LOCAL & GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1674, 22 December 1883, Page 15

LOCAL & GENERAL.

The agents of the Shaw, Savill, and Albion •yoiapany have received advices by the mail ihat their Company have contracted with Vleflsrs W. Denny and Brothers, the wellknown shipbuilders on the Clyde, for the building of two steamera for the New Zealand '.rade. They will be 420 ft long, by 40ft beam, ;\ud 32ft deep, measuring gross 53;)0 tens, and having an average speed at sea of 12£ knot*, 'fhe whole of the accommodation for first and •econd-class passengers will be in a citadtil house amidships and poop — both on the upper i leek — thus leaving the 'tween-decks entirely ■ •lear for immigrants and steerage psis^engers. This will present a great advantage over the >,j]an of having a Orlop deck for these classes, •.vhich must at all time 3bo bcith uccoxnf or table .md unhealthy. The steamers will bo provided with refrigerating machinery and all the latest improvements for the comfort and safety of passengers for which Messrs Deimy are noted, \iid which they have bflen so successful in providing for the Union Sfceam Ship Company. In order to maintain a monthly survice, the Company have chartered the White Star ■steamers Coptic, lonic, and Doric tor a numoer of years.

On Wednesday (says the ii J ress) a teat was made of some Canterbury diamonds in comparison wihh others, the genuineness of which had been ascertained. Ivir T. B. Craig placed some of the Canterbury stones in an ordinary copying-press, and on screwing the lover down the stones were reduced by the pressure to powder. This was repeated four or five times with the same result. On placing the genuine diamonds in the press, however, the utmost efforts were unavailing to break thetn— nay, more, so hard were the stones that they actually indented the iron surface top and boitom.

Mr S. C. Phillips, governor of Dunedin Gaol, has been granted leave of absence till March 14 next. Mr Robert Ferguson, tue present chief warder, will be acting-gaoler during Mr Phillips' absence.

The inquest held at Arrowtown last week into the causes which led to the death of George Scott resulted in the acquittal of his mate (Thompson). It appeared that the two had a drunken squabble, and the injuries from which Scott died were inflicted during the fight which ensued. It was the conduct and the suspicious behaviour of Thompson which led to his arrest, but he is now completely cleared from all suspicions of foul play on his part.

It should bb known to new-comers into the Colony and others that a register is kept at the Immigration Office, Dunedin^ for applicants requiring employment, especially such as are accustomed to country work.

Trout have been caught in the Clutha River at Cromwell.

The Rev. J. A, Will has accepted tho call from the Presbyterian congregation of Waiareka.

The passengers, officers, and crew of the Takapuna have combined to offer Dr H. L. Ferguson a very pleasing testimonial of the popularity gained by kirn during the outward passago of the vessel. The present has taken thft form of_ a very handsome writing-table, commodious in siae, of very solid manufacture and elegaut finish. It has bean supplied by Messrs North and Scoullar, and is certainly one of the best specimens of such furniture we have seen. The material is light oak polished, the finishings are in dark green leather, and in the framework of the desk is sunk a silver plate bearing a suitable inscription. The gift will, we understand, be presented privately.

Mr Mifcchelson stated in Invercargill that he would again visit the South in February next, when he {will go through to the Lakes district.

One of the curiosities which the Olde Englyshe Fayre in Wellington brought to light is an 80-years-old copy of the Weekly Dispatch, namely, dated " Sunday, 22nd May 1503." It contains the Declaration of War between England and France, and among the shipping departures from Portsmouth is — " Sailed : The Victory, of 110 guns, Vice-admiral Lord Nelson, for the Mediterranean."

On Thursday evening last Captain G. R. Smith, of the Dunedin Naval Artillery, was presented with a valuable diamond ring and clock by the officers and men of the Company.

The following regulations under " The In spection of Machinery Act 1872" are gazetted : — " From and after the first day of January 1884 all portable boilers used solely in connection with threshing machinery, and all boilers used solely for boiling-down purposes, shall only be inspected once in every two years, provided that to entitle such boilers to exemption from annual inspection they shall not be used for any purpose for any period exceeding six calendar months in any_ one year, and nothing herein shall restrict the inspection of any such boiler at any time if the inspector shall see fit to do so for any alleged sufficient cause. Provided, further, that this provision shall not restrict or prohibit inspection if the certificate granted in respect of any boiler of such class shall be for a less period than two years."

At a speech made 'at the Chamber of Commerce Deputation to the Hon. Mr Mitchelson on Thursday last, Mr J. M. Ritchie made the following remarks on the grain rates prevailing at the railways :— Grain is a part of our produce which it is desirable should have every facility given to it for being carried about from place to place, especially for export ; but I cannot think that the rates -which 'at present obtain for grain, especially for long distances, can be considered equitable or right when compared with other rates charged on the railways. I speak on this matter from the point ' of view of one who represents perhaps the largest single grainproducing interest in the Colony — the New Zealand and Australian Laud Company. As far as I am awave, the advantages which we get by the extreme reduction upon the grain rates are small compared with the amount we are compelled to pay in other ways- to the consolidated revenue in order to make up the deficiency. I believe the deficiency caused by tho reduction of grain rates 18 months ago will not be far off £100,000, which, I make bold to say, goes chiefly into the pockets of the people who deal in grain, and not to the original growers of it, — (Hear.)

The pupils attending the Sawyers' Bay district school held their annual picnic on Friday on the Quarantine Island at Port Chalmers. The first of the day was fine, but unfortunately the afternoon was wet and unpleasant ; still the little people enjoyed themselves exceedingly well in the spacious buildings erected on the island.

Our Cromwell correspondent telegraphs on Friday :— "Mr G. W. Goodger left his house about' 3 a.m. yesterday (Thursday), and has not since been found. Search parties have been organised, but no clue can be obtained. Ho was in very poor health, and extremely despondent. The worst fears are entertained, and much sympathy is felt for his children, who are all under age." Mr Goodger was the leading hotelkeepor jn Cromwell for many years, and served.

for a term as Mayor of th e borough. He wasone of the original shareholders p the famous 1 Cromwell quartz-mine at Bendigo. Gi late; years he was overtaken by financial reverse*,

The Citftba- Leader reports that the Rev,. Dr Macgregor, of O'amaru, now on a visit to Mr Bannerman at the Clutha manse, met with an accident on Sunday last. He had preached at Port Molyneux in the foi'euoon, and was returning in a "froggy to Puorua, where he was an nounced to preash in the afternoon. He occupied the back seat of the buggy, when the horse. £aye a sudden start, tha seat turned over, and the dcteior fell on to the road. He complained of severe p3sn in the back, and was conveyed to bho manse, whets he was attended by Dr Smith. He wasi confined to bad for a few days, but is now so far lecovored an to be able to get up, and there is no reason to fear the accident will be attended with any permanent injury.

'■ The Hon. W. 11. Reynolds commciate as f<r low's in a letter in the Daily Times on the lecture delivered at Warepft by Mr J, W, Thomson, M.H.K., on the public finances of the Colony :— The matter ia handled in a rao&fc masterly manner, proving that Mr Thomson thoroughly comprehends the subject. The clearness of the lecture is such that it does not require & Soanciur to understand it : anyone: who can read cmi master it for himself, and can readily see how as a community we are Financially situated, x sonsider it would be well wore all our members, our merchants, our manufacturers, our tradespeople?, our farmers, and our woikinjj men to read this lecture, to take the subject to heart, and to endeavour to find (i remedy. It: will avail us little if we_ sit in our easychsrirrf lamenting the dullness »»f trado and the want of employment unlesß we alao put forr.h our energy aud seek to apply » remedy. That remedy, in my opinion, is to reduce to the lowest limit our public- expenditure. If we eontinne the present public extravagance for a few years longer, we shall im<3 our taxation unbearable, and will drive out of 1 the Colony everyone who has anything to lose. I I very much regret Mr Thomson's intimation that ho does not intend to seek re- election. I have known him in the Provincial Council and in the House of Representatives, and can say with confidence that I have never found a member who more assiduously devotes himself to his duties and posts himself up in all matters coming before Parliament. Such representatives as Mr Thomson are rarely to ba met with nowadays ; and unless the reasons which he premises to give are of such a nature a& to preclude the possibility of his altering his determination, I hope hla constituents will insist upon retaining his services. The quarterly communion service waa held at Knox Church on Sunday saorning. The Rev. Dr Stuart officiated. There were 610 communicants. In the evening the? Rev. Dr Salmond preached an eloquent sermon from Genesis ii. 16. The collection, which was in aid of the Benevolent Institution, realised at the two services £63 7s lOd. The New Zealand Shipping CompanyV steamer Tongarira was visited by over 1000 persons on Saturday, while a very much larges number of persons went over her on Sunday, Some extraordinarily good scoring was made at the Musselburgh range on Saturday in the? firing for the Ladies' Challenge Shiold. . The* trophy was won by the Clutha Rifles with 42tf points— four less than it cost the City Gttards. to win it last year. Volunteer Johnstons of the winning team, and Volunteer M'Carthy, of the " City Guards, however, in Saturday's competition are credited with a performance which has never before been recorded in the Colony, having scored respectively 95 and 04 at the three distances out of a possible 105. Thy best performance of a similar nature hitherto has been 92. There was also some remarkablygood shooting done by one or two marksmen i in the Consolation Match, Sergeant-major Joedan making no fewer than six consecutive bull's-eyes at the 200 yards. In the Shield competition Volunteers Waugh and Richardson also made the same number of bull's-eyes consecutively, but it was at tha longer range. The firing has been carried out ia the most satisfactory manner this year, and, with the exception of the unfortunate weather experienced on the first two days, there is no- cause for regret. ,

The Tuapeka Times records another severer mishap to Mr W. Ramsay, who was just beginning to get over the serious accident sustained by him while in the employ of the late Mr Hinde, by which he had both- hio wri3ta broken. On Friday afternoon he was driving, with reina, a sowing machine, with some chain harrows attached, on Mr Jamea Hopkins' Greenbank Farm (late Mr Hinde's), and some> of the couplings of the horses had got foul m some way or other. Ramsay had got forward to the heads of the horses for the purpose o£ adjusting the gear, when a loud clap of thuttder came on and frightened the team, in which 1 was a young horse. In hanging on to the heads ot the horses he got thrown down, and the team swerving round, the sower and harrows were pulled over him, fracturing and dislocating his right wriat, and lacerating bis body to some extent. He was brought to the Hospital, where Dr Withers attended to the injuries.

Speaking upon the unemployed question, the Press says :—": — " Mr Wynn- Williams, at the meeting of Wednesday, said 'it would bn a waste of time to seek the cause of the depression ; the fact remained, and that was enough, and with it they had to deal.' This is, practically, the tone of all who have taken up the cause of the imemployed, and it is, perhaps, a. wise tone as far as they aro concerned, sinco they have no responsibility in the matter. But it is not a tone which the Government, who are responsible, may judiciously hold. It is high time, we'thiuk, for the Ministry to taUQ the unemployed question into their serious consideration, aud to agree upon a definite policy regarding it, both for dealing temporarily willi it, and also for preventing its recurrence in the future. To let it [drift, is not only extremely unstatesmanlike, but also particularly unjiut and impolitic."

The New Zealand Tobacco Manufacturiuj? Company was floated with great success. The directors have decided to curtail the allotment of shares in Auckland, to allow a quantity for allocation in other parts of the Colony. A Chinaman criticising Christian civililisatioo, in fluent and forcible English, was one of the remarkable incidents of the meeting of the Melbourne Presbytery (writes a late Argus). Mr Chook Hong Cheong appeared as a commissioner from the Fitzroy congregation in support of a call. Mr Cheong has btien walking^ about with his eyes open, and the result of his observations is that he has arrived at the conclusion that Fitzroy presents a vast field for missionary enterprise. Several venerable members of the Court arched their eyebrows at this unlooked-for announcement of the shrewd Celestial, but their astonishment was intensified when Mr Cheongr proceeded to express his conviction that there wero more heathens in Fitzroy than on any_ island in the New Hebrides. The young ministers smilod .significantly, but the "fathers or the Church" looked grave, for the conversion of the Now Hebrides ia one of their pot projects, The iu-

forential suggestion that the missionaries sent io the New Hebrides would be more usefully 'employed within a mile or two of Collins street was evidently not relished by the "fathers and brethren,," and the plain-spoken Celestial •sat down in silence.

In Anthony Trollope's autobiography he Tecords an amusing incident in his career while be waa clerk in the Post-office at £90 a year Tt appears that during this time he was always broiling with his chiefs, constantly in debt, living beyond his means, with no friends to or to help him. Indeed, he seems always to have been in trouble of some sort, often with a sheriff's officer or a money-lender at his heels. He carried . on a correspondence with a young woman in the country, too, and she would fain liave* married him. He would, however, have noneof he* j and hewrites : — "At lastthemother appeared at the post-office. My hair almost stands on my head now as I remember the figuraof the woman walking into the big room in which I sat with six or seven other clerks, having a large basket on her arm and an immense bonnet on her head. The messenger had vainly endeavoured to persuade her to remain in [the anteroom. She followed the man in, and walking up the centre of the room, addressed me in a loud voice : ' Anthony Trollope, when are you going to marry my daughter?' We have all had our worst moments, and that was one of my worst."

O'Donnell, the murderer of James Carey, the Phoenix Park informer, was hanged in London on. Monday morning.

A meeting of consignees of goods per. Loch Fergus was held on Monday, in the Chamber of Commerce, for the purpose of making arrangements to have the vessel brought to the Dun«din wharf. Mr H. MacNeil presided, and there were present Messrs H. Young, Hart, Jones, Kerr, G. L. Detmiston, A, H. Ross (the chairman of the Harbour Board), and several other gentlemen. It was shown that the saving to -consignees by the ship coming to Dunedin would amount to £243. Mr Ross (the chairman of the Harbour Board) stated that there is now 18ft lin of water in the Victoria Channel at high water, 21ft at the highest tides, and 13ft at dead low water, and that on h&v last trip the draught of the Loch Fergus Was 15ft 9in. A committee, consisting of Messrs H. MacNeil, H. Young, G. L, Denniston, and A. H. Ross, was appointed to wait upon Captain Boyd, and to endeavour to arrange to have the vessel berthed alongside the city wharf.

A case of infanticide was reported at Wellington on the 14th. A young girl named Kate Baylan, aged 19, and engaged as domestic servant to a gentleman in Wellington, gave birth this morning to a full-grown female child, and subsequently the infant was discovered dead in «n outhouse. The body was removed awaiting an # inquesfe. An axe, stained with blood, has been discovered.

The Presbyterial visitation to the North Dunsdin Church, which was agreed to at the Sast meeting of the Presbytery, took place on Monday evening. Itwas resolved, on the motion t)f Mr Will, that the conference with the Session should be private, though the Rev. Mr Gillies and the church officers urged strongly that representatives of the Press should be admitted. The meeting of the congregation and the Presbytery was numerously attended, the church being well filled, and the feeling of the congregation in favour of their pastor was strongly expressed. The Rev. Mr Gillies and those who spoke in support of his proposals were loudly cheered, while Some of the other speakers were hissed, and the interruptions were frequent and demonstrative-. Several complaints were made to the Presbytery, and tfne of them was replied to by the Rev. Mr Gillies. A suggestion that the Kirk Session should grant certificates to those who had been struck off the roll, to enable them to join other congregations, was adopted as a recommendation, in the interests of peace, by the congregation. The presbytery resolved to leave the Session to act in the matter, and to report to the next meeting of Presbytery.

The Union Company's s.s. Tarawera will make both the excursions to the West Coast Souuds this season. She leaves on Wednesday, 9th January, on her first trip, and on Saturday, 19th January; on the second trip.

The thunderstorm which raged in and around Waikouaiti on Friday last (writes a correspondent) was felt most severely in the neighbourhood of Hawksbury Bush and. Flag Swamp. Mr Anderson (the nurseryman), Mr Wm. M'Gill, and Mr Puddy had a number of glass squares broken in their houses and conservatories ; Mr M'Gill especially suffered, having 40 squares broken. At Flag Swamp, Mr M'Gregor had an acre of strawberries entirely destroyed. The hailstones were so large, and , beat with such violence, as to split open a piece of the iron roof. Mr M'Gregor picked up five which weighed a pound, and many lay about the ground which measured l^in long. Mr Johnston had a 50acra" paddock of oatß beaten down completely, and left only fit for cattle to be turned into. The gorse hedges around looked as though their sides had been cut with a scythe, and many of the trees were entirely stripped of both leaves and fruit. Many of the parties who suffered most were at the show, and were astonished when they arrived home to see how heavy the hailstorm had been.

Mrs Wilson, who attempted suicide by poisoning, is now expected to recover.

Mission services are now being conducted in Dunedin by three Redemptorist fathers, who have been travelling through the Australasian Colonies for a considerable time past, and preaching to large congregations wherever they have appeared. The missionaries are the Revs. Father Vaughan (who, we believe, is an uncle of the late Archbishop of Sydney), Father O'Farrell; and Father Hegarty. They are all talented preachers, and during the past fortnight they have been listened to by very large congregations both at St. Joseph's Church, Dunedin, and at St. Patrick's, South Dunedin. Services are conducted every morning and evening, the first week of the mission being devoted to children, and the remainder to adults. The services will be continued until the 23rd inst.

On Friday evening last a concert was held in the Mechanics' Institute, Waikouaiti, in behalf of the public school picnip fund. The heavy thunderstorm which had been raging throughout the afternoon cleared off towards evening, and although the roads were bad, a very good audience assembled in the hall The following ladies and gentlemen acted as vocalists :— Miss E. Jones, who sang " Dreamland," and "Take Back the Heart"; Miss .Robin, of Dunedin, "Ever of Thee," "Come .Back to Erin," and as encores, "Smile Again, my Bonnie Lassie," and "Coming Through ™? Rye . 5 Mrs Russell, of Stirling, " The Blind Girl's Dream," "The Last Rose of bummer, and as encores, "Better Bide a Wee, and " Home, Sweet Home " s Mr Drew, "Weenie, the Flfcwer o' Dumblane,"'and "The Rose of Allendale"; Mr Hilton, "For' Ever and For Ever," and " Rose Marie " ; and Mr Millar, of Seadiff, "Yes, Let Me Like a

Soldier Fall," and "There is a Flower." Piano solos wpre given by Mrs Moore and Miss Duff, and a large choir, conducted by Mr E. Campbell, sang the following glees:— "See Our Oars," "Since first 1 Saw Your Face," "From Oberen," and "Here in Cool Grot." Mr Maule and Miss Gloag accompanied. The entertainment passed off very successfully, the audience being much pleased with the efforts of the lady vocalists. The amount realised was £12.

At the Police Court at Invercargil on Monday two lads who were charged with creating a disturbance at the Salvation Army services wore fined 10s each, in default 48 hours' imprisonment. They pleaded not guilty, and their lawyer defined the hall as a place where people could do as they pleased. The Court demurred to this view of the case, holding that it was like any other place of worship.

With reference to the revocation of the regulations regarding the sale of strychnine and arsenic, the Gazette shows that the new regulations are the same as the old, with the exception that arsenic sold for sheep-dip-ping purposes ia exempted from the operation of the regulation.

Milton has gone in for a half-holiday on Thursday.

At the first Church of England soiree, held here on Tuesday night, in the Garrison Hall, Bishop Nevill stated that another similar gathering would take placeabout January 17, on which occasion the Primate of New Zealand will be on a visit to Dunedin for the first time for 13 years. It wa? also mentioned that his Excellency Sir W. F, D. Jervois will be here at the same time, and will attend the soiree and say a few words on the occasion.

Mr D. Wright is holding evangelistic ser vices in Tapanui this week. The audiences have been large.

The Port Chalmers Corporation baths were formally opened on Tuesday. The enclosure is 142 ft by 132 ft in size, and the maximum depth of water is 13ft Gin at the seaward end and sft at the upper end.

Mr P. H. V. Bindon, head master of Newton East School, Auckland, has been appointed Inspector of Schools for the Wanganui Educational district. There were 33 applications sent in to the Education Board from New Zealand and the Australian Colonies, amongst the candidates being English, Dublin, and Colonial University men. The salary 13 £500 per annum and expenses.

J. Crombie Brown, journalist, formerly of New Zealand, has been sentenced to four months' imprisonment in Tasmania for issuing valueless cheques.

With regard to the complaints of the Tongariro's passengers, the Timaru Herald writes thus: — "Whenever a ship arrives from England with a great number of passengers, there are almost pure to be some complaint?. The food has not been good, or the water has been dirty, or the sleeping accommodation haa been inadequate, or there has been flirtation with the female immigrants, or something or other has been done or left undone which has given offence to somebody. It does not require many malcontents to get up an agitation on board ship. There are some people wiio have a peculiar faculty of finding fault and instigating others to make themselves disagreeable about trifles ; and lucky is the captain, bringing a large number of passengers, who has not one or two of these among them. We have got so used to this kind of thing in New Zealand that we look for it almost as a matter of course on the arrival of each steamer ; but no real importance is attached .to these complaints, and in nine cases put of 10 they die out in a few days, and are heard of no more. At the same time it is a pity that in instituting the direct steam service, the success of which mainly depends on its popularity in the Colony, the New Zealand Shipping Company did not manage to avoid these little unpleasantnesses. The general satisfactoriness of the Tongariro's trip has unquestionably been marred by the discontent which prevailed among the passengers. The captain and officers seem to have been singularly unfortunate in failing to obtain the good- will of those entrusted to their charge."