LOCAL & GENERAL

Otago Witness, Issue 1784, 30 January 1886, Page 9

LOCAL & GENERAL

It may be of interest to note in connection with the rather peculiar weather we are at present experiencing that the Maoris at Henley are just now removing their dwellings to higher ground in anticipation of a very heavy flood setting in shortly. The Maoris of the North Island, it will be remembered, predicted some months ago an unusually dry summer. They were led to that conclusion in consequence of a peculiar appearance in connection with the flax flowers. Their prophecy in that case has turned out correct, and it remains to be seen whether this later prediction of the Henley Natives will come to pass. The Hon. Mr Larnach, Minister of Mines, left on Wednesday on a visit to Waikaia, which plr*ce he was unable to include in his journeyings lfist year. He will return to Dunedin shortly. The date of his expedition through the Haast Pa&s will be about the beginning of March. Tne Presbyterian Synod concluded its sittings for the present session on the 21st. The Rev. Dr Salmond intimated his acceptance of the position of Professor of Mental and Moral Philosophy, and it was resolved to take steps to fill up the vacancy iv the Theological Hall caused by his resignation in consequence of having received the new appointment. A short sitting of the Court under tho Divorce and Matrimonial Causes Act was held before his Honor Mr Justice Williams on the 21st, and a decree absolute was granted in the case of Watson v. Watson and Gillespie for dissolution of marriage. On a communication from the secretary of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Boards being considered at the Roslyn Couucil on the 21st, the Mayor (Mr A. C. Begg) said he believed a considerable number of local bodies were not paying the contributions to the boards as requested, and -,he did not see why the Roslyn Council should do so. The Government were simply introducing a poor rate under the guise of giving a subsidy. The subsidy would be taken away, and the poor rate would remain. He would suggest that the communication should simply be received, and that the onus of taking any further steps be left with those who sent it. Wherever a system of compulsory poor rates had been in operation it simply created an immense amount of pauperism, and encouraged people who were indolently inclined to think that other people ought to contribute to their support. It took away the spur that nature had provided to compel people to support themselves, and acted very prejudicially on tho moral tone and general interests of the country. A report received from the members of Capt. Strachan's trading expedition to New Guinea states that the country passed through was critically examined by Mr Poett, an old Indian planter, whese verdict is that New Guinea contains some of the finest soil he has everseen, more especially the country towards the south bank | of the Fly River, and is capable of growing any tropical product. Large samples of cedar, rosewood, pine, and other valuable timber have been obtained ; also cotton, saffron, ginger, and other products. An exceedingly large collection of curios' and native implements has been obtained, among them beintj a large idol of the god " Seeger," of the Gona people, which Captain Strachan obtained with much difficulty. Among the live stock are wild hoars, an alligator, two species of cuscus, and half-a-dozen cassowaries. The drought from which New Caledonia has been suffering for so many months continues unabated, and is becoming more and more disastrous to the settlers. Even the Kanakas are threatened with starvation in the event of no welcome change being experienced. Rivers which have never before run dry in the recollection of the oldest Natives have ceased to flow. This is especially the case in the third anondissement, where the blacks have been reduced to the necessity of planting their taros wherever a deposit of moist mud has been left in the channels of former watercourse?. The cattle are dying in great numbers, owing to the scarcity of food and water, more particularly on the west coast; and crops of all kinds are necessarily suffering from the burut-up condition of the soil and the absence of rain. One of the cyclones which periodically visit the island is believed to be due some time in the year we have now entered upon ; and people despondently remark that if it should come it will complete the ruin of the Colony. Bush fires have also done considerable damage. , The whaling barque Splendid secured two large whale- off Stewart Island, and tried out in Half Moon Bay. The parties who have been experimenting in the manufacturing of cement from clay at the Bluff are about to form a limited liability company. Recent tests by Government in Wellington gave the breaking &train far in excess of Government requirements. In a letter in Saturday's Daily Times ou " Railways, ' and Management of si'.:ne," " Waiwera farmer " says : — Several geutlemen from the Waiwera and Warepa district have found it necessary to go back to the old method of taking their produce to Dunedin by teams and waggons. The Messrs Anderson Bros, arc the parties from the Waiwera district who have found it an advantage thus to send their wool to town by waggons, finding it a considerable saving. I understand those from Warepa, &c, are the Messrs Heckler and Dalgleish, the distance being, I suppose, from these respective places about 70 miles. With a railway running compai'atively close to their properties, what can those concerned say about this state of affairs. Cardinal Moran is expected to arrive at the Bluff on the Bth prox., and will be met there by Bishop Moran, who will accompany him to L°ke Wakatipu. The Tablet states that a reception will be given by the Catholic people to the Cardinal on his arrival in Dunedin. Cardinal 1 Moran will preach the dedication sermon at the opening of the Cathedral on Sunday, the 14tb, and Bishop Redwood, of Wellington, will preach the sermon in the evening. The choir, which will be under theconductorshipof Herr Schereck, will consist of 60 voices. Mr J. L. Gillies, J.P., having absented himself twice when, according to the rota, he was called upon to sit on the Bench as a Justice, has received a communication from the acting Under-Senretary pointing out that unless he satisfies the Governor that his absence resulted' from some reasonable cause he will cease to be a Justice of the Pence. Mr Gillies has communicated with the Id mister of Justice expressing his regret that the wisdom of the Legislature should prove so unpractical as to deprive the public of his services, which, in the matter of taking affidavits, &c, he ventures to say no other in Dunudin is oftener called upon. He points out that ho was a J.P. in a country district for many yearn, where he fulfilled ail the duties of Court without foe or reward. On the occasions he was called on to attend there were some four or five leading

business men there, and he could not neglect business of much greater importance. Mr Gillies concludes : — " Having only held the office for the convenience of my fellow-settlers, and knowing that they had confidence in me, the only regret that I will have in connection with the striking off of my name will be that many in consequence will be inconvenienced. The position is not now one of honour,and being struck off is no disgrace- ; and the only excuse in honesty that I can make is simply that I had more important business to attend to. I will be glad to learn as soon as possible the decision of his Excellency, as every day I am asked to act as a J.P., and I have no desire to certify any document illegally." A man named William Roberts was recently sentenced at the Hampton petty sessions on a charge of being found concealed in the roof over the dining-hall of the West London District Schools, at Ashford. On the morning of the 18th inst. a workman was employed repairing the ceiling of the dining-hall, when he noticed the prisoner concealed between the ceiling and the roof. On ascending to the loft the manager discovered several parcels of bread, butter, and dripping, and a dark lantern, together with some very old and filthy clothes, upon which the prisoner had been in the habit ot sleeping. The loft was not visited more than twice a year. The prisoner stated that he had lived in the loft for about five year«. In the daytime he remained concealed, but at night he visited the lower parts of the building, picking up all the odds and ends of food that he could find. He stated that for 12 years he slept in the loft at Southall Schools, and that afterwards he repaired to Ashford. Messrs Green and Souness, of Gore, have been in communication with the Premier relative to the purchase of the Waimea Plains railway, requesting that something be done if the Government have any regard for the interest of the district. They point out that about 30,000 acres of Government lands are already affected by the rate, a great deal of which they believe will be thrown up if the state of uncertainty is to continue and some arrangement not come to soon. We learn from the Mataura Ensign that Mr Stout has forwarded the following reply : "It is impossible for Government to deal with the matter of Waimea railway except in full Cabinet, and I asked Mr Cowan to get time of offer extended till then." The following is a copy of an advertisement as published in the Ketteriug Observer and North Northamptonshire Times of November 20, 1885 :: — *' A treat for the, people. Prime fed New Zealand mutton. Breasts -l£d ; nock, fiid; legs and loins, 8d ; shoulders, 7d ptr lb. Be sure and cnll early at W. Martin's meat stores, Market street, Kettering." At Auckland the number of the unemployed engaged on the defence, and other works is gradually decreasing, the men finding they can do better elsewhere than on the 4s Gd per day provided by the Government. About 200 persons left Dunedin on Saturday morning by the excursion train for Christchurch; and 327 were booked at Christchurch tho same morning for Dunedin. A number of. passengers, however, joined the down train at the wayside stations, so that when it arrived in Dunedin it contained over 400 persons.

Apropos of resignations from the New Zealand Railwaj' service (snys the Lyttelton Times), it is understood that another responsible officer of the department has taken a similar course to Mr Back, and has resignoil his office for the purpose of proceeding to Victoria. It is stated that inducements to do likewise have been held out to several others, and that the services of New Zealand railway officials appear to be sought after by Australian Colonies just now. A prize of £20 is being offered by an Auckland settler for the best essay on the relative expenditure as between Auckland province and the rest of New Zealand during the last 45 years. Also as to the fairness of the proposed distribution of Sir J. Vogel's late intended big loan and the set-off offered by him to Aucklaud to balance Southern advances. The following applications for patents have been received : — E. L. Evens, of Adelaide, for a rabbit-trap ; H. Wheeler, of Auckland, for screw nail and awl-pointed nail ; I>. U. H. Galbraith, of Auckland, for a gold-saving process; J. Rule, of Auckland, for invention for submarine work ; J. Hart, of Christchurch, for a washing-machine ; 0. S. Ellithorp, of Melbourne (communication, from W. Deering, of Chicago), for improvements, in reapers and binders, improvements in mowers, and improved knot-tier for reapers and binder-- ; J. Stalker, of Tinwald, for a she.af-cle.va tor ; R. F. Loftier, of Hamburg, for invention for preserving butter; T. Gayer, of Christohuvcl), for an improved flannel belt A man named William Carson was admitted into the Hospital on Sunday, having had his ribs fractured on the previous day at the DeepStream by some earth falling on top of him. An ominous incident occurred at the eloso of Mr J. M'lvenzio's address to his constituents at Palmerston on Friday evening. A vote of thanks and confidence whs just being proposed, when the member's chair suddenly snapped beneath his weigh I, and left him clutching at •. •> for support. Mr M'Kenzie repaired tl teas best he could, and managed to nial <■ *' i rickoty piece of furniture support him to t], . end; but there is a curious coincidence siboi;:, the affair. This is the second time, in the Mime manner and iv the same place, that the member for Moeraki has been thus unceremoniously informed that his seat is not so secure as ib looks. If he chances to be a believer in omens, Mr M'Kenzie should avoid the fatal third warning by having a stout bench specially made for his accommodation the next time he appears upon the Palmerston platform. At a meeting held in Christchurch in connection with the foreign mission of the Weslovan Methodist Church, the Rev. A. Rf»id, one of "iho deputation appointed to visit Fiji in connection with the jubilee celebration, said that there was not a single heathen to-day in Fiji. Out of a population of 112,000, no less than 102,000 were adherents of the Methodist Church, the others belonging to the Roman Catholic Church. Tried by the moral test, the missionary spirit test, or any other test, there was not a country under heaven which was more eminently Christian ' than Fiji There were 53 native ministers, and eight of the Fiji students had offered to go as missionaries to New Britain. The lecturer proceeded to give an animated and eloquent sketch of the country generally, and mentioned the interesting fact that all the schools were Methodist. The following are the returns of the Duntxlin Hospital for the past week :— Kemaiiiiiifj from previous week ... ... ]01 Admil ted during Midweek ... ... 1(5 Discharged during Iho week ••• ... 13 Death (James Sheedy and John Moloney) ... a Total remaining .. ••• ... TO.*) An application to piove on a debtor's «stni,n, on account of a lease held by the bankrupt

being disclaimed by the Official Assignee, was heard at the Bankruptcy sitting of the Court on Monday. The landlord seeing that he could not again let the house on such good terms as the bankrupt had engaged, to pay, made a claim agaiu&t the estate for what virtually amounted to damages for loss of tenant. This claim the Assignee refused to allow, and the claimant's solicitor (Mr Adams) being convinced that he had, under the 15th clause of " The Bankruptcy Amendment Act 1884," a right to prove for damages on account of the disclaimer of the lease, accordingly instituted proceedings, with the result that the appellant obtained an order to be allowed to prove against the estate for £140. As the estate will pay a dividend of 12s 6d in the pound, the case was evidently worth contesting. The good-feeling shown by the Port Chalmers Fire Brigade (says a Napier paper) is worthy of record. Unforeseen circimstances at the last moment having prevented their team from coming to Napier, they clubbed together and purchased a handsome trophy, engraved on it "jAn apology from the Port Chalmers Fire Brigade for not attending the demonstration at Napier, January 1886," and instructed their superintendent (who has come as a delegate) to present it to the committee as a prize to be given for such event as they may decide. luqmi tend ! There is one item iv the Registrar-General's annual report on the vital statistics of the Colony (remarks the Wellington Times) which cannot but be regarded as a very shocking one. It is recordod that no fewer than nine deaths occurred last year from " alcoholism," and two from delirium tremens — that is to say, 11 deaths were directly caused by intemperance. This is a very saddening reflection ; bub when we recollect how many more deaths arc indirectly due to the same cause, the magnitude of the evil becomes still more fearfully apparent. Sir William Fox might take a worse text for his next temperance lecture than the melancholy official record which we have quoted. In a bankruptcy case before the Supreme Court on Monday, in which a majority of the creditors had signed a petition for the discharge of the debtor, the order of discharge was suspended for 12 months. It appeared that the debtor had entered into a large contract without ■having any means of his own, and his Honor remarked that a debtor in doing this was only playing the old game of "heads I win, tails you lose." Mr Justice Williams fully endorsed the view of the case taken by the Official Assignee, paying that apart from the manner in which the present creditors were affected, the public had a right to be protected from such a practice; and, as we have mentioned, suspended the certificate of discharge. Admiral Tryon arrived in town on Wednesday by the express train from the North, accompanied by Staff-Commander Quin, Dr Lee, Lieutenaut Reynolds, Flag-Lieutenant Parkinham, and the captain of the marines. The Council of the Royal Agricultural Society of England have agreed to carefully consider suggestions which have been made to them relative lo the advisability of their appointing conirni.s-.ionevs to obtain information respecting agriculture in India, New Zealand, and Australia.

Those people who are iv the habit of boasting of the effect which Colonial legislation has on that of the Old Country (remarks the Southland Times) will be pleased to see that Mr Mncandrew's proposal to abolish late sittings of Parliament has been adopted by the Salisbury Ministry. Hi* Honor Judge Ward and Mrs Ward conducted services at the Invercargill Baptist Church on Sunday last. The Mataura Ensign learns that preparations are being actively made for the conversion of the Forest Hill tramway into a light railway. T-iOcomotives of the smallest type in use by the Department will be used, and it is hoped that the ordinary railway waggons will also be available. The directors of the Waimea Railway Oompanv have extended the time to February 15 during which their offer to sell the line and equipment, to the Government is to hold good. The Mataura Ensign understands that Mr Cowan, M.H.R., asked, at the suggestion of the Premier, for an extension of one month from the 23rd inst. The brigantine Seagull, which was wrecked at Waikawa on Sunday, was the property of the Dunedin Iron and Woodware Company. She was insured for £700 in the New Zealand Office. The Ciaz'sfto notifies the appointment of J. N. Wood, of Nascby, as member of tho Mount Ida Water-ni.'isTiitfit ; and of S.N. Brown as trustee for the Cromwell racecourse reserve. The services of the Peninsula Rifles have been accepted sis an honorasy corps.