LOCAL & GENERAL

Otago Witness, Issue 2200, 30 April 1896, Page 15

LOCAL & GENERAL

The result of the departmental inquiry into * the railway co'lision at Clinton on the Bth inst. is that the Government have deoided to dismiss Mr Coker (the atationmaster at Clinton), Mr Bray (clerk at Balclutha), and guard Hughes and driver Wiughim of the goods train whioh was proceeding from Balolutha to Gore at the time of the accident, Mdnsigrior Verdon, the Roman Catholic Bishop-elect of Dunedin, who is accompanied by the Right Rev. Dr Murray, Bishop of Haiblftud, on arrival in Wellington by the Wakatipu, was met and welcome! by the Very Rsv. Fathers Mackay and Lynch. They made a few days' st»y in Christchurch befora Coming on to Danedia. Sir James Fairbairn was on Thursday elected to represent the Ht'ghcllff subdivision on the Peninsula Road Board, wbila Mr John RobertSon was elected to represent the Sandymount subdivision. Messrs J. A. Reekie and G. Rowe were nominated for Anderson's Bay, and a poll will be taken on 2nd proz. An extraordinary lequel to a mysterious " dfiath" of a man who was recently found with his throat cut on the top of a haystack at .Riboheßter transpired at Blackburn, Lancashire. The man was identified and buried by Mrs Walmsley, of Blackburn, as her husband, from whom she had been separated 18 yean. The Insurance money on hia death was paid, and the family of six went into mourning. A day or two afterwards Walmsley, who is a licensed hawker tramping the country, seeing the newspaper report of his supposed suicide, returned jhomo to Blackburn And walked into the house, where his wife and several danghters were at breakfast. An extraordinary scene followed, the supposed widow at once recognising him, and in a minute the whole family were round him crying joyfully and congratulating him. It appears tbat the mistaken identity arose through the dead man also holding a banker's licence in the name of William Walmsley.

Commencement Day at Melbourne UniTorsity this y«at caw the admission as B.A. of its first Chinese graduate in James Cheong, a foraer dux* of the Church of Euglasd Gi-aremar School. Young Cheong matriculated in 1890 with the exhibition and flmb in the flretclasj honours in Greek and Latin. Two other Melbourne University student*; havd been fall-blooded Gbiueee— vw,, Cheok Hong Cheong (the mujgioßAry »t present visitieg Now Zeal*nd), who matriculated in 1875; and L { ng Ah ' Mouy, who joined in 1887. Neither took a I Idegree, bat Ling Ah Moay became Melbourne's first Chinese solicitor. Dr Findlay is giving a series of addresses iv Wellington on political science. In his first address he took occasion to say : — " Thore was no science which possessed so great difficulties in its treatment as social science, yet a man who could not add two and two could discourse at length as to the necessity or otherwise of a State bank. The 'must-do- something' impulse was one of the fundamental tendencies ia human nature. This was seen, for instance, in the frantic desire evinced b/ the women of this colony to show that they appreciated their newfound engine the franchise —which, like all new instruments, was apt to be made use of too frequently. Bslitf in specifics was in proportion to the ignorance of die people. There was no short out to the Millennium. Iv most casia where <^re believed we had eradicated an evil we had but shifted it to another place, where It was probably doing as much mischief as formerly. It was better that our ship of State should go nowhere than that it should be stranded. Was it not better thab we should become students of the facts before we became zealous for any reform P " The plague of locusts which has b»en doing much damage in Cope Colony and Natal has also seriously interfered with the railway service, and recently caused a railway oollision. On the 18th March, as the goods train to E«tcoarb wa« negotiating a steep incline, a swarm of locusts met the tPain. Finding he oould (sake no headway (reports the Witners), the driver, kuowing he was closely followed by another good* train, pat on his brakes, bub owing to the greasy Btafce of the rails, ciused by 'the crushed bcusts, he found his brakes would not answer, and he hid lost control of }ns train, which gradually slipped back until the collided with the second train, which had been brought to a standstill upon hearing the slipping that was taking place with the -first engine. The collision threw two trucks of the first train off the rails. The down mail crossed the border on Tuesday morning. 30 minutes late. " Locusts permitting," said the etationmaster, " she will arrive at her destination not more than hftlf an hoar late." Some of the trains bad been delayed nearly half a day with the locusts, and it took them all Sunday to ge*; things straight. The engines had been supplied with brcoms, and other experiments had been trie 3, but without avail. As soon as the train came on to a swarm of hoppers the pesky things, instead of lying quietly when brushed off, flew ap into the axles of the wheels, which in a few moments became so clogged with the insects that tbe train was brought to a standstill as though the brakes were applied. Our Wellington correspondent telegraphs :— •'Sir Patrick Buckley continues to improve in health, but he is still anything bat strong, mnd it is considered doubtful if his constitution will stand the strain of court work again." An event of much interest (says a Home paper) will take place in the Borderland early in April. Thiß will be the celebration of the coming of age of Lieutenant Walter Joseph Maxwell Scott, of the Royal Scots, the great-gre'st-grdno'son of Sir Walter Scott, and the heir of Abboteford, who was born on April 10, 2875. It is Well known , that on attaining his majority Lieutenant Scott, m accordance with *n old promise made by the Queen to his fnotber, will receive the honour of knighthood. It to not, however! well known that in due time lie' will, in all probability, succeed to an old Scotch peerage— th« Barony of Henries. Betweeu his father, the Hon. Joseph Constable fHaxwell Scott, and the Barony of Harries there goafr «oJr the Hoa. William Constable Ua»

well, who is unmarried, and 65 years old. So Lieutenant Scott's chance of ultimate sucoessioa is deoidedly good.

The autograph collector has such infrequent opportunities in an ont-of-tha-way part of the world like New Zealand to secure the autographs of celebrities that, although ther* are doubtless many colonists who are devoted to the hobby, which is so fatcin\ting that its pursuit at Home has come to be regarded as a nuisance, it is questionable whether there are more than a few collections, in this colony that c*n be regarded as first-class. There is, however, one g«ntlem»n in Dunedin who oan boast the posseision of a remarkably good collection, whioh was largely scoured, it is trua, before he Mfi Great Britain for New Zealand. Mr F. E. Brittain, the local manager of the Mutual Life Association of Australasia, is the fortunate possessor of. this collection, which includes the autographs of nearly all the higher dignitaries of the Episcopalian Church in England and those of a few prelates of exalted rank in the Roman Catholic Church, together with those of numerous distinguished peers and statesmen, artists, men of letters, and actors. Mr Brittain has, sinca his arrival in New Zealand, added to his collection the autographs of many of the G-tvarnors of the colonies. The collection, as a whole, is one of great interest as well as of great falue. Colonel Gorton, of Rin.git.ikci, was sued in the Supreme Court at Wangaaui on Friday, bafore his Honor the Chief Jastice, for £300 damages for libel upon Mr Louis Cohen, solicitor, in a letter written to Mr Brabant, S.M., in regard to a cue which had been before him. The letter ia question contained the sentence i " There appears to have bsen a little sharp practice this morning in the caee v. Phippen " (in whioh Mr Cohen had appeared for the plaintiff), and it went on to make statements which were now admitted by the writer to have been founded upon misleading information, the case having, in fact, been adjourned in order to give Phi ;> pan a chance of being heard. Colonel Gnton had writtea three apologetic letter* to the plaintiff, who, however, wan not sailed, his counsel all jgiog that the letter to the magistrate wag not written in the interests of Phippen, but more with a desire to injare Mr Cohen ; while it was claimed that the apology, to be sufficient, should be made in the Magistrate's Court, at Bulls, where Mr Brabant received the original letter, as well as in the Supreme Court by counsel. Defendant paid £5 into courb, and after hs*riog Evidence, hia Honor gave judgment for thistftmount, ordering each side to pa; its own costs. Daring a ~ recent interview between the Premier and" the Labour unions at Wellington. Mr Jones, of the Seamen's Union, suggested that the customs authorities should ke«p secret the source of any information concerning shipping matters, says the Post. The Premier remarked that when he was reading th« report of the recent marine inquiry in Melbourne he wondered whether we had any of that kind of coffin ships in New Zealand. Mr Jones : " Yes, sir, we have." The Premier said he had noted the matter for legislation next session, arid in the meantime would eend a circular-letter to the customs authorities telling them to keep absolutely secret any information given. He would also issue instructions to all officers connected with the shipping to assist in preventing vessels going to eea in an unseaworfchy condition.

Mr Maodonald, acting as solicitor for Mr Thomas Oliver, of the Sussex Hotel, on Friday delivered the form of appeal to the registrar of the Supreme Court ia the gas ca^e of the Corporation against Oliver. The appeal will be heard at the next sitting of the Supreme Coucfc, to be held on Ist June next. The Cabinet has declined to grant the application of New Plymouth residents for the remission of the remainder of the sentence passed on Robert WalUtb, the Tarauaki highwayman, Mr H. Lowcay, a viticaltarist from Capetown, in » letter to the New Zealand Times, states he has just completed a tour of tbe North 'Island districts where vines are being cultivated, and expreese'3 the opinion that this island has everything favourable to become a great wine centre. He expresses astonishment that such a source of prosperity and revenue as viticulture has been so long overlooked, au grapes mature in the open, and possess all the qualities for making excellent wine, which would compare with the better clasß of French wines. He recomcc ended the planting of vines on a large scale, and declares that there are thousands of acres in Hawke's Bay and the Wdirarapa where vines would grow to great perfection and yield hewy crop 3. Varieties alone should be selected that are most saltable to ths particular land on which they are to be planted. He speaks favourably of the wine now made in the colony.

The half-yearly report of the Mancheiter Ship Canal states that receipts on revenue account amounted to £74,437, and the expenditure, including £12,004 for maintenance, to £59,320, leaving a balance of £15,117. The profits of the Bridgwater undertaking amounted to £25.057, giviug a total balance of £40,174. Details of the net revenue account show balances which increase the account to £81,428. Against this sum has to be placed £168,750, owing to the Manchester Corporation for interest on loans, making a debit balance of £79,212. The authorised capital of the ship canal is £7,412,000, of which sum the Manchester Corporation holds £5,000,000 in 4£ per cent, debentures, whioh rank after the Drsb and second issue. Interest on debentures held by the public has been regularly paid, but in July la»t year the corporation agreed to defer payment of one-half of their interest due, and this sum, added ~to the interest payable in January 1896, -makes up the debt to the corporation given above. The canal was opened for traffic on January 1, 1894, and the results on the working are aa follow : — 1894, first half, neb profit, £28.047; second half, £36,869; 1895, first half, £25,267.

We observe from the Southland papers that Dr James Torranoe, health officer of the Bluff (a Dunedinite by birth and training, and who passed through our High School and University), sailed hsb Tuesday on board the Hawke'a Bay, on a 12 months' visit to the Home country, his efepes being to adrajwa himself in bis ptofes-

sion and to make bimself aoqu-unt-sd with the leading Brifoh centres of medical science. On the evening prior to his dep-.r'.iue ha was entertained in f;he drill shed by a l*rge gathering of Blafß^ea. The numbers of th« ambulance class, whioh he initiated and had fostered, showed their respect by presenting him with a handsome dressing case, and from the rowing club he received a mounted pipe aud puree. The presentations wen made respectively by Mr M'Hutoheson and Captain PurUne, and Mr S. Niohol, on behalf of the doctor's many friends, expressed the esteem in which he was held in the Bluff. Dr Matthewe is to be locum tmens during Dr Torraoce's absence. The collection of paintings whioh Mr E. W. Ohrifttmas has had on exhibition for the past fww daya were sold on Friday by Messrs Park, Reynolds, and Co. The highest price realised was £37 10s. It is probable that Parliament' will be summoned for the dispatch of business in the .second week in June. \Vh©B the steamer Ovalau, whioh arrived at Sydney recently, left Fiji, rumours, which appear to have some foundation on facts, were current that an English company was being formed for the expressed object of buying out the German plantation companies in Samoa and Tonga. It is zaid that Sir J /hti Thoiuton has been instrumental in initiating the move* ment. Mrs F. Livingston has received intimation that the Board of Governors have agreed to her request for permission to pl<tce a portrait of Mue Dalrymple in the Girls' High School. Mr George M'Lsod, a well-known farmer and ex-chairman of the Southland Education Board, contests the Wallace seat. Messrs J. Mathieaon, A. Small, and J. O. Miller have been elected without opposition as members of the Tomahawk Road Board. As showing the high rates charged on the Otego Central railway, the Dimstan Times learns that Matakanui station save 13s 2d per ton for scoured wo.il and 6* 7d for greasy wool by sending direct by waggon to Dunedin instead of by the railway. In response to a requisition, Captain Russell has consented to address a public meeting at Invercargill some time daring next month. A romantic little story has just reached the Mnsterton Star. Some 36 years ago a young woman left her home in a townshp not many : mile^ from Maaterton, leaving her husband and , a email family to lament her departure. Since then not a single tiding had been heard of her. Her husband and her mother gave her up as dead. The other day, however, she returned to her family ft comparatively aged woman to find her husband dead. She had been for years a etewaricM on a vessel, and had afterwards gone to a foreign country. Her aged mother is still living in the district, and, enfeebled ac she is, she is constantly expressing wonder if her daughter is really dead. The rest of the family are imploring the prodigal not to see her mother, lest the shock should carry her off And so the daughter, who has been 36 years removed from her mother, dare not acquaint the aged lady of her return. A Wellington telegram states that heavy rain has fallen sinca Friday night. After a two day*' northerly the wind shifted to the south last Bight, bat there w«e no cessation of raia. The Hutt river io flooded bank high. Tha rainfall since Friday night has been 4'o3in. At Petone a fall of 6ia has bsen regiatered. The High Schools Board has appointed Mr Thomas Southey Baker, formerly of French farm, Akaroa, and latterly of Goodwood, to take charge of the boarding eittb'ishment at the Boys' High Pchool. Mr Baker has established the highest reputation both in Canterbury and Otago as a capable and careful housemaster, and the board considers itself very fortunate indeed to have been able to secure his services. At Napier on Monday Mrs Begg was elected a member of the Napier School Committee. A Itavensbouroe correspondent writes that some exoitemunt was caused at the railway station there on Friday on the arrival of the 615 p.m. train from Duuedin, by the discovery of some blood and hair on the wheels of the engine. It was at first feared that an accident had happened to one of those fooluh people who persist in riding on the phtfoms of carriages, .but on search being made it was found, to the relief of all concerned, that a dog had been tun over near Logau's Point, and this accounted for the marks on the engine.

On Saturday Messrs William M'G. Dickson and Alfred North were elected ac members for the Portobello subdivision of the Portobello Road Board. For the Broad Bay subdivision Messrs S. Hink-l«y and J Granger were nominated, and for the North -Eißt Harbour subdivision Messrs R. Milne and C. E. Msrryatt. A poll will ba taken to elest one of those nominated for each of the lusb-named subdivisions on Saturday, May 2.

Passengers for London by the N Z Shipping Company's steamer Kaikoura, leaving Lyttelton next month, should find the trip very interest- | ing, as this steamer is to go through the Straits of Magellan (weather permitting), and will call at Rio de Janeiro, as well as Monte Video and Teneriffe. j In several places in the Cape Colony and ' Orange Free State of South Afrloa (says a Home paper) caves have been explored which yielded hundreds of mummified remains of a queer species of six-fingered monkey. All of the full-grown specimens of this remarkable species of quadrumana have the tail situated high on the back— from 3in to Sin further up than that on the modern monkey — and other distinguishing marks, such as two sets of canine/ teeth, beards on the males, &c. Whether these oreatures were mummified by human beings, who formerly keld them in reverence, or were overtaken by some catastrophe, such as a sadden convulsion of Nature, or a cataclysm which entombed them in their caves, and thus preserved them, is a secret that can never be known. The Taieri Advocate says that the finding of the board which inquired into the railway collision near Waiw«ra mi to the effect tiu&

the driver and guard did not exercise sufficient oare while knowing, as they did, that the special was due, and th*t it m'ghfc have been expected every minute ; while the other officials whose dismissal was decided upon were held to be negligent in not taking extra precautions to prevent the collision, knowing that the trains were approaching from different directions.

Mrs Downie Stewart acknowledges the following subscriptions towards the convalescent fund ] Mrs Lindo Ferguson, £1 1b ; Mrß William Wood, £lls; Mrs K. Ram.say, £1 Is; Mrs Oolquhoun, The Railway department announce several alterations in the time table for the Otago Central railway. . ,