and it is said, that he has since spent every copper of his winnings. In four months he appears to have spent £9000 of hard cash. He was well advised by many, but all to no purpose, for he was too generous. He thought nothing of handing a tramp a £0 note or of paving a man's debts. His friends were but now they begin to fall away. The London correspondent of the Dunedin Star writes" New Zealand promises to get a large share of our better class emigrants during the ensuing six months. The tide has already set in towards the colony, and bids fair to continue. Enquiries about New Zealand are made at the Agent-General's, Ashby s, and other Australasian passage agencies every day: and during the past week saloon and second-class booking have been rather heavy. '■ -