OMNIUM GATHERUM.

Otago Witness, Issue 2410, 10 May 1900, Page 10

OMNIUM GATHERUM.

, Mr R. Slenhouse. of Lawrence, has been appointed first assist? Nt in one of the Invercargill f-chools.

The output of coal from the mines of the Westport Coal Company (Limited) for the month of April was 25,743 tons 16cwt.

Mr Henry Brcidhead, of Russell street, Dunedin,- has been appointed secretary to the Canterbury Employers' Association.

Mr Donald Wright Malloch has been appointed deputy-registrar of births, deaths, and marriages for the "Waikouaiti district. 'jThe Rev. D. M'Kee Wright, lately of Oam?.ru, has been appointed pastor ot the Congregational Church at Newtown, Wellington.

There are 596 solicitors practising in New Zealand. This gives one to every 1534- ot the population, or one to every 533 male adults. The annual public meeting cf householders at Bannockburn, to appoint a school committee lapsed, only three putting in an appearance.

Sergeant Robert Parby has bsen appointed an inspector of factories for the Middle Island of New Zealand and the islands adjacent thereto.

Accoiding to the Wairarajpa Daily Times, it is the intention of the Government to legislate in the direction of compelling the use of a smaller bag for grain.

A lady who was fishing from the wharf at Auckland, one night lost week, caught a shark, three gurnet, two stingrays, and nine sclmapper in about an hour.

Mr C. Trussell, conductor of the Nelson Garrison Band, lias been appointed judge of the Greymouth band contest, which eventuates on the 23rd and 24th iust.

The Auckland Official Assignee in Bankruptcy has acknowledged the receipt of £63, pent \>y sonic person unknown, " for the benefit of creditors in C. G. Daley's estate."

At the "Wellington Chrysanthemum Show on the 24th a curiosity was shown in the shape of a green chrysanthemum. Curiously enough, it was shown -by -a Mr Dyer. Cyril Victor Gillett, five years of age, residing at Mummell, in -the Goulburn dis trict, gathered mushrooms,- which he cooked and ate. He shortly aflerv/ards died.

At a thanksgiving service- held not, far from Waipawa recently no ifess'than tyro shillings and sixpence out of less than £5 was in defective coins that could not be negotiated. Valentine P. Pfingst, who was iound guilty at the Toowooinba Circuit Court of the manslaughter of his wife at Goondiwindi, has been sentenced to U year-s' penal servitude. It is underblood (says the "Wes.tporl Times) that Mr Tcnnani, inspector of mines, has been instructed by the Government to take steps to extinguish the fire in the Cardiff coal mine.

At Oamaru on tho 2nd, before Air Bisliop, 8.M... David Kelly was awarded £50 damages, with £15 13s cos,is, against I-lugh Ross for an assault commilLed at Awamoko on April 5. A monument erected in TVaverley cemetery (New South Wales) in commenioralion of thoss who PLifferad in the Irish inpurrcction of 1798 %vas unveiled by Dr M'Carthy on April 15.

The Dannevirko correspondent of the Hawke's Bay Herald states that the Taliolaile Natives are emulating the pakeha, and aro moving in the direction of forming a mounted corps'. It is understood (says the We&tport Times) thai a party of 12 miners are negotiating for ihe lease of the Mokihinui coal mine. The men will probably commence operations at an early date. Messrs J. D. M'Lonnan, H. Connolly, L. Murphy, J. Woods, W. Murphy, W. CoUer, W. Barclay, and D. M'Lennan have been elected a school committee for Hawea Flat for the ensuing year. Rala are very plenlifuV-fin Olifton Station,

Waiwera (says the Free Press), just now, and large numbers are being caught by the ptaiion hands. One hundred and fifty were caught one night last week.

Miss Zaidee Mabin, who was instrumental in saving two ladies from drowning at Vfellington some few months ago, has been awarded the New Zealand Humane Society's medal for her bravery. A Crimean vetcr.m, John Gardiner, died in the Napier hospital on Saturday evening, aged 66. lie was late of the 57th Itegimpiit, and for his services in the Crimea held a medal and three clasps. A lad of 10, named Christian Tane. was presented with a silver "medal with gold centre at Auckland last week a:- o recognition of his pluck in lumping eff the breakwater and saving the life of another child.

The Kuriwaq School Committee have recommended Misi Bowal, of .Tapanui, as teacher in place of Miss M'Dcu^alj, who resigned last month to lake charge of the Ashley Downs School. — Chith'a Leader.

The Kaikoura Star says that some wreckage has been' found on the eouUi-pp stern coast (piiitod slated a cabin door (grained), buckets, poop &'ep=, rimu planking (c.irgo), and a 20ft kauri spar .(half finished), with t-arnaeles attached.

The death is aimour.ced of the Rev. T. L. Tudor, ex-vicar of Wanganui, in his eightieth year. The deceased was, on his first arrival in the colony, chaplain to Bishop Selwyu, and subsequently was vicar successively at Motueka, Picton. and Wanganui. An old man named Randall, between 60 and 70 years of asre, v»as found recently at Bendigo in a dtplorab-le a* at a of -filth, and died soon after his removal to the hospital . Nearly £40 was found in his tent, mostly tied up in small parcels and dispersed over the premises. Forty thousand acres of King Country lard have been disposed of during; the past month, and in a few weeks 50,000 acres of mixed forest land will be thrown open, and in •Tan nary a further trace of 60.000 acres of limestone country in Kawhia .County. A parly of grass-seeders working "at Pah Valley. JEketahxma, the other day discovered a eomplole skeleton of a human being (hay? the Express). The head was seme di&ta-ice from the other bones. The leinoius aifoeir to be those of a European, and have probably been bleaching for several years.

Lieutenant Wood*, of the Timoru Port Guards, who recently roceived a rominis-ion in the Lancashire Regiment, left by tlie express on Monday en route fcr South Africa. A number of friends and u comrades assembled at the station to see him off. and as the train moved away gave him lures hearty checr c \ ■ A- ■> shooting fatality is reported from El-more, E-l-more, Yiclorir.. A lad of U, named Ned O'SVanncssj-, v. as sent by Lii employer to draft some cattle, and he took vitli him n double-barrellfd snm. He did not return, ana a _ scorch resulted in hi-; body being found, with the gun besi-Ie it. His brains were blow a out

The Bruce Hew Id records the death of another very old setllcr of Tokorooiriro in the person of 2>hs Matheson. ab the a^e of 80 years. Mrs Mathcwon arrived in the colon y by ibe, ship Ajax on the Bth of January, 1849, and lived at O!ark?ville almost ever since. She leaves a husband, two sons, and a daughter, a fcchool teacher at Gisborne, to mourn her [oss.

An interesting curio from the seat of war was brought into this office on Wednesday [says the New Pljanoutb Daily News). It is a spent dum-dum bullet, which was extracted from the shoulder of a Highlander after a recent encounter with the Boer?. The bullet, which, with its jpgged eda^es, mpasures about 2in in circumference, sti.ll retains the tragic evidence of the destruction dealt. -I- By the_ death of Mr Robert Russell, in his ninety-third year, Melbourne lost iii oldest and best pioneer. The deceased wns popularly known as the father of Melbourne. He arrived in Sydney in 1832, and four years later was dispatched with a survey party to Port Phillip, where he laid out the present city of Melbourne. Recently Parliament granted Mr and Mrs Russell a joint annuity of £52.^* The Rev. H. Brooke was inducted into his new charge at - Queenstown by Bishop Nevill on Wednesday, the 25th, in St. Peter's Church. A fair number were present notwithstanding the inclement weather. Ihe Bishop gave a most eloouent address, taking for his text Ist Corinthians iii, 8. 9, 10, 11. The collection, which wns devoted to the Indian famine fund, amounted to the sum of S3 6s.

I The telegraph office inform us that the British Administration have placed Broomhall's comprehensive cipher code at Aden. It may now bo used generally for telegrams to and from Seychelles, Zanzibar, Mauritius, Madagascar, British and German East Africa, Mcjiambique, and Lorenzo Marquez. The ' Portuguese Administration advise that the prohibition of secret language in telegrams , for Madeira is removed. | When the passengers of the Waikare were JUiarauthied #fc Dunedin they were supjjliecl

with a yellow badge bearing the name of the steamer. On reaching Lyttelton one of the passengers got into a railway carriage which | was inconveniently crowded. The "thought struck him that to display his badge might clear a way for a seat. Accordingly, he acted !on this idea, and the re a ult was a general stampede,, enabling hi m to get a comfortable ■ seat. Mr Martin Hcaneyhad a narrow escape of ber. £ gored to death by a bull one day last; week ( (sij-s the Groin well Times). While crossing a paddock the bull attacked him and ; knocked him dow.n. Fortunately his son was not iar away at the time, and he rushed to his father'.s assistance and beat the infuriated animal off. Had help not been so promptly given, Mr Heaney must have been killed, as the bull ripped his ccat and vest to pieces. , The animal was afterwards shot. ; jff An interesting- relic of the pas f now lies in • an auction room at Napier, in the r.hape of . the first organ ever brought to Hawke's Bay, |if not to New Zealand. The late Rev. Mi- ' Coienso brought it with, him when -he camo to Napier, and it was the only article saved 1 when his house at Wai tan gi was destroyed by _nre, the Maoris risking then lives to rescue it. It' is a true pipe organ, though played by : xurning a handle, on the "hurdy-gurdy" j principle. Notwithstanding its age the tone • is excellent. At the Riverton Presbyterian Church on | Sunday morning the Rev." R. M 'Cully, 8.A., | in the course of his sermon, took exception to j the Slitfisier of Mines visiting the shale works on the^prerious Sobbatb. It did not tend to the due" observance of the Sabbath day, 1 and caused -unnecessary labour in the running of the locomotive and in amateur photography. There were now six sects in, the district, but it was' questionable whether they were further advanced in regard to sacred things than they i v/cra 20 years ago. t It may not be generally known (a corresp ondent of the Timaru Post says) that whilst • in Wellington recently, and pr^or to the dej parture of the. fifth contingent,, the: mother of one of the members of the contingent, having 1 lived and reared her family in a remote part of Westland, whsre t^e services of a clergyman are noc always available; "desired that her son should have the sacred rites of baptism conferred upo-i him. Mrs Scddon, , the wife of the Premier, being acquainted ' with the wish of the mother, at once proceeded to the camp at Newtown, sought out the soldier of the Queen, a young" man of 22 years of age, and had the necessary ceremony performed, Mrs Ssddon acting as godmother. j Owing to ihe dredging and rabbit boomsthere has lately been a considerable increase on the Milton-Lawrence branch line in the j shape of freight.' As a consequence, there I are now three goods trains a daj-, whereas j previously the work on the line vai done by i the two ordinaey trains, and 25 to 30 waggons • are used for freight now, where only seven, \ or eight were required before. — Bruce "Herald. 1 A vpry enicyable social was held in the Hyde Schoolroom last Friday evening in j honour of Mr T. Ramsay, prior to his depar- ! ture for Dunqdin. During the evening" Mr j Dio'-tuon (chairman} read a copy of an address ! which is to he illuminated and framed, and j then foi warded tc Mr Ramsay, i Messrs T. R. Mackay (Balclutha). W. TelI ford (Clifton station), and T. Telford (Otanoj momo station) have (says the Free Press) rej turned from a three weeks' deer shooting ■ expedition in the country around Lake Haj wea. They found the game very plentiful. • but wild, and the country very rough and : mountainous. On one occasion the party, with their guide?, reached an altitude of 69C0ft. Everything has to be packed on horses in that wild region, and the horses | are very clever, carrying their burdens along ; stony faces which man is almost afraid to j follow. They had good sport, smd enjoyed I the rough life immensely. Nine stags fell to the three rifles, one secured by Mr "W. I Telford having a magnificent set of antlers ! showing 15 points — an unusual number, coni -sidering that 12 points constitutes a royal i head. , Complete specifications relating to the unI dermentioned application for letters patent have been accepted, as follows : — Robert Lochheid, Dunedin, an improved flange for copper washing boiler pan 3. Provisional specifications have been accepted with regard to the following applications:— John Kelly and Frank Oakden, Dunedin, improvements in fur- . nace kilns and the like. Percival Young and I William Hogg, Lawrence, a dredpe shoot cleaner. Donald Wood Mackay, Mataura-, an improved machine for . sawing, planing, ' and printing timber. William Beckett Galloway, Palmerston, a portable slanj dard for carrying rails upon which | to hang rabbits. James Wyhe, Maheno, a, now or improved bag ring for attaching to chaff-cutting and bagging machines. Alexander Hamilton Chapman, Kurov.", improved means for treating frozen meat of aill kinds, or chilled meat, while the same is beins . thawed or defrosted* \