GENERAL NEWS

Otago Witness, Issue 1957, 23 May 1889, Page 16

GENERAL NEWS

A case of an unusual character was heard at the Police Court on Tuesday; It appears that settlers residing within a few miles of Dunedin are continually being subjected to great anooy- ' ance by young men who wander with dogs and guns over their lands in search of game. The nuisance is greatest on Sundays and holidays, and much annoyance is caused by the disturbance of stock and the wholesale destruction of game. It is a matter of very great difficulty to catch the offenders, but one of the rangers at last succeeded in bringing two young men (Richard Grimmett „aud William Balls) to' book for their misdeeds. These two pot-hunt-ing sportsmen figured in the Police Court on Tuesday morning, charged by James- Reilly, , ranger, with having trespassed on ' land belonging to Robert IVingfield,' in perauit of game, when a 'fine of £1, and costs for trespass was inflicted in each case. The act, which is very stringent, provides for a penalty not" exceeding £20. A warrant has been issued for the arrest of a young man who has been for some years employed in the Dunedin Post Office Savings Bank, and who' has suddenly disappeared. The exact amount pf his defalcations is riot known, but a preliminary examination of the, books has dis- j closed forgeries and embezzlements to' the ex- ,j tent of about £100. ' . '■ \ Our Green Island correspondent writes :— The ■Literary Society appears to have hit the public taste and numbers now about 40 .members. At the last meeting— the Rev. Dr Watt presiding— an able paper entitled " Knowledge is poorer " was read by Mr R. Neil, of Walton, school, and an interesting discussion followed. Messrs W., ■Weldenand R. Love gave readings. Dr Will will read a paper at the next meeting. The Eastern Extension Telegraph Company have received a telegram from the British Con» gulaie ab Shanghai, which states that the Chinese famine fund has been closed, that the prospects of the harvest are good, and that it \a not considered needful to receive further aid from abroad. A movement which was started at Wellington for the relief of the supposed distress has therefore been discontinued. Mr Renton, lessee of one of the farms on Bulyeondale estate, Inch-Clutha, threshed the ■produce of an eight-acre paddock of oats the , other day, which, according to the Bruce Herald, realised the extraordinary yield of 105 bushels to the acre, The North Canterbury Board of Education has declared null and void the eleotiori of the Ashburton School Committee, because the formality of takiug a ballot was not gone through. Only seven persons were nominated and they ■were declared duly elected without a ballot. The Mataura Ensign reports that Miss Sarah Macpherson, of. Wendon, had a miraculous escape from death on Thursday last. The young lady, who is 19 years of age, went, to a paddock to catch ahorse, taking with her a long plough rein for a halter. As she was trying to adjust the rope after catching the horse so that it would form a head stall, 1 the animal jumped suddenly and that portion of the rope lying on the ground got twisted round Miss Macpherson's ankle. The horse cleared away at a smart pace, dragging Miss Macpherson over the ground.^ Her screams attracted the attention of her" brother and father working in an adjoining paddock, but the horse becoming excited by the galloping of a number of young animals •in the paddock, continued its jnad gallop, dragging the young lady over the ground. A five:feet) wire fence with a barbed wire on top, was cleaned by the horse and the young lady was ..dragged ■ through, three of the wires being broken.' The horror of the father and brother who were following the animal- at this stage may be better imagined than described. After about two; miles had been covered the brother caught the, rope,' and the father coming up managed to out it and release his daughter, whose clothes were torn to ribbons. Strange, to say Miss Mappherson, though bruised and cut about in a shocking manner, escaped broken bones, and even her ankle, round which the rope was twisted seven times, was not dislocated. She was taken home and attended to, and now lies in a precarious condi» fcion, but quite conscious. ' ■ The storekeepers of Gore complain that their trade is being cut into by the travellers of Dunedin firms, who take round samples and sell for cash. We learn from the Southern Standard that' a meeting of storekeepers and others was held on Friday to take steps to have the law amended so as to provide for levying a tax upon agents for business houses in other districts who canvassed a district for retail orders. Mr Beattje, mayor of Gore, was in the chair. At the outset a farmer raised the objection that the meeting was being held to favour Protection, and Mr J. Mac Gibbon took up much the same ground. The complaintappears to be that these agents,as they carry only samples, escape the fee charged for hawkers. They go from house to house soliciting orders, and undersaving the local traders by quitting for cash. The roads, which are maintained out of the rates levied locally, are used and cut up by these travellers, who escape all taxation. One speaker stated that three Dunedin firms took about £30,000 yearly from Southland. After discussion a committee was appointed to draw up a bye-law, which should . be submitted to the borough council, the county council, and to the Government, &c, such comanittee to report to a future meeting. The Auckland Star learns that this year there is a fine crop of oranges on Aitutaki, and • also a very large yield' of cocoanuts, which will very considerably increase the copra export this season. In Rarotonga thspe is an unusually *ood crop of «offee, the picking of which is lost now proceeding apace. Last yew's crop of coffee was a very poor one, .and it is ejected that the fine yield this season will have the effect of bringing down the price paid to the native cultivators. '■ ■ ■ The charges of larceny preferred against Auckland volunteers in connection with the Walter encampment were heard at the Police Court pu , Tuesday, before Mr J. S. Clendon, R.M. WlUiam rfornton, e/ member of the Waitematft Naval corns, was charged with having stolen a, jar of Jbraody from Porter's Hotel, Mercer, on the night of the 18th dlfc., when the train proceedine to Hamilton ' with volunteers stopped at Mercer. Mr T. Cotter appeared for the accused. The evidence in this case went to chow that the Jar was stolen in the melee at the hotel ,• but a number of witnesses were called to show ihat Thornton had received the jar from two other ■ men who bad brought it to the tram. • The case -was therefore dismissed. William Costello (oi the Onehunga Navals), and T.Butler (Waitemata- JSTavals) wew charged with the thett ot an accordeon from Porter's Hotel. Mr Brassey, who appeared for ,the vrnen,, submitted, that the instrument produced in,court,,wa| not wentmeo fey witnesses foe the .prosecution, *pa on tb / 19 «rouod the prisoners in .this, case we^e also discharged. Our 1 Auckland correspondent comments on .the affair thus :-The dejj«fon ye the volunteers and ih& Merger hotel Sncideiit has -eaosed a .good deafr'tf 1 amuße<ment. One of the l»en the previous cow* day fiad pleaded guilty* but endeavonred.to "withdraw rthe plea of guilty to-day iby .counsel o» the ground that he djfoojiuder ajpleapf ,misapDr«.

tension. This was refused by the magistrate; but, ultimately /all (the. oases were dismissed, as the magistrate said the evidence adduced was of such a contradictory character that.it was,impossible to say who were' the sguilfcy parties. There, were guilty parties, no doubt, but there was evidently, a falsification, of evidence, and it was of a conflicting nature. It seemed to him that so many of thft volunteers were concerned in this affair that it was almost impossible to have evidence truthfully rendered, and he recognised that the police had a Herculean task in endeavouring to obtain a convictipn. , !'" A new method of bootmaking, known as the "Ab Intra" system,' 1 has been tried at the factory of Mr A. Lindsay, Lambton quay; Wellington. Theinvention (whichhasbeen patented) revolutionizes the method of putting soles on boots, and the'tnodui" operandi is as simple as it is ingenious. The inner sole is placed alongside the wheel of a maohirie which drives through it, from the flesh side, metal points barbed at the end. The upper fitted with the inner sole, having been put on a last, the sole is laid on the points, and either by hammering or by the use of machinery, the points are forced into it.' The barbed points, of course, hold firmly,' and the attachment of the sole is complete.! In 'addition to the saving of time the invention has , an' advantage in the points being driven, into the sole instead of upward from the bottom of it, and thus the' familiar unpleasantness of "a ' nail in your foot " is done away with. The fact that the work is not removed from the last in the process of bottoming is also an advantage, in that it koeps the lining clean. ; The Irish envoys addressed a public meeting in Her Majesty's Theatre, Sydney, on May 14. The house was filled before the delegates took : their seats upon the stage, and on their appearance they received a perfect ovation. Mr F. B. Freehill, president of $he local branch of the Irish National League, presided, and among those on the platform were Sir John Robertson, several members of Parliament, and other pro- , minent citizens, ' Among the audience were a large number of ladies. Messrs Dillon, Eamonde, and Deafly addressed the meeting, their utterances being greeted with frequent outbursts of applause: Mr Dillon spoke in contemptuous terms of the witnesses brought forward by The Times to support their indictments against, the Irish race and their leaders. He said deliberately that a more ill-looking gang of men he never , laid his eyes on, and he could wish no worse fate to his friend the Argus than to have them shipped* to Victoria. No doubt if they were sent out, the Argus would get up a banquet to entertain them. It was announced that £2000 had been collected as the result of the meeting, and Mr .Dillon stated that he had never known a gathering, either in the United States or Australia, where so large a sum bad been raised in aid of the Irish cause. After the delegates had concluded their addresses, Mr Traill, M.L.A., proposed and Mr Hassall, M.L.A., seconded a motion endorsing the policy of Mr Gladstone in the concession of Home Rule ( to Ireland, as being the best means of restoring peace and prosperity to Ireland, and as an important factor in the development of the best interests of the British Empire. The motion was carried with enthusiasm. The question of the salaries paid to ibank officials was raised at the half-yearly, meeting of the National Bank. Mr Zeal, M.L.0., the acting chairman- of directors, said "that the statements which had been made in the press and by gentlemen' holding high' 'official positions to the effect that ' bank" clerks were underpaid, ( were untrue. Mr Zeal read a return, showing that out of 509 officials in the employ of the National Bank, five received salaries ranging from £1250 to £1500 per annum ; 10 from £650 to £1250; 35 from £450 to £650;. and 76 from £300 to £450, This, he claimed, was of itself an answer, so farrasthe National ißank was concerned, bo the charges, made. • It.. was also, pointed out' that while in the Bankiof Scotland probationers commenced at a salary of £10, per annum, with annual increases of £10 for the three years succeeding,, probationers at the National ißank never .received less than £40, and often received ,£so^. per apnum, , and as. 600n,,as an official' showed any special fitness for this duties he re* ceived substantial increases., Mr B. J. Fink considered that no, increase in salaries would entirely prevent fraud; and Mr J. M. Pratt urged that better accommodation should be provided for junior clerks, at the country branches. ■ In the Court' of Session, Edinburgh, recently, Lord Wellwood heard proof in an' action, for , divorce" raised by Agues Browa or Waddell, Blantyre farm, Uddingston, against her husband, James Waddell, formerly miner at Carluke, thereafter in New Zealand. Pursuer said that she was' married to Waddell, then, a widower, on 19th June 1868. After' the marriage they resided at Carluke, at Knightswood, and afterwards they went to New Zealand, where defender got employment. He afterwards left for a place named Qreymouth, and when she joined him she upbraided him over a rumour about his conduct. The result was that defender left her, and she and her children bad to be assisted home. She afterwards received a letter and newspaper cuttings from a woman in New Zealand, stating that her husband had been co: respondent in a divorce case there. She raised a summons of divorce against him, but , her agents could not trace him, and the action did not proceed. She believed that her husband appeared in Uddingston in 1887. She met him in Glasgow afterwards, and he cursed her as he passed. These were the only words exohanged since the parting in New Zealand. She believed he had gone away from Scotland again. His Lordship granted decree of divorce on the ground of desertion, The Gore Farmers' Olub passed a resolution at the last meeting— " That the time has arrived, in the opinion of this club, when the Government should cease purchasing ferrets." Some remarkable stories are in circulation (remarks onr London correspondent)' respecting the efficacy of the new food-preserving process, to which reference was recently made. If it can accomplish one-half of the marvels attributed to it, jit; W*y be he,ld so jjustify the boast that "it, will f&VQMmi^k th.c food-preserving business of the woltjd." The process is said to have the, power to arrest desay j'n meat. , (The editor of the paper named the Lighthouse asserts :that a ham in a bad state of decay was, after* treatment by the process, found to be as perfect as on the day of its being cured— sweet to the bone. The ham has been since inspected and pasted by several medical men, who have pro- ! noweed it to be perfectly sound and wholesome, and now, oysr two months after treatment, as fresh as ever. If applied to the frozen meat, industry,' ifc will revolutionise the 'conditions of that business. No refrigerating machinery or refrigerators will be required, which will be an immense saving of expense and space. The. carcasses can be placed in a chaniber, and, after undergoing process, which will takeonjya short timej'ihe meat will; retain its natural freshness and flavour for months. „The journal before referred! to declares :—" We ourselves 'jiaye not only {SfifiOj bat tasted., fton, five weeks old ; beef, nine wee£s old; eggs (poached), 32 days qld;\game\4ihre^,^ofliihsipld; ftjujt (pines, iWWeVWdor^geaV.wre,^ a PWtfMf »j$ ]£ify but nob r leaat, a cMyas-kack duck

within a ifew cfay^ J of five s ' "months old ; and we have not the slightest 1 hesitation inlaying that one and- all of the foregoing were perfectly fresh, and had we not known to the contrary we should have put them down as of 'ordinary age."' 4 -; : " J . -,(i., (i . • "•; ; , ; . 4 meeting of the Sandymbunt School Oommittee was held on Monday evening r to oonsider. applications for the position of mistress \ It was resolved- that > IsabeUa G; Park, be .recommended to- the Education . Board ior appj)intr; ment,. The following motion was carried-^-' "That this committee disapprove of the action of the Bducatioa Board in sending only three applicants for reoommendatiOn. < , < Archibald Butherford 'vl William L. Landera (Kuri Bush) was a clafm pL£3 v 5s ri . l for. 7 the service of.- &■ mare, the case being' heard at the 'Duijedm B.M. Court- oorn r Tuesday; —Mr Finch . appeared for the plaintiff,/ and. Jttr ,Sim for, the .defendant, -r Plaintiff , sfated that two of defendant's mares were to be served 1 , and #2 5s paid for each' foal. One mare foaled.^-The statement was that the charge was tb be£4 if thereweretwo foals, but if both mares did not foal, no charge was to be made.— Judgment was given for £2 6a, and costs. Seofcion 49,i)100k I, CatUn'a Biver district, is withdrawn from 5a1e.,.,. :,..,. ,;,' I