LOCAL AND GENERAL.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXIX, Issue 3675, 27 February 1899, Page 5

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A' project is; on foot, t'o'form a Ra'epayers’' Association. Tor .the Kilb.irnuWard of the Melrose, borough Council. . - Cautain Birch and Messrs >v. Hire a, Ellis.' Floyd and Batloy Have guaranteed I the interest on the construction of a wire from the West Coast,to Moawhanga, and the- fine will be put in hand at once. - . Delegates are reminded of the-special general meeting of the New Zealand Amateur Bowing Association to be held at tho Trocadoro, at 8 o’clock to-morrow night. Important business is to be transacted. The Pctono Homing Pigeon Clul held a race on Saturday afternoon from Waipukiirnu. Pointon’s Mischief was first (velocity 1157yds); Bray’s Blarney (1150yds), 2; Hunt’s Miasfire (1149yds), .0. • ; Attention is directed to tho programme of sports to be held on Saturday, March 18th, at the Basin Reserve.. The principal events : close on Wednesday, MarchMnrch'l. On the night prior to tho sports (Jlriday; 17th March),-an Irish national concert will be hold at the Opera House. - 1 -- ■ , ‘ ■ ','■■■ Percy Whittall, described as ,an artist, ’appeared at the Stipendiary Magistrate’s Court on Saturday chargecj. with obtaining £3 from W. Biggs, Redone, bylmeans: pf ,a,valueless*cheque.; ;. Ac-was-remanded till to-day ._ , Whittall is the..man who recently'paid a Vbt£ r to the “Timfes” ;office and ’represented Himself qs . Fred Wilbers,the; war correspondent. - ... • ■ v * '■ A team of players representing -theChristchurch .Polo Club,-arrived .'yesterday afternoon- from the tooutb,. and' will I ry conclusions witii the -.local representatives ito-day at Miramarl- . The teams are as follows: —-■’Christchurch—*-A. Clark, ‘R!. jH. r ßhbd,ps, ' T. Cowlishaw. - Wellington—A. Cooper, Major, Madocks, ■ H. Johnston, , .C-- r P. Skorrett. Play will commence at -2.30. A ferret found its way into tho ■'(Wellington Acclimatisation Society’s aviary (of which Mr Crossley is the caretaker) at Karori last week. The result was' the death of'six pheasants .and- several others ’ wtoro 'seriously injured. ,’ The ferret,' in turn,’ was captured and . despatched. The loss 'of tho (pheasants is regrettable, as-'tho'birds, which were of an ' imported strain, -wore about to he liberated at Ekotahuna. . . .7 .

At the Stipendiary Magistrate’s Court on 1 Saturday morning, r Messrs' Ivenuy, SJVLyantl R t ,E. Hdriiblow, J.P.,presiding, William- Ryan and E. de Wievas were charged with comrniting a.breach of. the peace.. The .disturbance was caused -through i-'W.ioyas .ejecting.- Ryan from an.oystor saloon*. The case .against Wieva,s.qva s . dismissed, but Ryan . was fined 10s, in default 48 hours’- imprisonment. ■ ■ ■ • •-i ... . ■ /■Great indignation, is -felt by the residents of- tho Ashm-gt ■ and Pohangina districts- at -the attempt" being- made' by -a coterie of Fetiding ■ residents to,?foifm-;-ari • acclimatisation, .society r distinct,.- from that of-Wellington, in which it is Insisted. that the former localities shall be included. ■• A. deputation composed of Pohangina and Ashurst residents will waft upon'the Colonial Secretary this week -to (-protest' against the • proposed alteration of boundaries. . ’ •. > There wasi a largo tcrowd of people at (Tip ManSwatvf Railway Station on Saturday/'evening to -welcome tho Garrison Band' on its' return from . the ■Palmerston - contest. Bandmaster >Herd - and the'individual members 'of the combination -.came-- - in for many ’ congratulations on'their fine achievement in winning; the principal - competition. A wrocession; headed by the City -Brass Balnd,' and joined'in .by the Fire Brigade tmd'general public, was form'ed, and .'.escorted the musicians through'the city. I The,-Macmillan ordwn prize - awarded on Saturday., by the- University--.-Senate sitting .at Christchurch tOi Misa.*K.. E. Broome,-of Wellington, for her .essay .on “Antarctica,” is awarded.ovorylaltornato year fpr the best imaginative- composition, either -in prose or verse. „ The prize A-books to tho*valuo of '£lo7--arisos] from a.fund ot about £llO raised by:'subscriptions amongst .students ot. „ Canterbury College . in, .commemoration /of; Professor Brown' who resigned his. chair, in 1806. . ■ A cpnjpapondent informs';ns-',that he was siirpriscd yesterday on hearing;, a ring on his.- telephone at finding that he •was speaking; to a- friend; at,/Napier. Conversation,'he says, was '-carried‘‘on wit!) ease, and he could evenhear a dhonograph in the same room in which the‘telephone was-situated at Napier. Our correspondents adds that- his friend informed'-him. he had just been conversing at Napier to a friend at Auckland, and found hot the slightest difficulty in hearing what was said.

The Wellington Acclimatisation Society will probably send away shortly for another of Virginian’ quail. ‘ Attracted by a description of these .' game birds which recently appeared. in tho “ Times,” a number of settlors and sportsmen have signified their willingness to privately subscribe towards a further importation. Tho “Virginians” recently liberated in different parts of the North Island aro reported to bo adapting themselvm readily to their now, surroundings, which seem to be congenial to them in every respect. ■ . -:v ! At the meeting of tho Melrose Borough Council to-morrow, the Public’■'Works Committee will recommend : —That- ihe Council accede to the request of .tin Kilbirhio ratepayers by forward! ig’ <o : the Wellington City Council a’copy of tlio resolution relating to the cutting down of . tho iKiibirnio hill .which'was. passed, at a . meeting held in the Kilbirnio - Ward ion the- Mthrinst., -and" that, in view’of the City Council agrooing’to tho said resolution,' it be contingent on the loan •• proposals being carried py a poll of .the ratenayois of the Kilbirnio Ward. ;

As many ns are of that opinion say “ayo,” on tho Contrary “no,”’is rathde an unusual speech for a-sea captain;’-.yet. a similar one , was made by -Captain Jones, of the harbour’ steamer Duchess,; on Saturday evening. The boat’had--bbon advertised, to leave Day’s Bay at .'forabout 6 p.m., but at about ton . minutes’ past that hour some members - of; the committee wished tho captain l to; dcf()r the sailing hour until thetwo last events on tho .: prograihme of tho Plumbers’; picnic _ sports had taken place. As .-all the picnickers had -by this time-em-barked, the question of tlio, departure of tho steamer was put to .tlio, crowd by the popular captain from the., bridge, when by a - show of hands it .was. decided! to leave for homo at’ onco. !

We (“ Hawke’s, Bay Herald ”) were laa t ■ night shown a small fish caught in the not of,the trawler Winona yesterday, .it is five inches long, has tno lower jaw protruding, and a row of sharp splices',along thn nelly. Some say It is English sprat, and that' -hoy have ,occasionally boon caught lately. With the me’sh,hsed for the larger fish ,it is wolf nigh 1 iriippssible to,catch fish of this size, ao'we'are unablb to say whether , theto Ts'J'any quantity of them‘in the bay ..of not.". On a calm day the 'fishermen-often see-iiAii-’ions of small fish feeding on tht>-surface. The sea seems to-be-alive with them, hut whether they arp-jhlte tlfqjpnfjTefcrrcd to above, 1 , or simply tile common smallfhorrlng, remains to ho fpimjl 0ut5,..,1f they are really the English sprat, 'what a mine of wealth lies at our door! "At'.present. /there arc ninenheam trawlere af-work'in '-the bay f6f flarflsh, now'there is a trawling company and a fish distributing company at tho Spit, wo suppose steps will bo taken to thoroughly test the bay for other fish, A sardine factory is no: beyond the bounds of possibility.