Untitled

Opunake Times, Volume IV, Issue 190, 28 April 1896, Page 2

Tenders for 80 chains of fencing close on Friday. His Lordship Bishop Wallis will administer Confirmation this evening in the Anglican Church, at Opuuake. The meeting of settlers interested in the Public Hall at Eahotu, will be held to-mor-row evening at 8 o’clock, Mr W. D. Scott notifies entries for his next Opunake stock sale which takes place on Friday, May Bth. We give a reminder of the meeting to-night to organise a Brass Band. The meeting takes place in the Foresters’ Hall at 7.30. Messrs Newcomb and Massey have a replace advertisement in this issue, notifying arrival of their winter goods to which we call the attention of our readers. The population of the Opuuake township is 401. At the last census it was 275, so that there has been a substantial increase. "”1116 population inclusive of the town, between the Taongatara river and the Arawhata Road isJ7OS. We hear that the struts under both the Namu.and Mangahume bridges carried away during Sundays flood. As the Mangahume bridge is unsafe we wish to warn the public against carting over it. The Postmaster, Opunake, has received from the Registrar of Electors a copy of the Egmont Electoral Roll, which may be inspected, and forms of claim for enrolment obtained at the Post Office.

The Babcock test is the greatest dairy invention of the age, and yet but a fraction- of the owners have, up to date, availed themselves of its benefits. —Australasian.

We' understand that Messrs F. H. Alexander, T. Morrow, sent, and C. MoHardy were nominated for the three vacancies on the Parihaka Road Board. There will therefore be no poll.

Gavin Mclntyre Park, late postmaster at Taupo, was charged with stealing property of the Queen. Accused was committed for trial, bail being allowed, the sureties being fixed at two of £SO and Park himself in £SO.

Nelson Bros., Napier, have received a cable from London stating that the best Canterbury mutton is at 3£d lb; Dunedin, 2Jd ; Napier and North Island, 2Jd. Sales last week were much below the estimate, as the market is glutted.

The following tenders were received by the Domain Board for draining: K. V. Breach, 2s lid per chain (accepted); A. Clough, 2s lid ; Julian and Hickey, 2s lid ; H. Ranby, 3s; Tobin, 4s sd; Martin, 3s 2d; Clarkson and Ousey, 4s; Guy and Peacock, 5s ; Morrison, 4s fid.

The Anglican, Presbyterian, Wesleyan and Congregational ministers co-operated at Timaru on Wednesday night at a meeting of about 300, and passed resolutions in favor of the Irish Scripture Lesson Book in public schools. Arrangements are now being made to canvass signatures for a petition to be sent to Parliament.

The population of Hawera Borough totals, according to census returns, about 1800, but this does not include the people who reside to the northward of the railway station (Nolantown) nor to the southward of Main South Road, who though not technically are virtually in the borough and would bring the total well over 2000.—-Star,

We notice that Messrs Christie and Co have commenced the manufacture of Venetian blinds, and have samples of different sizes on view in their warehouse. They compare very favorably for finish and workmanship with those imported from the larger centres. People furnishing, if they only looked a little way ahead, would find them far and away the cheapest blind, as once fitted they will last a life time. The census returns for the following boroughs are to hand: —Devonport, 3016 ; Patea, 739; Masterton, 3492; Hawkesbury, 760; Tauranga, 1022; Woodville, 1060; Karori, 1024 ; Ashburton, 2096. All show an increase except Tauranga, which has decreased 33 since the census of 1891. Pahiatua has sprung from 772 t« 1851. Danevirke, 1415 ; Richmond, 562. The former shows an increase of 577 since 1891 and the latter 110.

We are requested by Mr J. Straohan Greig, the Registrar for Egmont, to intimate that the corrected existing Electoral Roll may be seen at the undermentioned places, where also may be obtained claims for enrolment; Inglewood—Town Clerk’s office, Post Office, and Police Station; Minaia, Opunake* and Pungarehu—Post Office and Police Station ; Kaponga, Otakeho, Okato, Okaiawa, Pihama, Pohokura, Eahotu, Strathmore, Toko, and Wanganaonoma—Post Office. A pondering heckler in the Montrose Burghs put the following question one night to the Unionist candidate, and glowed with a suppressed consciousness of merit: —“ Is Maister Wilson in favor of spending £36,000,000 on the Army and Navy an’ only £12,000,010 a year on education—that is to say, £12,000,000 for jpittin’ brains in and £36,000,000 for blawin’ brains oot ? ” And beyond a doubt that is a fine heckle. A smooth sarcastic candidate might promise the heckler more brains; a peppery one might offer to find him a cheap revolver ; but nine candidates out of ten would make a long speech and leave the heckler smiling.

The Wyndham Farmer says The Edendale Dairy Factory has been the’seenes during the past few days of a series of experiments in the way of devising a more economic shape of cheese for export. The experiments were superintended by Mr Lang, Government Dairy Expert, The cheeses are in the form of cubes, ll£in in length, breadth, and depth. The ordinary round cheese is about 13Jin in diameter and Ilia to 11£ in depth. The cube one chosen at random, weighed 591 b : the old shape, 691 b. The idea, we understand, is that a cube would economise more space in the ships hold than the round shape. Although it may be conceded that the cube has not so nobby an appearance as the round one, yet shape would possibly not count for much in this practical age if all other things were in favor of the proposed new style.

The process of dehorning horned cattle, although found necessary under certain conditions, must be always a cruel one. Happily a method has just been discovered which, (says the Southland News) will obviate in the future recourse to the method. It came about in this way : Mr H. McLean, of Bay Road, having had a good deal of trouble with his horned bulls becoming entangled with wire fences or becoming unmanagable, resolved to try upon a young one the preventive effect of caustic potash. Taking the calf at the age of three or four days, when the horns were mere buttonlike excrescenses he applied with the point of a knife, a small quantity of the substance to each, moistening it at the same time with a drop of warm water. The caustic operated from the moment, and to-day the calf—now six months old—shows no signs of horns, and might be taken for a born “poley.” The solvent is inexpensive—a sixpence worth would suffice for a hundred or two, but an essential condition is that it must be kept in a perfectly’dry state until the time of using.

“ About 40 years ago, when I entered the Navy,” said an ex-warrant officer “ there were at least 200 men on the vessel on which I was who could not read or write. Some of them noticed me writing home, and they stared and said: “ Why look the boy can write !” And after this I became a sort of general letter writer, never going unrewarded for Jack is a generous fellow at the worst of him. Being only a lad, I made up a regular “Complete Letter Writer” of my own—made, in fact, a form of letter to a father, to a mother, to a sweetheart, and so on, of course putting in little stipulated bits by special request here aud there, and I often on the China station made a pound in one week. When I left the navy eleven years ago what a change there was ! Why, there were “ forward ” young seamen chalking out figures from Euclid and studying trigonometey in the fo’k’sle and there was scarcely a man on board who couldn’t read and write tolerably well. When I watched those arithmetical yo mg men, very vividly came back thoughts of the 200 able seamen in one single boat who did not know one letter from another.”

Mr Job Vile, of Pahiatua, has been ap pointed a Justice of the Peace.

A meeting of the Opunake Football Club will be held on Thursday evening at 7.30 at Knowles’ Hotel.

A protest against the A.M.P. Society extending its business to England is being largely signed in Napier. Mr Ward,, Colonial Treasurer, will reply to Sir Robert Stout’s speeches at Hawera and New Plymouth. Mr Gresley Lukin, who has been acting as editor of the Wellington Evening Post for the last four months, succeeds the late Mr Gillon.

It is rumored that His Honor Sir Patrick Buckley will retire from the Bench, as his heart is affected. He has not yet, so it is said, definitely decided on this course, but it is understood he is contemplating such a step. Miss Irvine, of Stratford, has been appointed temporary assistant in the Inglewood school, the number in attendance having increased sufficiently to entitle the school to an assistant master, who will shortly be appointed.

It is a popular belief that the leg of a horse, when fractured, cannot be repaired. Drs Hosking and Douglas, of Masterton, however, are at present experimenting with a horse with a fractured leg. They have the leg set in plaster of Paris, and are hopeful that it will mend.

On account of the alleged excessive profits charged by Melbourne cycle firmsf 40 residents of Richmond (Melbourne) despatched £3OO to a leading English cycling firm, and received in return 43 machines, including pump, bell, lamp, &c., at an average of £7 each.

The London Standard, commenting on the Australian cricket team, remarks that Blackham was the greatest wicketkeeper ever known, and the Australians will find it difficult to replace him. The Standard thinks the tour will be full of interest and excitement.

John Matheson, charged on the information of Eugene Hulse with having in October last forged the signature of the prosecutor to a cheque for one £l, was brought up at Hawera on Saturday on remand from Auckland, and further remanded for eight days. The allegation is that after signing the cheque himself as secretary to the Manaia band, defendant attached the counter signature of Hulse as bandmaster. Hulse is believed to be in Auckland.

According to the Age, Melbourne is still the most populous city of Australasia, the estimated mean population and death rates of the various capitals in 1895 being as follows :—Melbourne, 443,255, death rate 15*97 ; Sydney, 416,050, death rate 13*19 ; Brisbane, 110,000, death rate 11-63 ; Adelaide, 143,508, death rate, I 4 86 ; Perth, 17,616, death rate 26*06; Hobart, 36,135, death rate 16*11; Wellington, 39,037, death rate 12*50. The exceptionally high death rate in Perth is remarkable.

Says the Otago Daily Times:—“ During the hearing of the arson case at Clinton B. C, Haggitt, wishing to demonstrate the effect of phosphorus, cut off about a quarter of an inch of the stuff and placed it on the floor of the courthouse, inside a piece of brown paper with the result that in about five minutes it broke into a flame and blazed rapidly. Mr Haggitt endeavored to stamp it out, but this proving futile, somebody called for water, which caused considerable amusement to those who understock the effect of water on such a fire. The Bench and those in the courthouse had to beat a hasty retreat until the flames had subsided—even the solicitors who are supposed to be impregnable to sulphurous fumes, had to seek fresh air. Mr Haggitt will probably make a close study of the uses and abuses of phosphorus.”