LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10098, 6 April 1896, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Jis Excellency the Governor, tin (luntess of Glasgow, Lady Augusta and Ldy Alice, attended by Captain Preston AD.C., will bo present; at the A.Rc' Meting at Ellerslio to-day. A Ln .<j niuber of invitations havo been issued for th garden party at Government lloe»o on Wdnesday. A dinner party will bo given onriiursday evening. "o-day (Easter Monday) all telcrant staions will be open from nine to ten Via an( the principal officers will be in attend' an© from seven to eight p.m. luring the passage of the P.uddartPailter steamer from Oisborne to this ort on 'Saturday evening, a concei was held on biard in aid of the Brunner fund and the of £7 collected. .Mr. J. H. 'liar court titled as chairman, and art ire«.«'ed the passengers in a few well-chosen wordi as to the cause of the fund, and Captair McGee thanked the passengers and chair man on belulf of the widows and orphan! of the unfor.unate miners. The following kindly confronted items to the programme" -Mr. and Mrs. Cheek, .Miss Kempt™ Messrs. A. Albott, I). Donovan, Henderson' Watts, and I.oss. It is Captain Met, intention to cndeivour to arrange aunt heconcert in aid of the fund on febe pa--,, .<; across to Sydney. At the Police Cart on Saturday mornin" before Colonel Haultain and Mr. Henry Wildings, J.P.'s.; one first offender Wili fined .is, with tlje option of :'4 hours for drunkenness; airl Margaret Wilkio a second offender, vas fined £3, with tho alternative of seven days' imprisonment. A little boy named Christopher Clarke w'i! charged with stealing an oil drum, value] at ls9d, the property of one M. J. IVimf-tt. He was discharged with a caution. Tne only other caso set down for hearing w.n that of Margaret Williams charged "with being an idle and disorderly person, which was adjourned for ono month. Tbo revised jury list for 1896 was presentad at the Police Court on Saturday morning by Sergeant Gamble, and duly examined and signed by Messrs. Gordon and Cheal, J.P.'s. There was only one application on behalf of the police for the removal of a name. An inquest was held at the Asylum on Saturday, by Dr. Phii.-on, coroner, on the body of Edward Mueller, aged 'J9. After hearing the evidence adduced tho jnrv returned a verdict of" Death from natural causes."

"We believe," says the C!iri.«tc!iurch Pre??, " that this colony contains a* much mineral wealth in a given area as any other country in the world, and that this wealth is nob all heaped up in Auckland. That district is gelling all the cream of foreign capital just now, and Ueefton is also to have a new life given to it. But there are other goldfields yet untouched, comparatively, which deserve consideration, and hope will have their turn. Marlborough ha? teefs, especially in the U'akamarina district, which have never had a fair trial. Otago abounds in low-grade lode* which, by new processes of gold-saving, are bound to prove highly payable in the near future. In the far south, around Preservation Inlet, there i! a vast mineral belt, marked on tho official maps as unexplored country, which has recently been proved by privato enterprise to be intersected by apparently payable leefs. The mines of New Zealand, in fact, offer large possibilities for the future.' A meeting of tho Mangere Domain Board was held at the residence of Mr. J. Robertson, J.P., on March 23. Present; Mr. J. t. Taylor (in the chair), and Messrs. Robertson and \Yallace. Re water supply the Onehunga Boiough Council declined the restriction that a minimum quantity of 20,000 gallons per quarter should bo paid for. The secretary was instructed to write statins that the Board would be prepared to take water on the terms mentioned, viz., lOd per 1000 pallons, minimum quantity 20,000 gallons pet quarter, 'lenders were ordered to be called by advertisement for plastering, etc., of the walls and pillars of the two entrances to the Domain, such tenders to be sent tc Mr. Taylor's not later than 4th April. Arrangements were also made for painting the iron railings at the gateways. It wiu agtood to deposit £100 with the Nation* Bank, Onehunga, for a term of six months. At a meeting of the Mangere Road Board held on the .50th ultimo the chairman, .Mr. Weatney, reported that he had made arrangements to have a substantial approach made to the Ihumatao lagoon for the convenience of watering stock.' .Messrs. Westney, Taylor, and Hall were appointed delegates to represent the Board at a Conference of Road Boards to be held at Papakura ro proposed Local Government Bid. Iho attention of the Board having been called to the fact that a fence had boen erected across a public road leading to the Ihumatoa Beach the clerk was instructed to write requesting that the obstruction bo removed. One aspect of the scheme of advances to settlers does not seem to have been noticed by its critics, says the Tuapeka Time?. As the securities are taken by the State absolute secresy regarding them is observed. The general public have no means of ascertaining who is borrowing, and a settler may bo mortgaged up to the hilt, tho business man with whom bo trades on credit being none the wiser. Dismissing the argument that by this secresy only settlers of the "right colour" may hi) assisted to loans by tho Government, flit! tradesman is probably confronted with a practically insolvent customer who may get credit on the assumption of solvency. Other mortgages and bills of sale are registered, and the transactions can be ascertained on inquiry ; but the State mortgage or bill ol sale, oven if duly registered, is kept secret from the trading public. How" far this obviously wrong system will operate cannot bo ascertained till the advances to settlor: assume larger dimensions, but that tin trading public are threatened by a dangei is beyond doubt.

At the quarterly meeting of the Pitt' street Wesleyan Circuit, tho treasurer intimated that the income (£'2'Jl J Oh) practically balanced tho expenditure. Arrangement! were raado for holding celebration service! in connection with Methodist; Union. A vote of thanks was accorded to the Rev. S F. Prior for his past three years' services tf the church. The cyclist Kux succeeded in breaking the record for the journey from Adelaide to Melbourne. Ho left Adolaido at ten o'clock on Monday morning, and arrived in Melbourne at half-past eight on Thursday morning, taking 7h. 4oin. less than the previous record-holder to cover tho 53-1 miles between the two capitals. Mr. John Fuller's limelight concert at the City Hall to-morrow night promises well. Ibis " A Tour Through Ireland." Several songs will bo illustrated, and Miss Ilettie Fuller appears for the first time. Mr. Albert Lucas has been re-engaged, ami will recite "Shamus O'Brien." The popular tenor will sing "The Minstrel Boy" and " Killarney." There were in tho lock-up last evening two persons on charges of drunkenness; Henry Sloane for larceny of a ilask of whisky, the property of James Hunter, licensee of the Alexandra Hotel, I'arnoll; and George Veddar, a youth on a charge ot larceny of a diamond ring, value SA, tke property of Ellen Ramsay.

An expert has estimated that; Engli lb lit out from tho rest of the world, thrown entirely on her resources, w< starve in throe months. She could, ]] ever, to- lay grow enough wheal) to I herself, with a very handsome surplus ( pare. The best authorities agree t these islands contain 50,000,000 acres land available far wheat cultivation. At one-tilth of this land is now lying unci tivated. Granted that) one acre would / vi if wheat for four persons, this would f <0,01)0,000; and judging by what is t: raised—i <■, one-third of her consumpt —would, if the grew all tho wheat could. leave a margin of something 1 215,0(H),000cwt for export. According to the British Consul at Yo! liaina there is but little prospect of reali •ion ot the hopes—the " extravagant hopi lie calls them — ontertained in Austrn „ith reference to a greab trado with Jap j„ the immedate future. The Japanc In says, will probably take more wo and they may take a little more lead. 13 tin'}' produce copper and fruits, catch go >i tifh as any to ho found in Aastrali water*. atid do not at present wa to sib-tit,ite Australian flour for nativ jrroHii i ice. As regards a prospective tra< : , nvat he says " Sentimentally spca in?, Japanese would as soon think of e.iti ccutt" :i as a ro.-pectablo English media: v'ou.ii of eating horseflesh, and while 1 hi i; t heard th.u cooked horseflesh has / pti-eular odour, that of mutton is to/ ordinary Japanese intoloratly offensive./ the ir. at ten now imported into Japf resumed exclusively by tht foreign®" fc n ;s. Australian wool produ«ers, whpv p'ibly talk of teaching the inpancJo discard cotton for woo!, might-, aliomeniber that, if they succeed in lit' p r , |„i-ed elicits, for every poujof ff v,| seat to Japan, one pounwss E ,;«t- be sent- to England or G-'rpy, ffhich, failing the manufacture i) dan, ff) ,l continue to supply all th Iter's requirement*." As to the exporltra, ha em..rk«: " That a considerable fadlnay be developed between the two cuntp is p 3 ;:;b!f, but, if so, its main feat'e *1 bo tint of exports from Japan to ustiia." ]> Season to be learned from M twill's re;\irt appears to be that la .jtglo-Japites-i treaty, as to tho acptaCe of Mica the colonics have an opon.rould not be likely to bring much aianujo to Australasia. j Tiro of the Wellington Hospil nirses— Jli-ses Stone and Sanderson ha riiHen on their "bikes" from Palmerst< Nirth to ,\tp:erand back. They rode Im Palmerstcn .North to Waipukurau, abt TO milts in -no flay, and went on tciapier, 44 E ;ies next day. Passing rough tie is:.::«towns they caused quit sensation, the Maoris particularly beic delight) J with tae plucky young " wahis." The Mark Lane Express ai recenly that a: the present time there, perhaM, no homegrown wood in grear demand man good, sound " maiden" illow, aid r.oald the now justly popur Engish £ir;,e of cricket receive in y.rs to c/mo even a tithe of the attention at has teen bestowed upon it of late, the [CO of wilow timber suitable for bat makinwill steadily tat surely go on increasing, Jut it s not only tor the special purpose < bat-ttfiking that willow timber is being ejerly /ought fcr throughout the country, r its use is considerable in the making f flcftts for pjiiiiie-steamers," strouds" of'ateiwheels, carriage break*, and the iininpf curts and barrows where wear and te; is greatest, sr.d where splintering of thoood is most t.i be guarde 1 against. At oi time wi!iow limber was almost a drug i the uiartet, bat no: so at present, for its sought for lie,rani far, and a handsom price ottered for that of special size an of first-rate quality. It is lisht and snuth, veQ' soft but tjujh, and does not sphter, while it works readily and takes a good polish. With the low prices of British, timber and 'ore?: produce generally ( it is certainly satisfactory to know 'hat o>e & least is increasing in value, and tlat the home supply is very far short, of tie demand. With keen an i coxoendableiisight several owners of partiaiiyvastegrco'd in England have been er.e.'ur-'td to plj.it considerable areas of dampish.round wit,) several special species of wiilos and thattbe undertaking will be a prnn'ble one ve may conclude unhesitatingly Of willows suitable for toe product to of timber one of the best is tho crack 'illow (Salix fragilis), and which is a r?id grower, especially when planted in grips or masses. 1c is, likewise, u excellent arse or shelter tree, the light i'A wonderilly elastic branches rarely isJering e'n during the most severe I e:omia, aliough, as indicated by tho popular nme, the smaller twigs snap readily nttheir junction with the main reai. Tit yield of timber per year, if the trees are '.anted in fairly strong, dampish lean, is pout 1* cubic foot, many specimen* of»hich a record was kept having producer 45ft in 30 years. ■ An aero of ground ;oci;ed with, say, 1000 trees, containing n an average even 40ft of timber «ch, "wild total 40,000 ft, which at the Kodestsum of Is 31 per loot would give > tota value of £2500. This is rather ctracdinary, and the price per foot as Mater'is certainly very low when comparer with that realised at present for specil trees. ilrk Twain, according to late papers i; asking a kind of royal progress thrni"! India. He entertains the people, Eropean and the educated native, and th people entertain him. The Bombay V.chc Club gave him a grand dinner, and tie '»aekwarof Baroda, besides making him Me handsome presents, gave the famous hitouri-t an opportunity of seeing what tilitg on an elephant was likean experience of which the world will probabiy ten more by and by. The Live Stock Journal of January 24 tenark* that sheep-farming has proved Erst successful in New Zealand, and that ths was no doubt due to natural con.lituna, and to the absence of drought. One o the best sheep for the mountain regions c the merino, in the bleak-lying country •he Cheviot cross, on rich pasture the Lincoln cross, and in wet climates the Homey Marsh cross does well. Still, the fcerino ewe is the favourite for wool, and as '•te climatic and other conditions ruling in '-is colony differed so much, it was found J«t the cross in one district was a failure 15 another. Hence, in the North Island 'ta most succes-ful cross was tho South"owri ram with the longwool ewe. In Canterbury the flock masters preferred the Leicester, Lincoln, Cheviot, and the Kearney Marsh ram with the well-matured four-year-old merino ewe. There was but a fair audience on Saturday evening at the Opera House, when Miss Amy Vaughan's new Amazon Coinliny gave an excellent variety entertaintent, Miss Vaughan was as full of life as Ivor, and was recalled after every appearance. So also was Mr. Harry Baxter for his character sketches in song. Miss Fanny Shepherd, who possesses a good voice, made a distinct "hit" with her ballads. Altogether the programme was well sustained, those taking part, in addition to die artists named, being Messrs. Barchard, *-■ Moore, Geo. Hewson. Hyland, Misses l'y Roy, and Nellie Griffiths. Mr. Albert '-"ess was very successful with the recitation of "Kissing Cup's Race" Mr. W. aud and orchestra did good service. The programme concluded with a funny farce. To-night "Fun on tho Bristol" will bo produced. The usual weekly entertainment of the •wagon Specialty Company, was held on a ' u rday night in the City Hall. There v «sa fair attendance. "Quiet Family," l £e concluding farce by the full strength of "to company, was highly diverting, and the *' ; c*l items of the bill wore well rendered V-Misses Morella, Howard, and Cameron, ° n 'l Messrs, Edwards and Macdermott. To"'Rjit the company have provided a very "utie 1 and attractive programme of songs, ? ! *•'' be seen elsewhere; Connie Merenie 111 "' three-bar act, and the Connor Bros. !n 'eats of acrobatism. Tho whole will conclude with the farce of " Tho Quiet p a amil y-" by the full strength of the comPiay.

" the Agricultural Hall on Saturday K , eni »b' and afcornoon, the performances of a ' ir5 clever circus were witnessed by optionally large audiences, and the wpatiy fully sustained the reputation it i 45 earned ' or itself by its first-class perdur *| IICC | 9 • Several now acts wero introL in c " ' ''? te Miller, the musical clown, « n k' particularly popular. To-night, tho P'ogumm V ° l )rov ' c ' e "' a ran holiday

That rl' OFTEX HAPPENS Von a .t ! S U .' l '" I ' ,wa "lion a subject when Mild "f° l,r,) «aid's Cavour Cigars. ia Packetsoll'fork Ukaiuabi,i everywhere