LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10100, 8 April 1896, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

His Exok: .use? tub Governor, the Countess o Glasgow, I.ady Augusta, and Lady Alic attended by Major Elliot private seer nry to the Governor, and Cap;,' Preston, AD.C., were present at the Ellerslie r;es yesterday. The garden party given by the Countess of Glasgow for which large number of invitations have been 'sued, takes place to day at Govemmon House, from four to six p.m. A dinner prty will bo given to-morrow evening. The Aucland Racing Club's Autumn Meeting wa continued at Eilerslio v«Jt>rday, and pa sod off with a large measure of success. Th railway arrangements on both days wero ery satisfactory, and the lar-e crowds wet carried to and fro without*! single hitch One feature particularly gave great satisf ?tion to the public on plea-ure bent, and hat is the manner of issuing tickets to the public at tho Auckland station, the facilities given for booking being a creat to the department. An accidgb happened at Ouehnnga yesterday to jr. Macrae, of Mangere. Mr. Macrae waslriving down Queen-street with ft loose rein and when opposite the shop of Air. Lakingitailor, the pony stumbled and fell, precipitating the driver on to the horse's bait. Fortunately Mr. Macra-i escaped uniljured. The pony, after being freed from the cart and harness, got up, and was alp found to bo uninjured. Mr. Macrae afterwards drove homo to Mangere. Among tip passengers by the Tasmania, for Sydney, were the Rev. W. Watt, of Tanna, and Nurse Phillips, who proceeds to join the Nnv Hebrides Mission, to a-»i«t in the mm ng in Dr. Lamb's Medical Mission Ho-jital. They will be joined by Mr. and Mr Smales, who will be pluneers with hem in the Dayspring from Sydney to he Islands. Since Mr. Wat left the Nfv Hebrides, the mission ha» been strengthened by another European missionary ,j»nd another has yet to arrive. At the Ojehunga Police Court yesterday, before Mr, G. J. Jackson, J.P., James Donaghey ras charged with being drunk. Sergeant Greene informed the Bench that this was (Mendant's third offence within tho last si: months; also, that when the defendant vas arrested he had over £000 in his possesion. His Worship gave the unfortunatoman some good advice, and told him that bought to be thankful the police had taken him in charge at a time when he could not take care of himself, or he might otherwise hivt lost all his money. The defendant was fined in the sum of £1 and costs. There are sgn3 about that the drought has fairly bro:en up, and the recent rains have tided over the city water supply, foi this season atleast. A number if clumps of dead kauri and totara trees in Puhipuhi State forest weie offered for sale at the Crown Lands Board yesterday by Nr. 6. Mueller, Commissioner, but thero was only a small attendance, and not a single btl was elicited.

At the Polie Court yesterday morning a short silting vas held, JVlessr3. J. Callnan and Henry iVilding, J.P.'?, presiding. John Johnson,for having been found drunk the second tine within a period of six aonths, was filed lib with the option of 48 hoars' imprisonment. Gavin Mclutyre Park was charged will having stolen, on February 1, at Taupo, tic sum of £26, the property of the Queen, \wl was remanded until the loth instant. Mr. McGregor appeared for the accused and applied for bail, which was permitted ; Park himself in one surety ol £100 and two others of £50 each. Mr. McAlister appeared for the Crown. Mr, McGregor said that his cliont had been tried at the Suprem# Court recently on a charge of embezzling some £450, and had been admitted to probation by the Judge. The evidence adduced showed that the defalcations occurred between September and February 8, which fact His Honor laid stress on, but counsel felt sure that if the £26 in question had been included in the charge it, would not have affected the decision, and urged that the present charge was not of ,<uch a nature, therefore, that sureties should be allowed.

A Taranaki paper says :~A Mr. C. Hunt, who has specimens of gold indications from Awakino, had a test at Mr. 1). Teed'? Pharmacy. Sir. Teed placed the grains under a powctful testing apparatus, which plainly showed the specimons were cold. A prospecting syndicate of a capital of £'240, in £10 shares, is now being formed.

A few days ago, a passenger to Oueliungra by the f>.s. Weka informed Captain Clarke that while he was walking along thu Weso Coast, near the Manrikau Heads, he discovered the reinaii.sof a human body above high-water murk. Captain Clarke informed Sergeant Greene, with the result that ('onswblo Brooking was despatched on .Monday last to investigate the matter. The constable reported that lie went to the North Head, and together wit!; Mr. Gibbons, a very old settler in the district, searched the coast. As tho resnitof their seaicli, they found, some distance from the coast, a number of human bone?, but it was known that the place where the fanes were found had previously been used as a native burial ground. Tho bones were evidently of great ago, as they crumbled to pieces immediately they were touched.

The anniversary soiree of the Franklin Road Primitive Methodist Sunday-school, took place last evening. The tea table*? were presided over by the lady teachers. Aftor tea the public meeting was held ii tho church, Mr. S. C, Brown presidingThe report showed that there were -5" scholars and 20 teachers on the roil, and 450 volumes in the library. There were 42 active, 8 associate, and 10 honorary members in the Christian Endeavour Society, and 30 members in the Christian I 'ndeavour Juniors. All the agencies of the Sundayschools were in properous working order. The total income was £48 12s 3d, which, after defraying expenditure, left a credit balance of £2 9< 61. Addresses were given by the chairman and the Rev. Mr. Kaine on various phases of Sunday-school work. Songs were contributed by Misses Millet and Fear, Mrs. liaine, and Mr. Hodgson, recitations by Mrs. Eaves, and a dialogue by three scholars. There was a goad attendance, and a pleasant evening was spent. The anniversary soiree of ttw Pitt-street Wesleyan Sunday-school will 'take place this evening, the chair being taken at the after meeting by Mr. Thos. Buddie. Addresses will be given by the Revs. G. B. Monro, S. F. Prior, and H. Bull. There will bo special music by the scholars, assisted by the orchestra. TheDevonport Ferry Company will run favourite steamers on excursions to-day, Friday, and Sunday to Lake Takapuna and St. Heliers Bay as notified elsowhero. A performance was given by Klaers Circus last evening in the Agricultural Hall, when there was a good attendance of the 'public in spite of the unfavourable state of the weather. The first-class programme submitted was quite equal to tho show's former bills, and the dexterous riding and other feats on horseback caused a lot of admiration. A vocal and instrumental concert in aid of the Devonport Convent School is announced to take place on the 13th instant, A programme of an excellent character is now in course of preparation, which wm include items from well known artists. To-night at the City. Hail there will bo a variety performance. There will be a full chango of programme, and Messrs. Collins anil Brown have been specially engaged. New daacei and songs will be contributes,

invercnrfrill papers report that a huge ~ of meteoric mutter was hurled across [? a u ,Mam! about 4.45 p.m. on Friday, c( , ra panied, or followed, by a' noise, liich many thought to be a sharp rattle of under out of a clear sky. It is described , possessing all tl)0 colour of the rain- ?' 1 and as the burning mass swept through the air. blue fire fell from it. Its ' '..nj/e is described as much faster than jj'jlii'rht of a bird, and it possessed a tail. MVaT followed by a loud rumbling noise ika a l ,ea ' of thunder, lasting fully four i: nu ;es. The aerolite travelled in an cierlv direction. As it was seen as far e e ;C a? l'aliia, it. was evident that tho mass j was at a considerable altitude.

from the commencement of the present r the juices of wheat in the London • rirl;( .t had gradually gone up. Starting at -'>" 2d per quarter on January <'" it reached on February 15 26s ,j j„>r quaiter. During 1895 prices j ir [iii< cereal fluctuated considerably, [r,ii« er quarter to 26s 61. Tho s(fr; iiTc for '' 10 whole year having (fI , rather better than 235. In January ] February it was down to about '20s, * i ien It took a gradual rise until it reached ■!A. iii in Jline. The value then began to Recline, ""til in September it was quoted r -\ (1:1, when a spurt upwards occurred, i)|j. ,Vi having been the quotation in tho ' • week in November, the prices again jinking, 'Jos per quarter being the value , t Oiricross. Comparing the years ISM j„! bf"'. iho average price of wheat was vim ' per quarter for 16 latter year than fOl the former, not a largo amount, but still 5 ..jght improvement. While on the sublet reference may bo made to the system J „l gambling in wheat now <jo rampant in iKt-iiea. 'the returns of the New York {Viii.'e Exchange for 1595 give some idea f ; the eigantic proportions which speculali •] in « heat now assumes. Tho aggregate -lioiis for the year in United States ~ were 1,665,000,000 bushels,or more thin ;„:u' l ' mM the whole crop of tho I'uiteii S .-tos for that year. Add the [rj!i-.iciicnf of Chicago, Detroit, Toledo, \jni,f-ipoli>, 1 'ninth, and St. Louis, and it frestimated that the total trading in wheat in bfl.'i equal to nine times the actual irhe:i! yield or the country. While last Vfjr the average price of wheat was 23s Id ~:qjAr!er, the average price of barley was il.i, oi "J* 7d less than for 1894. Oats, too, had fallen considerably in value, the (•".»i"Z having been the averages 1594, 17> per quarter; IS 1)3, 14s 6d.

In many parts of Ireland the efforts that jieb-nsr made in the direction of breeding 5 tet:rr class of mules and donkeys hare resulted in a considerable amount of sacThe latest step has been the imporl,:j:a ot einht Catalonian jacks, which * e te purchased for the Congested l)is:r;c'- K-.-.-rd by Mr. Sutherland, one of the kit authorities on donkey and muleb:tc>ii»?T- It is said that the eight jacks -,:e'.as finest lot of Spanish donkeys ever Men to Ireland. With the jacks already ia the country, it was anticipated that corinff the season there would be twenty Jpin-h jacks stationed in different centres ia'tst West of Ireland—a fact that must in da: course have a most beneficial effect in tie heed of donkeys in those districts. It if remarked in the Live Stock Journal that "i; improved donkeys and mutes of greater lie, strength, and energy can meet the requirements of the employers of mule and icrikey work better than the common d;nktvs and mules known hitherto, without .1 more than proportionately higher cost of maintenance, they will become, no doubt. veiy popular. Of course tho larger breed of donkeys which may be established in Ireland through the introduction of Spanish b'ood will be qualified to take wor; much beyond the strength of the urwtr-ized and dispirited breed common to that country; and the mules bred from good Spanish jacks and suitable mare? will for some purposes take the place of horses. The tearing and maintenance of animals of their larger power an 1 capabilities must be, necessarily, far more costly than of the iniall and comparatively feeble sort, and the extra power well worth the extra cost. But small donkeys will still be wanted. The costennonger mil not need increase of size nor incur increase of cost. Various classes now using the common sort will stick to it. Vet that is no reason why the improvement should not extend to the whole race." W'li!e in New Zealand a considerable tin. iint of attention has been given to the breeding of horses, notably in some district.', very little has been done in mule or donkey-breeding. At the taking of the cer.su» of 1891 there were 211,001) horses in the colony. This, however, did not include the animals belonging to natives, ntiich are very numerous. But while there were so many thousands of horses, there w-.rs only 350 asses and mules in all New Zealand, an increase of 50 since ISB6. Both these clas-es of animals are useful for certail kinds of work, though in a country like this they will never perhaps supersede the horse. There should be an opening, however, for a much larger number of both malts and asses than are at present to be found in the colony.