OMNIUM GATHERUM

Otago Witness, Issue 2685, 30 August 1905, Page 4

OMNIUM GATHERUM

For tho besi/ model of a humane rabbit- ! trap an English lady has offered, through the Society for the Suppression of Steel Traps, a prizs of £50. The Governor is to lay tho foundation of the. new Beys' College in Nelson on Trafal- j jr?.r Day, 21st October. The export of timber from Greymouth during the month of May was a record. It amounted to 40 million superficial feet. It is understood that about 30 Canterbury College students are implicated in tho recent breaches of discipline complained of by the Professorial Board. In his evidence before the Police Commission at Wellington. Sergeant Cullen smcl he had found opera glasses useful foi i picking out a man on a beat. I Business is very brisk at present at Lime- j stone Island. Auckland. During the week | before last 500 tons of cement and 60 of hydraulic lime were shipped away. Plans for the proposed floating basin, to cost £103,000, l^e been forwarded by the We&tport Harbour Board to the Marino Department, with a request that the work f be authorised. ; Stout and pipes of tobacco were amon^f : the things allowed a 10-year-old girl by her , I parents at Boiton (England). The father,' said ho let the child smoke to cure her ', toothache I It is reported that civil actions are pending against the Christchurcb Tramway Board as the result of accidents caused through the slate of the tramway lines in several parts of tlo city. j An old and esreemed resident of Nelson passed away last week in her ninety -eighth year. Mrs Catherine Stewart arrived in New Zca'and from Edinburgh in the year J 1860, and had resided in Nelson since that year. j A peculiar assault case was heard at Tau- I ranga, when a man wss charged wit;h shik- j ing a clergyman, as the outcome of an argument. The defendant was fined £7 and costs, m ■default a month's imprisonment in Mount Eclen gaol. The prize gn-en annually by the Australasian Institute of Marine Engineers for an essay on m engineering subject, to be j competed for throughout Australia and New ! Zealand, was won this year by Mr H. Con- i rr.di, of Melbourne. f It came ouc during the heading of ci judgment summons cay? at the Magistrate's ' Court. Christchurch, en Thursday, that a money-lender had advanced a man the sum of £55 for two months, for which £1G interest was charged. | The inmates of the Veterans' Home have made arrangements for presenting Lady Constance Knox, daughter of Lord Raniurly, with a w&ddina- present as a slight token of their esteem on the occasion of her j approaching marriage. A telegram from Normanton (Queens-! land) reports that a lad, who had jvs; arrived theie with his parents, was supposed io be suffering from leprosy. Tho bo}\ who is 13 years of age, recently won two junior examinations. The flr.xmDiing industry is going ahead at Otokia, where anothei mill has been started l»y Mr John Keppel. The mill has now been running about a fortnight (says the Taicri Advocate), and is apparently doing a large amount of work. Last week (says the Lake County Press), when things were looking their worst for the Gibbston Coal Company, a seam of splendid coal was struck in the mine. Thp scam is being thoroughly prospected, and gives every promise of permanency. The contractor (Mr Rhodes) for the reerection of tho O'Conn-01l bridge over tl.e Manuherikia Ri\Ci- at Ophir has the work well in hand (saj-s the Alexandra Herald), and it is expected that the structure will be completed in about three weeks' time. The Ashhursl-Pohangina Racing Club has unanimously resolved —"That tho stewards in future pay out the sixpenoes of dividends to investors, and donate fractional parts of sixpences- of dividends to the District Hospital and Charitable Aid Board." In reply to the Gore petition for an extra constable, the Minister of Justice has informed Mr R. M'Nab, M.H.R., that the \ matter has already been under considera- j tion. and ho hopes to station an additional constable at Gore as early as may be con- ; venicnt. Speaking at tho Bible-in-schcols mooting at Milton on Tuesday c^ ening, the Rev^

j P. B. Fraser said he was not in the leaf j afraid that th-e text-book would ever fin its way into the schools, even if the leagu were to engage 50 agents to try to g« .signatures in favour of its introduction. - Biuce Herald A pupil in Standard VI at the Hasting District High School, in describing the elec lion of members to Parliament, wrote : — " Gne man gets top of the list, and goe up on the platform to make a suitabli speech. He finishes his speech, and i carried along to the nearest hotel, when m-en drink h:s health for the next threi year«." It has been stated (says the Western Star I that the reason why the contents of th; ' c.till clisco\ ered at Pahia were so clean giving the appearance of being recentlj usod. was that the owner had been using i bit of emery paper on them prinr Lo offer iug them ro a likely purchaser who v;a ! preparing lor the arKcnt of prohibition ir one of the districts. Tho other morning (says the Opotik Herald), in pursuance of our usual avoca lion of killing time, we strolled into the yard of Mr H. J. Webb, wheelwright, anc found that gentleman at work on a verj stylish buggy. "Who's the buggy for?' we inquired m our customary free and esss style. "Oh." said Mr W ebb, "it's for i Maori — old-age pensioner." Tho Siii«-lctoii grazier, Douglas O. Wad deli, who has been confined in the Darling hurst G-aol since April 11 for refusing t< chscloso to the Official Assignee the natun of certain financial losses, was again befon the Registrar in Bankruptcy at Sydney or the 11th inst. As he still refused to im part the desired information, he- was re turned to h's former custody. At the Magistrate's Court. G.-eymouth, on Monday last, two men named Tliomasen an<j ling w-ere charged with assaulting a man named Hardy, who was injured in a street row. A remand for a week was granted, a= Hardy was in a precarious condition, little hope of his recover}- being entertained. Dr Morico states that -even if the jjian dees recovc- his mental powers will be affected. In fining a man the maximum penalty allowed in the case of a first offence ioV drunkenne-s, Mr R. Alcorn. J.P., said at the Ashburron Magistrate's. Court that th'eiv was no excuse for such intoxication in a prohibition town. He generally exercised leniency in the case of fir?t offenders, Imr, now that open temptation had been removed and there were no licensed hotels afc ths street corners, such consideration was not; warranted, and the accused, a jonng man from Timaru, was mulcted in the full penalty of 20s mid coste. A fraud is alleged to have been practiced on seAcral hotelkeepei's in Chrisxchurch recently. A man entered the bars and called for drinks, tendering what appeared to be a half-sovereign in each case, and for which he received change. TJie coins, however, were found to be gilded Edward VII farthings, dated 1904. The matter was reported to the police, and a man w.t=; arrested by Detective Cox on Tuesday, and charged at tho Magistrate's Ccnrt on Wednesday with the offence. He was remanded till to-day. The other morning (says the Opunake Times) the early risers were rewai'ded by seeing a well-defined mirage in the atmosphere towards Pihania. Those who saw it declared that it was a reflected mirago of a city, the buildings being large, flatroofed, and built of masonry. A few Maor^ who saw the mirage were very anxious as to the prophetic pronouncement of the " castles in the air," the Native mind being suspicious that its appearance foreboded evil influence. The "rising of the sun quickly demolished the vapour city. A Now Zeal.tn.der who arrived by the .Atl-onie fciates that "white men are working at Capetown alongside 'niggers' for 3s p day— a. thing nev?-r known before " It is. he adds, no good going to South Africa without a billot to go to, unless you are a skilled tradesman, or know how to "work niggers." The Chinaman is unskilled labour at _ present, but, unlike the Kaffir, he is quick to learn, and the capitalist is to teach him to fill the place of the skilled whites who still lemain in the mines. Then tho mines will become yellow all through. The evils of juvenile cigarette smoking are attracting attention all ovor Aushaha, find in several of ths States bill* have been in t ro c!u,ccd to Pailiam-ent to re=tiict or to

prohibit the lisa of tobacco, cigars, anc{ cigartiic? by young people. A (south Australia legislator proposes however, to take a very determined step in iho crusade against the cigaiotte habi -. and on August 30 Alderman Ircker is to ino\ c in th-o Assembly — '' Thai tlio Speaker do now lcavo the eh.iir au-cl the House resolve it^e^f into a Committee of tho Whole ior the purpose of considori'ig the following resolution: ' That it -s desirable to introduce a bill for an act to prevent the manufactiu'-e a,nd sale of cigarettes within the State.' "