OMNIUM GATHERUM.

Otago Witness, Issue 2455, 3 April 1901, Page 2

OMNIUM GATHERUM.

A severe earthquake was felt in and around Orepuki at 2.20 on Thursday morning. A recent issue of the Hairdressers' Chionicle and Trade Journal contains a flattering notice of the spiral hairpin. -\ The Rherton Natives, 'comprising seven families, left fqr the mutton bird islands on Tuesday morning. A female applicant informed the commis: sioner of the Langdale estate that she could reap, plough, and on one occasion had shorn a sheep. An assistant lighthouse-keeper named Andrews, at Cape Moreton (Queensland), was washed off the rocks while fishing, and drowned. Moscow has the largest hospital in Europe, with 7000 beds. There are 96 doctors and 900 nurses, and about 15,000 patients are cared for annually. Mr J. Wyburn, a solicitor, residing at Hawthorn (Victoria), fell from the railway platform pi Camberwell lecently and wa~, run o\er by a train and decapitated. A letter sent to a person residing !n a neighdouring district from a Masterton offie° has just been returned with no less than 21 postal marks printed on the envelope. The Norlb Otago Mounted Rifles -will at tend the Ea«ter camp at Waikouaitj, and the various centingents will proceed to their destination by one of the trains on Thursday, April 4. The Fiee Press, Balclutha, states that Mr Walter Carlton. sawmiller, of Ratanui, formerly of Dunedin, is in a very critical state of health — in fact, so much so that his life is despaired of. The boat which capsized oft Moeraki on the 4-th inst , when the unfortunate fisherman Charles Brett lost his life, was recovered from the sea yesterday by a Mr O'Shannesy, who towed it into Moeraki. At St. Joseph's Cathedral on Sunday Mr Kilburn Heron, a Melbourne tenor, sang the " Cujus Aniinam " from the " Stabat Mater '' (Rossini), while Miss Blaney also sang a solo, with violin obligato by Her Zimmermann. The Sahara is not a barren waste, as is popularly supposed. Not long ago there were 9,000,000 sheep, 2,000,000 goats, and 260,000 camels in the Algerian Sahara alone, and the oases furnish 1,500,000 date palms. A young man named Beattie. while engaged as a marker at the Warwick rifle range (Queensland) on March 16, was shot^in the back of the head, and died instantaneously. The bullet passed through the earth and timber work of the marker's shelter. The Queensland Government have decided not to insure the of the fifth and sixth contingents, and to allow the policies of other contingents now in South Africa to lapse, as it will bs much cheaper to pay the amount of the insurance in cases of death than to pay premiums James Lotton, a butcher, of Briagalong, was killed instantly near Munro station (Vie.) on the 20th inst. At a rrulway crossing he was caught w ith horse and cart in the act of crossing the line. The horse was slishtly injured, but Lotton's head was ter riblv smashed. The Ariadne, which is ashore near Oamarn. is admitted to have been built on lines which are very beautiful, whilst they have so contributed to her speed that she occasionally sailed at the late of 19 knots an hour, and actually beat the P. and U. mail boat on a trin to Gibraltar. Penny postage will come into force in Viotoiia on the Ist prox., but New Zealand let terr will not bo admitted at that rate. The position taken is absurd, but it is stated that th» Federal Pootma*ter-j?eneral must deal with it, as the local authorities cannot depart fiom former practice. A novel sight was witnessed in Stratford (Taranaki) tho other morning — viz . a four bullock team attached to an old mad coach. By thi<> means passengers were being convoyed to and from the racecourse. Amidst the da'-h'ng equipages of the livery .stables the old "turnout" looked comical. In Mr Joachim's evidence gi\en before the Coal Mines Commission on Monday, the snanuooript wa= misread, and Mr Joachim made to =ay that the mine creek seemed to be the "worst" settled giound, m place of the "most" settled ground, in the company's lensf. The Government plantation at Waiotapu i« a-~uming a charming aspect (says the Hot L.ikes Cliionitlc), and will, by nest

tea=on, pros o sr. -idditipnal atlrrction to what is lapidly bci-rmiag a favourite resting place with toui-ist^ e*i route to Wairakei and Taupo. Two Thames iiadesmen were each fined 5s and co">ts at the local Police Court last week for selling ihlorodyne without being duly licensed. The prosecution was on outcome of the late poisoning case at Lower Tararua, a woman ha\iiig committed suicide by drinkirg tM^rodyne. The people cf Tau.rar.ga (observes the Poverty Bay Herald) :.ra indignant at the manner in which the Minister of Lands bolted through their town and district, seeing nobody but a few personal friends, and igr oring the fact that the settlers had ai ranged to interview and entertain him. The Young Men's Christian Associati in are advertising for tmtable rooms for their work. We understand the board cannot see their way clear to entertain -ir.y propo ai to acquire the building of the Young Women's Association, w Inch is to be put up for auction shortly. A child, named Maithti Wlutehead, aged three, was scalded to death in a lemarkable manner at her parents' residence, Burnly, near Melbourne, on tl'e 19th inrt. She took up a teapot fiom a tablo, put the spout in her mouth, and swallowed the boiling contents, dying a few hours 'afterwards. Mr F. Bishop's threshing machine got through what must be almo.-t, if not quite, a Terord in that way (says the Ashburton Mail). Starting at 5.30 a.m.. '3200 bushels of wheat— [part of the yield from a 60-acre paddock on Mr B. Woods's farm — were put through by 6 p.m. The work was done in four shifts. At the Oamaru Police Court- on Wednesday Alexander Aitcheson was fined £2 and cocts on a charge of breaking an insulator on the telegraph line. Mr Bagehaw, of the Telegraph department, deposed that within the last six weeks he had had to put up 310 insulator« to repair breakages, at a total cost of £31 7s. The Westport Times learns from Wellington that the Government have practically decided to lease the Cardiff coal mine at Seddon\ille to Messrs Lomas and party, the co-operative party now workine- the old Mokihinui mine. Work will be started in a fortnight, and operations in both mines will be carried on together. The power-house at Okere Falls, near Lake Rotoiti. is completed. The only work to be done now is the cutting of races into the river, and the erection of machinery for lifting and closing the gates. Before the end of the month the lighting of Rotorua b> electricity (=aya the Hot Lake 3 Chronicle) should be an accomplished fact. Melbourne po=tmen aie reported to dread the arrival of the New Zealand mail. A large number of the letters and papers posted m New Zealand bear only the jSenny stamp These are surcharged on arrival at Melbourne, and the trouble the postmen hasc ia collecting the deficient postage and fine is heartrending At the Broken Hill Police Court on March 6 a man named Paul Barron. known a« "' The Parisian Healer," was fined -G2O, m default four months' imprisonment, for committing a breach of the Medical Act in publicly announcing that ho would heal patients at the Royal Hotel, and neglecting to post his name outside the hotel. The Greymouth police received word on Monday that the body of a man was found at the Otira, buried about 2ft deep. The body eiidently had been interred for a long time, a- only the bones and the clothes woig left. It is surmised that it is the body of a man who was drowned in that locality some years ago. An unclaimed a^et was mentioned at the Old a-ge Pen-ion Court in Lyttelton on Wednesday. A claimant foi a pension, when asked if he had no money, admitted that he had. in the Savings Bank, tenpence, which had been lying theie for about 20 yeais. The magistrate recommended him to draw it out and spend it in tobacco ov a glass or two ot beer. A boy named Percy Muleonry, aged 15, met with a fatal an idem in litzroy (Vie.) on the 19th inst While coasting down a slope at a speed of about 14- or 15 milc^ an hour lie lan into a horoe and buggy in tiying to u\oid a tram, fiaeluiiiiji his skull and injuring his abdomen. A veuhct of accidental death was loturned at 4 lie inquest. A splendid eruptum of tha now goj~ci

I near Edio Lake took place aboi.t 7.;0 on iloiiclay iroii.iiM (-->:• - the Rotorua C'Lionirlc). The Mbi\.ticns wcic felt .it Yv'aiota\ju. ri-.d horn a li'H ,-l t\c back <.t tLo lmtol tho clo'id jjioicnii; nluian of see i.ti \ae lilair.ly m lh'o A l n ~5~ 5 \iolent crupdon c\>rii'.g tb.e uttriuci n wa 3 al o scon fiom tho «amc \ant.'gc -pet Thomas Faatcr. of aged 15, died i'l the Melbourne Hospital on the 16th jiiFt. as the result of p c ad tlioot-uisf cccident. The l<ul vas playing v, ith two bny 5 named Pullpr and Burnley, when ono of them, aged 13, pointed the re'iohei at him, the weapon exploding and the bullet enteimg Fauter's brain. The revoher had lx-cn loaded by Mr Puller, who was not aware his hons played, with it. A helpless infant was attacked by throe pig, at Barmah (^"ictoria) recently, and but for the timely interference of its mother would probably have lost its life The mother, attracted by the child's cries, had great difficulty in dri 1 ing the p'gs off, and it was found that, in pclc'ition to s-G\ora scalp wounds, one ear had been bitten ofr the child, while se\eral fingers were nearly bitten off one hand. The Clutlia Encr Board has (says the Leader) arranged with Mr Leslie H. Reynoldo, marine, engineer, to survey and chart the month of the Molvncux River and up to the Matau branch The effect of this will be that steamers or other vessels enteringthe port can be insured, and it is expected that considerjble coastal traffic in coal and prodrre of various kinds v ill result. Tb.o Wtumato "Witness says: — " Tliera. seems \ cry little probability of the snow clearing from Mount Egmont thi3 season sufficiently to allow tourists to reach the summit. If this should pro^e to be the case, a resident informs uO,u 0 , it will be the fhsfc time in seven years that such, has occurred. This may give some idea R'i to the amount of summer we ha^e had in comparison to other years. A correspondent m a position to =prole authoritatively on suc'i matters tells the Bay of Plenty Timers that p gieat chan2e has come over the Maoris during tho last few years in connection with the drinking of intoxicatingliquors. The old custom of mm-drinking ha? almost disappeared, ond now draug'-t beerTS the principal tipp'e of the commoner, tho chief taking kind'y to the more anptceratic bottled ale. Mr A. G Cole, reprcsenhrg a well-known Sydney firm of timber merchants, ha- been in Hokitika, (saj-s the West Coast Time?) making arrangements for shinping Ln-ge cjuantitie^ of white pine to Australia A- a result of Ms vNit \csscls arp hkely to load at Hokitika with cargoes of timber for Australian port;-. The denii.nd for w lute pine is mcrca-mg. and there is good pro-nccl of a large liusine=s Ijeing done in this com cct.on in the near future. Me=..-rs A. a"id T. Bart (Limited', Dunedin, ha^e vast i eten ed< cab'e a r^"ce Ihnt Messrs Ruston, Proctor, and Co.. the wellknov n makeri. of diedoer engineb and boilers, have secured the " (-liand Pn\ " for their manvifactures r I Par s Um\ ersal Exhibition, 1900. This co\cted honour 15 competed for cry kcen'y amonatft the Homompnufacufers, and Messrs Ruston, Proctor, and Co. may bo congratulated on their success. Mr Sutherland, tobacco export, is in the Hamilton district (says the correspondent of the Auckland Star). He leparts fa\otrrabV on land of certain c'asse.i for the growth of plug tobacco, but states that the crop is a. troublesome one, and settlers could not be expected to give up an industry like dairviner in its favour. The district r.ort'i cf Auckland is well suited to grow Cigar-leaf and tobacco for curing : but the neoplc know nothingwhatever of curing He purpose 1 ? issuing :i> pamphlet dea me with the growth and curing at an early c\ite. Me?-rs Hcftems Bros., of Mauriceville. near Eketahuna, are prosnecting for ccal on their property in a \ery deterinincd and systematic manner They have (says a local paper) sunk a shaft, which is now clown a depth of 70ft. They struck a c eam of coal 15ft down, 2ft 6ui thick, when 26ft down anothei seam was s-truck. 2ft 9in thick, and when 47ft down a third seam (16in) was cut through. They are now driving a tunnel to rrot-scut those seam=. The coal, though not of fir-t-clnv-v qualit}-, is a \ cry good household coal, and Aery much better than the ordinary lignite. The life-saving niiphancr? of the Capetown Fire dci,artnen( — the largest and bestequipped in South Amor—' mo recently received p valuable addition in the form of a i>ew fire escape of the Mcuyweather telcscofiic pattern. This i? fitte'l on a four wheeled carnage, con3i-,ts of four ladder.- — one main .T.d three shdinp — capable of being rai.-ocl to a height of 80ft, and is provided with a water tower and special fittings. Considering the large number of important buildinss m Capetown, this latest acquisition should prove a most valuable one The Southland Times say, that in leqard to th^ vacancy oausad in the Conciliation Board by the retirement of Mr J A. Millar, M H.R., J\lr J. A. Hanan, member for Imorc?rgill, wired the Premier pointing out that Invercargill wa3 not represented upon the board. Mr Hanan thought that Invercargill's position should receive so.ne coruidcratio'i when Mr Millar's successor wa° being appomred, and consequently communicated with the Premier oi the tubject, fiom whom ho ie r ci\ccl the following reply:— "Tl-e union* hasp to fleet .a successor to Mr Millar. rlher lhe NoulLland unions should to the matter and make leprescntations to other unions- and localities represented." At fie MngKtratp'^ Com I at Reefton, before Mr R. S Haw km-, « M.. ono AVal.sli. m o'd age pensioner was conMcted and fined £5 on r\ chaige of lipmiib wi'fu'.ly made a, false statement to obtain a pension ceitificatc. The pensioner was p. mod to have considerably understated hi* income in the income and piopcrty ttitei.^nt under section 35 of the act. The maqi-tiate. in Mew of the fact that there had been no prewous coimction on this act, and the geneial chaiacter and circumstances of the applicant, did not imprison, but intimated that in future it wa* his duty to inflict imprisonment The power of the act is to imprison foi six months, with or without hard labour. On Saturday last the employees of Me^r=. U. and T. Young held a picnic at the summer residence of Mr T G. Young The party, numbeunq alaout 20. met at the Dunedm station at 9 o'clock, and proceeded by excursion ham to Wamngton, arming at 11. After games of quint's and croquet, they adlourncd to the dining room, whcie an (\crllent repast was piovideJ.* The weather beingperfect, the cameia was neatly in nuieinc, and \anous games weie indulged in. Aftoinoon tea wps pro\ided by Mis Yoiirnr, I olio we cr by a nflc-'-hooting competiti"ii. Throughout the day the v hole of the paity weio mtwt sociable, ami at the iIo-t of tno day Mr Poar-on. on bcl-alf of tho omplojre*, tl.anked >tr and Mrs Young for their h-)~ pitjhtv Mr Yd.i'W lcsnondnl, and ex-pie-,ed a w i-U liiat tlio *&M£ felioidd be a3 anaual ono^