LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 688, 6 May 1879, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

We regret to hear that the long Bummer drought, from which we have aU »ujffe£ ed so severely, has told 'seriously upon the houey harvest. The "little busy bee" has not been able to "improve the shining hour, m gathering honey all the day, from every opening flower," because the flower has preserved very little of tile necessary nectar, due to want of moisture. Mr. J. U'Ren's harvest this season has been a very poor one indeed, although the honey is of a very superior quality— little of it, but that of the very best. Jam making has also proved a failure, there having been, very little fruit, and that, unlike thenoney, of very inferior quality, The 'making of pickles m Gisborne for the market has not yet been tried upon a sufficient scale ; not that we cannot grow vegetables of the finest quality, and m infiuite variety ; not that we cannot make as good vinegar at as cheap a rate as it can be made elsewhere. Where, then, is the drawback? We will explain. People m Gisborue, as with people m other parts of the Colony, will not use pickles unless they come to them m fancy bottles, with elegaut lithographed labels and handsome metallic capsules. Well, we can make pickles cheap enough m any quantity and m the greatest variety, but we cannot make bottles, nor get labels done sufficiently artistic, nor can we get expensively prepared capsules. We could send out inexpensive earthen jars (made m Auckland) with a plain, simple label— and we can print plain labels cheap enough. Would it not be as well if, for once m a way, people would give up their silly prejudices, and undertake to patronise locally made pickles, without insisting upon the fine %rt elegancies of the outside dressing of the bottles, and without the copperas m the inside mixtures. It is an industry which would stimulate the market gardener, and give profitable employment to those engaged m the business.' It does* seem to us surpassing strange that we should send to England for pickled onions, made artificially white, and cucumbers and gherkins made artificially green, when they might be had fresh and pure m a more natural state by our own makers. An effort is being made . to establish a local Sash and Door Company m Gisborne. We have every hope that the effort will 'prove successful. We do not see why, by the aid of machinery and proper appliances, we should not be able to make doors and sashes, instead of monthly sending money out of the place to Auckland and Dunedin. We have the same command of material ; skilled labour is easily procurable, and the one only thing wanted is the necessary capital, which, m the present depressed state of the money market, may possibly ' retard the enterprise for the present. Still the capital required will not be very large, while the returns will be certain ; for there is a continually-increasing demand for all sorts of house-joinery, which, while it can be manufactured cheap, will yet leave a large margin of profit. The names we have seen willing to go m for the enterprise are those of good business men — men who do not go m for a venture unless they see their way quite clear ahead. And so we hope ere long to report a sash and door company m full operation m our midst, Wi Hikairo, native assessor, Mr. Locke, and several others, arrived iv town from Tologa Bay yesterday, making the journey overland. Judge Symonds and staff may be expected early by the Rosina. An attempt was made to get the steamer out ou Sunday afternoon, but she stuck on the bar, and the passengers bad to be landed m boats.

We have much pleasure iv drawing the attention of the music-loving public to the very excellent programme (published m our columns) of the concert to be given on Saturday evening next, m aid of the Giaborne Rowing Club. It will be seen that the Rifle Band have kindly ofiered their services, ana as they have been for some time practising some new music their appearance once more before the public may be looked forward to with interest. As so many well-known names appear as well on the list, we may expect to have an exceptionable treat, and as the prices of admission are within the reach of all,' we hope to see a bumper house. We are now credibly informed that no Native Land Court will be held tot Maka-; raka on thelOth inst. ' Judge Symonds has received a summons*,- calling' him tiiway to the Middle Island, to take part m some settlement of disputed land sold by the natives to the New Zealand Government as far back as the year 1842. This adjournment of the Court for two months longer, as we are told, will' cause great loss to the natives who have come from the Mahia, Wairoa, and Opotiki to establish certain of their claims. These natives, most of whom, having no money, must either go without the absolute necessaries of life or sponge upon their 'friends and relatives, many as needy as themselves. If anything more than another causes serious dissatisfaction among the native tribes, it is these vexatious postponements, of which no trouble has been taken by the authorities to inform them. Judge Symonds is very angry at being called away at such a critical period, but it appears he has to submit to the summons which he has received. ■ A public meeting convened by Mr. J. Towuley, for the purpose of electing a local committee to undertake the duties of collecting and forwarding exhibits from Poverty Bay to the Sydney International Exhibition, was held last night at the Old Government-buildings. There Was not a large attendance, owing, no doubt, to the various other meetings held the same evening. Among those who were present we noticed Messrs. Dickson, Sherriff, Piesse, Townley, Ross, Bullock, Whinray, Ledger, and Ebling. On the motion or Mr. J. Townley, seconded by Mr. Ledger, Mr. A. 8. Ross was voted to the chair. The chairman explained the objects' for which the meeting was called, and said it was ; desirable that a comuu'ttee be appointed by ; those y ho Were sufficiently -interested m having 'the industries of the Poverty Bay district well represented. They had had communications from the President of the New Zealand Commissioners (Sir Hercules Robinson), requesting that the necessary steps be at once taken, and they had received several printed forms of Application for space, and classification of objects intended for exhibit, which can be obtained from the Town Clerk. He might mention, also, that as m the oase of the Timarn Committee, if one were' appointed here, they, were entitled to a grant of £15 to cover incidental expenses. Though there were not many at' that meeting, yet something ought to be done by them if they did not wish the whole matter to fall through. After some discussion, and several propositions being made, it was proposed by Mr. Townley, and seconded by Mr. Ledger, and carried, "That this meeting adjourn for cue week, and- that His Worship the Mayor and the Chairman of the Cook County conjointly call such adjourned, public meeting. The Lyttelton Times says :— "lt will be remembered that a witness for the prosecution m a recent case at the Supreme Court was. seyerety reprimanded by his Honor Mr. Justice Johnson for having offered to make a bet on the result of the trial. The wituess 'liad ■no Opportunity of 'explaining the circumstances under which 'nenad made the offer, and the probability .is that had he been able to do so hia Honor's censure would not 'have been so severe. It appears that .after the witness had given hia evidence, and ,wben, therefore, the fact of his being interested m a bet upon' the result could not. bias his testimony, he was chaffingly told by a bystander that the accused would not be convicted. On the spur of the moment he expressed his opinion on the matter m the not unusual form of • I'll bet you five to one he will.' This being heard by a" friend of the accused was at once reported to the learned counsel for the defence, who had him placed m the box, where he at once admitted that he had ofiered to bet, but did not. state either the time or the place where he. had done 80." Under the heading of "A Contrast, ". the Manawatu Herald has the following : — " Mr. Patriok Kelly appeared at the R. M. Court on Wednesday last as plaintiff. When the case was called on he got into the witness-box, and directly the defendant disputed a few items, Mr. Kelly at once said, • Well, strike them out. 1 only want my money.' Turning to the Court, he said, 'Your Honour, this is the first time m my life I entered a Court ; m fact, 1 am not fit to speak to gentlemen, because I fly into a passion directly a man says a crooked word to me, 1 One cannot help contrasting Patrick with a schoolmaster named Eve'riss, down at Wellington. This individual has been tried by a local committee at Wellington for insulting some lady teachers m his school, and shaking his fist m the face of one of them. He does not seem to have as bad an opinion of himself as Patrick, for he remarked the following m the course of his speech :— ' As to his having a bad temper, every one had it more or less, and he was.no exception. He most emphatically denied that his will was under no* control. His will was strong, but it was under the control of his Heavenly Father.' Notwithstanding the ignorant ' cant ' about this schoolmaster, Everiss, no one reading the evidence can doubt that his will is not 'controlled' to a proper extent, and any sensible man would sooner stand the blunt and rough Patrick Kelly thau the whining schoolmaster at Wellington."