LOCAL & GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2250, 15 April 1897, Page 17

LOCAL & GENERAL.

The proposals submitted by Or Mount at the meeting of the City Council last week with a view to pave the way for the establishment of a free public library met with a short (thrift, the principal objection being the "eternal want of pence" in the corporation chest. The statements that were made as to the condition of the corporation finances were, to say the least of it, not cheering. Cr Gore, -who led the opposition to the proposals, said that the corporation went to the b\d £11,000 last year, and that it was estimated that the deficiency this year would be £10,500. The same councillor indicated that in the course of another year or two it would be necessary for the council to impose an additional rate of 9d or lOd in the pound. Cr Haynes varied his colleague's explanation by stating that, after the municipal account had absorbed the profits from the gas and water departments, the council was going to the bad at least £4000 or £5000 per annum. A meeting of creditors in the estate of William Finlay, circus proprietor, held at the official assignee's office on the 7th, was attended by Mensrs Hordern, White, Reid, Maxwell, and John Edmond. Dr Jeffcoab was examined by Mr Sim in respect of his business transactions with the bankrupt, and ab the close the following resolution was passed :: — •' That in view of the sufficiency of the evidence furnished by Dr Jeffcoab the creditors present do not think it necessary to proceed with the examination of the bankrupt's father." During the furlough of Professor Salmond the mental icience clasiet will be conducted by Mr John Smyth, M.A., who happened fortunately to be available for the purpose. Mr Smyth is a distinguished graduate of the university, was facile princtps of his year in ] mental science, and gained the senior scbolar- ' ship in that subject Giving himself to teaching, he rapidly rose in his profession, and i became head master of the Waimate High j School. It has often been made a matter of j reflection and reproach that so few of our graduates prosecute their studies in later life, or show any enthusiasm for the higher branches of knowledge for their own sake. Mr Smyth in not exposed to this charge ; for, never having abated hii interest in philosophy, he resigned his office at Waimate (to the surprise of many) for no reason but to proceed to Germany and devote himself entirely to its study. He has been absent from the colony for the last year and a-half prosecutinp,his s 1 udies at Heidelberg under the celebrated Kuno Fischer ; and therefore now enters on his temporary duties in a condition of thorough equipment and proficiency. Mr Smyth's case may be taken as a happy premonition that the colony will soon be able to supply its own professors. A cable message in our issue of last week stated that three Australian artists had achieved the honour of having pictures accepted this year by the Paris Salon. It is interesting and gratifying to record that one of the three successful artists is Mr Samuel Hales, a native of Otago, who received hit early instruction in art, as well as in other matters, in Dunedin. Mr Hales exhibited somewhat largely on one occasion in the Otago Art Society's gallery, but for the past three years has devoted himself seriously to the study of aris , in the French metropolis. Tha intelligence of the success which he has achieved ab an early period in his life will be, received with keen delight by his friends here. Messrs Thomson, Bridger, and Co., of Dun- , edin, are the successful tenderers for* the purchase of the stock-in-trade of Walter Guthrie and Co., Limited (in liquidation). Miss Ethel Rebecca Benjamin, LL.B , was ; on Tuesday admitted by his Honor Mr Justice • Williams as a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of New Zealand. j A great sensation has been caused at Newcastle, New South Wales, by the conduct of a recently-released criminal, who openly avowed bis intention of murdering a resident of the dis- J trict It seems that in 1891 the man in question was sentenced to a long term of imprisonment on a charge of having aisaulted one of his' pupils, a girl of the age of 15 years. When convicted he avowed in court that when released he would murder the prosecutrix, who, he swore, had given false evide.net> agaicsb him. Frequently while undergoing imprisonment he repeated the threat, and at one period the matter so affected him that it was deemed de- I sirable to have him confined in a lunatic asylum for some months. Upon the -completion of ■ bis sentence, the authorities, to secure the ■afety of the woman, shipped him t'j Brisbane' on a promise that he would immediately leave for Thursday Island. Nothing was heard of him for some time after his arrival in Brisbane, but it now transpire* that immediately after reaching that city he started to walk back to New South Wales. Arriving at a village between Armidale and Tamworth, where the alleged offence was committed, he began to make diligent inquiries respecting the whereabout* of the woman. He eren waited upon her relatives, who naturally declined to give him any information. He, however, ascertained that she was married and residing in Hamilton, whereupon he resumed bis tramp to Newcastle. The police took steps to have the woman's house watched day and night. On the 26th ult. the man appeared at the house, and was at once taken into custody. He admitted to Sub-inspector Saunders that his mission in Newcastle was to murder the woman, and he asserted that even if he had now to serve another term of imprisonment he Trould eventually take her life. He said, however, that he did not intend to shoot her on the occasion of his firsb visit, his object being first to give her an opportunity of openly acknowledging that she had committed perjury. If she declined to do that he had fully determined to shoot her and then do away with himself. A summons was issued on the Bth calling upon Ihe liquidators of the Colonial Bank to appe»r before Mr Justice Williams on Friday to show cause why Mr John Batger should nob be discharged from the obligation created by an agreement of the 24th February last between himself and the liquidators of the Col mial Bank to purchase the securities of Mr Ward's debt to the bank, and why the deposit of £400 should not be returned. The grounds of the application are that the liquidators are unable to carry out the agreement, and that, all the circumstances having now changed, it would not be equitable to hold Mr Batger bound by the agreement. In the course of a discussion at the meeting of the Harbour Board on Thursday afternoon, Mr Mackerras mentioned that, under the authority of the board, the Finance Committee had placed the board's offices under offer to the Education Board at a sum, and said the committee of the latter body had promised to recommend the acceptance of the offer. Mr Joel said he did not tee what advantage the Harbour Board was fc& gain by the transaction unless it was to get other offices at a cheaper figure. Dr Jeffcoat had a marvellous eioape on Thursday afternoon from a very serious accident.

While he was being driven down Princes street the horse in his buggy took fright and dashed for the corner of Dowliug street. There were several people about the crossing at the time, bub the driver succeeded in steering the vehicle j clear of these. The horse then executed v wide turn, and, the wheels striking the kerbstone, the trap was thrown over on its side, and Dr Jeffcoat and the driver were violently projected on to the pavement, narrowly missing being impaled on one of the rows of iroa spikes which surmount the ledges outsjde the windows on the ground floor of the A.M. P. Building. The occupants were both a good deal shaken, but both escaped practically uninjured otherwise, for, while Dr Jeffcoab sustained a cut on the back of his hand, the driver was promptly up and in pursuit of the horse, which Mr F. Meenan stopped pluckily in Dowling street near the City Hall. The splashboard of the buggy was smashed in two, and that was the principal damage to the vehicle. Hongkong papers to«hand by the Eastern mail stata that the Spaniards are meeting with stubborn resistance from fche insurgents at the Philippines. The rebels harass the royalist troops by attacking convoys of ammunition and stores going to the front. The Spanish Government have been asked to send 8000 additional troops. Large numbers cf native troops are joining the rebels, who have plentiful supplies of firearms. j The time for receiving applications for claiirs , for old age pension certificates has been I extended ta July 31. A largely attended meeting of fche directors of the Caledcniau Society was held on Thursday, •Mr W. D. Milne being in the chair. Apologies were received from the President (Mr C. F. Greenslade) and Messrs Miller and Hancock. The report of the Finance Committee disclosed { a satisfactory state of matters financially, and , it waß considered as a matter for congratulation by the directors to learn that the whole of the society's debentures had been paid off. The j Entertainment Committee reported that it had i been found impossible to carry out the arraugej ments for a midwinter gathering iv the new Agricultural Hall, and recommnnded that a ball be held on May 21 in the Garrison Hall. This suggestion was adopted, and sub-commit-tees were appointed to carry out the details on an extensive scale. The Caledonian ball premises, as heretofore, to be one of the events of the season. The s.s. Rimutaka, of the New Zealand Shipping Company's Hue, has been fitted in London with a powerful electric searchlight — similar to those on her Majesty's ships — for use when going through Magellan Straits at night. The passage through those wonderful straits will thus be made more interesting to passengers by the Rimutaka. A meeting of law students and others was held in the judge's chamber room on Wednesday evening, 7tb, for the purpose of forming a law students' debating society. Mr J. F. M. Fraser occupied the chair, and in addressing the meeting expressed the pleasure he had iv presiding. He s&id that at the present day it was more than ever an essential qualification of a. good lawyer that, he should be a good speaker Those, therefore, intending to qualify for the legal profession would derive great benefit by ! joining this proposed society. He also pointed • out that the good to be derived from the eociety aud the success to be acQieved by it would be measured by the spirit and enthusiasm of its members. He therefore hoped each member would endeavour to make the society as successful and useful as it ought to I be. After a resolution had been passed forming the society, rules were drawn up, and the following office-bearers were elected : — President, His Honor Mr Justioe i Williams ; vice-presidents, Messrs J. F. M. ' Fraser and W. A Sim ; secretary and treasurer, Mr A. H. Tonkinson ; committee — Messrs W. . Allan, D. Cooke, C.J.Payne, and W G. Riddell. ! The opening meeting of the society is to be held on the s'h May, when a lecture will be de- ! livered by one of the leading members of the profession. I A case interesting to friendly societies was commenced in tho S.M. Court at Timaru on Thursday. Some years ago the friendly societies in Timaru combined to establish a dispensary, putting in a capital of 15s per member, and paying an annual levy per member for the carrying on of the institution. At first this levy was 6j a year, but thin proved insufficient, and in 1890 it was made 10*, and in sub- | sequent years 9s. Last June the Druids society ' withdrew, and was repaid the balance of its ( capital advanced, nothing being said of any other claim. In September, three months after retirement, a claim was made for the first time for a share of the accumulated profits which, according to the June balance sheeb, were shown in excess of liabilities to be £765, the Druids claiming £141 as their share. Plaintiffs' chief witness said these profits accumulated through excessive quarterly levies, and plaintiffs' case waa concluded, and counsel for the defendant dispensary board moved for a nonsuit on various grounds. The case was then adjourned for a week for a reply. A special meeting of the Auckland presbytery wa^ held on Thursday t:> deal with business of a private nature It appears a motion, the outcome of the recent trouble in connection with the call to the Rev. J. Milne to St. Andrew's Church, was tabled, calling upon the whole of the elders of the session to resign their seats on the presbytery. After a warm discussion, the motion was negatived by one vote, the elders refusiug to accede to tha request of a section of the congregation, a letter being read to that effect. Ib is understood the aggrieved members in the congregation — namely, the portion who were in favour of the Rev. Mr Milne's appointment to St. Andrew's, will make a further endeavour to get the elders to resign. The directors of the Mutual Agency Company (Limited) have entered into a provisional agreement with Messrs Dalgety and Co. (Limited) for the sale of the premises and business of the former company as a going concern. A man named John O'Brien, aged 46 years, a native of County Kerry, was found dead in bed on Friday morning at the Imperial Hotel, Oamaru. The Mail reports that ab the inquest a verdict was returned tbab death was due to heart disease. The trout fishing season has been extended to the 22nd April. Up to the present 500 students have been enrolled for the Technical Classes Association session. The first meeting of the Executive of the Retailers' Association was held on Friday morning. It was resolved to recommend to the members that Good Friday and Easter Monday !be observed as whole holidays. A permanent , holiday list was prepared for presentation at the next general meeting, and was as follows :—: — January 1 and 2, February races — Cup Day from noon, Good Friday. Easter Monday, March 23 (Anniversary Day), May 24 (Queen's Birthday), November 9 (Prince of Wales's ' Birthday), the People's Show Day in November

rom noon, Christmas Day, and Boxing Day. Consideration of the Record Reign holidays was postponed to next meeting. The Secretary reported that several new members had joined since last meeting. Wo have been shown a little invention which will bring joy to many a lover of the p'po. The inventor is an old Otago resident, and it is to be brought out by a Dunedin llrm. The invention is called "Colonel Morris's Pocket Tobacco Cutter." lustend ot the present laborious process of slowly whittliug a plug with a blunt knife and cutting it into lumps, then catching the pieces and imprisoning them in the palm of the hand — a process which lasts five or six minutes and entails the loss of much tooacco, — now all that will be necessary is to take this little machine from the pocket, and, placing it in the left hand, give three or four turns of the handle, and in less than half a minute there lies a pipeful of tobacco beautifully cut. The plug is kept in the machine ready for cutting in a metal case, which keeps it clean in tho pocket. The whole apparatus is but 4in in length, and weighs 4oz only, so that it can be carried in the waisccoat pocket. The invention supplies a great want, more especially as it can be used even wjen riding or driving without dropping tli9 reins. Particulars are giveinin another column of the meetings to be held in connection with the approaching South Island Prohibition Convention. The sessions are to extend over Good Friday, Saturday, and Easter Monday, and a large attendance is anticipated. About 30 delegates are to attend from Canterbury and a number from Invercargill and Gore. A social evening is to be held on the Friday evening, and public meetingi in the Garrison Hall on Sunday and Mouuay nights. Tha prohibitionists intend to show that they are still alive and ia full vigour. Mr Edmund Garrett, the editor of the Cape Times, in his story of "Tae Jameson Raid" (Constable), recounts a number of incidents which seem to have escaped record in the English newspapers. One ot these is almost incredible. When the raiders left Pitsani "an essential part of the plau was the cutting of the telegraph wire. ' Secure telegraph office silence,' as one of the cipher telegrams puts it. Aud one wire was cur, sure enough. The southward wire to the colony was cue south of Pitsani, and again south of Mafeking. Bub the really important wire, running to Pretoria by way of Zserusb and Ruscenburg, was not cut, by reason of the trooper who was sent to cut it being, in plain words, drunk. . . . He was to cut the wire in two places, so many yards apart, take it so far into tho veldt, aud bury it so deep. He did out a certain wire . . . but the wire he cut was that of a peaceful railing by which a farmer kept his cows in. Then with a good conscience h'; reeled back." It was thus the Boers heard next day that Dr Jim had started, A story of fiendish cruelty which equals anything in the records of barbarism is reported from Russia by the Daily News Berliu correspondent, the village of Bolsche Kossulsk, near Tomsk, on the great road to Siberia, a smith named Temljakoff, who believed his wife to be unfaithful, determined to punish her. He dragged her to the smithy, tied her to the ahoeing-post by her long plaits of hair, and began to fix to her feet iron shoes which he had specially prepared for her. While h« was at his awful work, driving with heavy blows the iron nails into the flesh, the tortured woman bacame insensible. The task done, he left the smithy to get some brandy, and in the meantime the couple's thirteen-year-old son slipped away to summon the peasants of the village. Before the neighbours cauld arrive, however, this human devil had stabbed the unconscious woman on the neck and shoulders with a penknife, that she might escape no part of her terrible agony. Temljakoff was arrested, but liberated after two days, and thu3 the matter seems to have ended. " Constant Reader," writing on ths question of Mr Babger's proposed purchase of Mr Ward's liability co the Colonial Bank, says : "I have heard several persons this morning regret tha', a list and estimated value in detail of the securities the Colonial Bank propose to transfer to Mr Batger have not bsen published. Mr Mackenzie stated, I think, that they had securities for the £55,150 and Nelson's shares for the £16,000, these two amounts total £71,150. The request of the liquidators is, if I understand it rightly, to accept from Mr B*tger the sum of £8500 as lettlement of the liability of £71 150, Mr Batger receiving all the assets the liquidators now hold. What the public want to see is the list of these securities, and the estimated value in detail. I would ask you to get this information and let us see and judge for ourselves of the value of the securities." — [We have made application to the liquidators for the information, but they decline to furnish it. — Ed.] The number of students enrolled at the Technical School this session for the various classes already exceeds 550, and provision has had to be made to appoint extra teacbe s. The necessity for increased accommodation is greatly felt, and the efforts of the committee to provide for so many pupils deserve the support of the commuuity. The Minister for Education is believed to be a strong friend of the movement for extending the scope and efficiency of the technical schools of the colony. A man named Thomas Barrett was arrested by the detectives on Sunday on a charge of the larceny of some harness belonging to Mr Bunbury, of Pine Hill. It is only a few weeks since Barrett was liberated from gaol, on the ground of increasing blindness, after having served several years out of a term of 10 years' penal servitude to which he had been sentenced for maliciously wounding a neighbour at Pino Hill. Mr Robert Chapman (father of Mr C. R. Chapman), who, despite his advanced age, has been in the habit of walking regularly to the post office, was seized with a fit on Saturday morning. Feeling unwell, he called a cab, but> he had barely taken his seat when the fit cams on. He was at once taken to his residence, where he received medical attention, and we learn that yesterday he was making satisfactory progress. The Government will obtain possession of the Toko-rahi estate on the Ist of May next. It will be divided into 38 farms from- 653 acres to 5 acres and the rents will range from 4s to lls per acre, except some allotments near the railway station, which are valued from 17s to £1. The land will be opened for application on 11th May and the ballot will be held on the 14th of the same month. Mr James Fairbairn, while walking on the Tomahawk b^ach on Saturday, picked up a bottle, in which on examination was found a leaf torn from a pocket-book, with the following written in pencil : — " Log room. Dropped from the Night Hawk in Sargossa Sea. Crew suffering from scurvy. Captain dead. Tiller smashed by excessive seaweed. Don't hold out any hopes of being saved. Sighted the ship Maria Van Diemen, bound north-north-west. Failed to receive attention. (Signed) First Mate Diggins (apparently). 17th October, 1881." Ttie paper lias a rather ancient-

looking appearance, while thn oorlt m the bottle xtti* somewhat deoayed. Thera is every reason to believe that the affair is one of those aeiinu/MS hoaxes which some individuals delight; in perpetrating. At the Nelson Charitable Aid B^ard meeting on Tuesday, 6lb, letters from ladies renident at; Motueka were .read, in which appeals were made on behalf of a family living in that locality. It watt stated that ths children roamed about the place, never attending school, and that they were apparently insufficiently fed, and, indeed, they had been seen eating raw fish and vegetables. One of the members said that the father oould earn a good living, but there was neither a chair nor table in their house, and oDly a few rags for bedding, while the only cooking utensil was an iron pot. He said he never raw such a case of destitution in his life, and he blamed the parents for it. The Timaru Main School Committee made a net profit of £73 on a hobby show organised by Mr Juhnsou (the head master) and Mim Johnson. At the close of its term the committee had £94 to iis credit. An extraordinary crime was perpetrated at Olympia, London, on 25th February forenoon, having its origin, as is believed, in professional jsalousy. The management , have secured the | services of a corps of French lady oycliats, between whom and their English professional ! si-tsrs there ha 3up to the present been no outI ward breach of amity. On the date mentioned, however, one of the Eoglish riders, whose name has not transpired, picked a quarrel while the ladies were in the dressing room with Mdlle 1 Eglee, a French rider, whom she accused of having supplanted her. In the course of the ' wrangle the Englishwoman is said to have suddenly jerked from her hair a long hatpin and plugged it .into tha face of the Frenchwoman, who was reported by Dr Simpson, of i West Kensington, to ba ia a precarious condition. The hearing of a charge of libel preferred against John Norton, editor of Sydney Truth, was concluded on the 31st ult. at Sydney, before Mr Justice Stephen, at the Central ' Criminal Court, but the jury, being unable to , agree as to a verdict, were discharged after being locked up for the ni^ht. Tha libel was alleged to have been published in an article in Truth of February 7, commenting upon the character of William Freeman Kitchen Amongst other allegations, the article charged 1 Kitchen with being a wife deserter and a bigamist. Norton pleaded not guilty, and | was therefore not permitted during any stage I of the case to call evidence with a view of establishing the truth of the statements. , Norton did not deny that he wrote the article ; therefore, the only question for the i jury wag, were the allegations contained in the I article defamatory,. The Sydney Morning Herald reporti that recently s woman of 70 year», with the orthodox billy and swag, travelling by herself along the road from Hay to Wilcannia, called at an outstation of Teryawynia and obtained directions, which she mistook. Fepring mishap, the police were aent in search of her, bub she managed, after - a terribln experience of three days of starvation and thirst, to make her way to one of the Government tanks. She bore hardship so well that she just clambered up, helped herself to a mighty drink, and soon afterwards betook herself to the road once more. It certainly is not an everyday accident that has preserved the* life of this poor creature, at three score and teu still wayfariog without that which should accompany old age, and preserved it out of a peril that numbers scores upon scores of victims from among good bushmen and stout fellows. The Supreme Court, Missouri, rendered a. 1 decision on February 20, the effect of which i is to open to women nearly all elective county and State offices in Missouri. Toe decision ; was in the case of the State v. F. P. Hoscetter, olerk of the St. Clairo County Court. Mr was appointed to fill an unexoirpd term, and at' the next election Mrs Maggie D. Wheeler was elected to succeed him. He r<;i fused to surrender the office ou tha ground j that women were ineligible to hold office. The State sued to oust him, and succeeded. The court held in ifci decision that a woman was eligible to hold any elective office in the State which was not specifically barred against her by statute. It developed in the trial of the case that most of the early statutes specifically baling women from holding office had been so changed by amendment or repeal that there { are but few offices in the State to which women ] may not aspire. The solemn season oE Holy Week was inaugurated by special services at St. Paul's Cath'd'al oh Sunday. The cathedral organ, which ha? recently been undergoing thorough restoration, was again in use, although the repairs are not yet completed, and as a result of a special appeal made to the worshippers to ■ furnish the amount required for the restoration ' of the instrument the sum of £145 0s 2d was j on Sunday received in offertories — viz., at the j morning services £87 5j lld, 4 and in the evening £57 14s 3d. After evensong the music of •• The Crucifixion," by Sir J. Stainer, was sung by the cathedral choir, the solo parts being taken by tha following members : — Messrs F. L Jones, Blenkinsopp, Moss, C Dickenson, J. Dickenson, Irwin, Mrs Gerard Robinson, and Miss Vivian. The accompaniments were played in a masterly manner by the cathedral organist | (Mr W. E. Taylor), and the beautiful music was listened to with reverence and attention by a crowded congregation, which joined heartily in I the hymns. The service was repeated on Wednesday evening ; and during Holy Week there will bs daily services, with addresses after evensong. A threshing mill, the property of Mr George Wood, was destroyed by. fire at Wendon on Saturday. The amount of the insurance is not known. , Our Wellington correspondent telegraphs: — "la reference to the Premier's statement that by doing away with the_ Estates Company altogether, which was beine gradually done, there would be a saving of £3000 a year, I learn on good authority that the saving is — (1) in connection with certain license fees which will now not have to be paid ; (2) the cost of the management in London ; and (3) the coat of an attorney in .the colony. If, however, the a§Bets are to be once more merged in the bank the matter may come in for criticism. 1 Applications for certificates Jor old age pension certificates under the Registration of People's Claims Act are coming in slower iv Dunedin than in the other ceutros. Up to the present Mr O'Callaghan, clerk of the Magistrate's Court, bas received 420 olairua. He has set apart Thursdays for. hearing evidence iv support of applications for certificates. A specis^ meeting of the committee of the Technical Classes Association was held in the Normal School ou Monday afternoon, and was attended by Messrs A. Burt (in the chair), W. Cutten, James Hislop, J. Rubin, G. Simpson, G. M. Thomson, N. Y. A". Wales, and D. White. The principal business arose from the I necessity of providing iucreasod accommodation

for th« varlcrcs classes at pr/eseafc being e&r>f»|f oi>, bht: atteudaucu at which baa <J\rffo otttgrowu the rooms and appliances %t the OJppOflfti lit tha committee. The oia««efl hare, now lieen oarxifcd ( oi> for eight yearo under very ooooidprable dls- : advawttgas, and a cofltitmance of the pxmsnt j makeshift arrangements is very undesirable, jfe j was therefore resolved that a sub-corn mHtee, i consisting of Messrs Bqrb, Oohen, Robin, and I Thomson, wnit, on bho Hduoation Board at its , nexb meeting with the objeob of ascertaining j whether that body is prepared to help the association to secure a permanent habitation j The following appointments were made on Iho recommendation of the Appointments Committee i— Mr J. A. M'Nickle, M.A., to be teacher of the physics class ; Mr J. R. Rutherford, 8.A., of the arithmetic olass (via Mr I Gray, appointed vice-priooipal of the Training College) ; and Mr T. R. Contts, 8.A., of the 11 B" English class. Accounts amounting to £16 18s 6d were passed for payment. Bf a Gazette Extraordinary, issued on Monday, Parliament was prorogued to the lOth June. A number of Otago members of both Houses returned by train from the north on Monday evening. With a view to turning the energies of the more able inmates of the Inveroargill Old Men's 1 Home to profitable account, the Southland Hoipital and Oha'ritable Aid Board have resolved " That the board notify that they are purchasers of an area not exceeding 50 acres within a radius of seven miles from Invercargill." I A Bournemouth druggist found himaelf in an awkward predicament recently. His shop adjoins the hall where Judge Philbriok was holding a county court, and his boy was hammering at a window screen. His Honor sent to stop the noise under threat of committal, when tho hammering was again started. A few minutes later his Honor sent for the druggist and committed him to Dorchester Gaol for 48 hours. Overwhelmed by his misfortune, the druggist pleaded hard for leniency, and eventually the judgo relented and told him to go. A most daring feat (says the Wanganui j Chronicle) was accomplished on Monday last ■ by Mr Harry Yeoville Edmonds, of Wellington ! —viz , the aecenb of Mount Egmont with the snow right down to the base. The guide (John Rogers) says he would not go up again this ' year for £10. The climb up took four hours, J and steps had to bo out iv the frozen ice j almost the whole distance. The same procedure had to be adopted coming down. Writing from Cairo to » Wyndham friend, Mr R. M'Nab, ex-M.H.R., says of the bubonic plague :— " I had a long conversation with the Bombay passengers on the Oceana on tha subject of the plague and its likelihood to spread to Australia and New Zealand. They alljtold tho same story, and it is as well to know it, to allay public tear. The disease is engendered by dirt and filth and filthy living. One gentleman, belonging to a mercantile office, had lived all the eight or nine months of the plague in Bombay, and was going Home for a holiday in tha ordinary course. He told me that the whiba population went in and oat to busineis as usual. The greatest interest centred in the 1 cables — in the manner in which outsiders wore treating the disease. The stories of great . crowds leaving Bombay related bo only the | lower class of the natives. The death rate of j the European element had not appreciably ; increased, and the Europeans did not regard it l with one-half the fear they had for smallpox oc cholera." Much amusement wa« afforded ho (foe Federal representatives at Adelaide by a little outside incident. Prior to the Convention meeting members arranged themselves on the lawn to be taken by a local photographer when a rival in lithe profession appenred on the icene- and w;thi out the knowledge of the other took a " snapi shot" of tho group he had josb carefully ; arranged. As soon as he w«b informed of this the first man seizsd his rival by the coat and threatened to smash him aud his camera. Tho delegates laughed heart'ly at the hubbub, and the laughter was tvuewed when the rival photographer snatched the cap from the camera and | threw ib over the fence. Eventually both I appealed to Mr Kingston, and a tempornty 1 truce was arranged, bub when the second photo- ' jrapher wai ready to drop thenhntter th« first, ! vfho was the b'gger man, stood in front of his r.arasr», ruining tho plate, and then straggled i with his rival to prevent him doing the same I while his picture was in progress. At a recant meeting of a debating society at Sunbury-on-Thames one of the membors moved » resolution to the effect — " That it is desirable i that thsre should be cloakrooms in all places of. ! worship for tha comfort of the worahipperj," and in support of bis contention maintained that places of worihip would become far more j popuUr if there were auch cloakrooms, where worshippers could deposit their ooat3, macin- ' toshes, hats, and umbrellas on payment of a small Ccc, and he was smre that the boon would i.c greatly appreciated, especially on web days. IA , the course of a lively discussion another member Buggfs l ed thai; lavatories should alto bo provided in order that the church officials could go into the streets and bring ia ragged and forlorn parsons whom they oould clean and render lib for spiritual devotions. The resolution was carried by a large majority. At a banquet given to Mr Gcschen, Fir&t Lord of the Admiralty, at the Carlton Club, I the right hon. gentleman H&id that; during the j last two years on four, if not five, occasions j British endurance, British coolness, and British organisation had led expeditions undertaken under the greatest difficulties to the most satisfactory and succeesful results* — (Cheers ) Tha honours were shared by men of variou* racae, serving under the stimulating influence of British officers. In Ohitral there w»s_ complete success. In Egypt, uuder Ganeral Kitchrner — (cheers) — and a staff of brilliant officers, there was gained a triumph of British organisation and British physical endnrancs and courage, assisted, as all mast admit, by the courage and steadiness of troops trained by British officers. — (Cheers.) Turning to West Africa, Sir George Goldie, with 20 or 30 British officers and hi* Hausssg, had broken thrt power of one of tho worst of the Arab tyrannies in that direction, and the punitive expedition under Admiral Rawson, seat to avenge the cruel murder of seven white men, had also ' met with complete success, and occupied the city of Benia.-— (Cheer*.) The Government claimed no credit for these succesies. He only claimed them v suocesscs for British organisation, and for the ' power we ponsetn of- training- natives and inspiring them with a belief in oar honesty and fait treatment. — (Cheers.') In the annual roporb of the Wellington Education Board tho following .paragraph appears :—": — " To ereob suitable buddings worthy ot the name of irohools has been quite out of the question. Mero sheila, without paint or lining, hnvo bean aa much aa the board could manage in several instances with its hampered nuances and bank overdraft." I We have received 10s from J.P.P. m a contdb» 1 tion to the Indian famine tund.