LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 939, 1 November 1879, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mr. Henry Haase, commission agent, Read's Quay, lias been appointed local agent for the Standard .Fire and Marine Insurance Company. In this afternoon's issue we publish the numbers, and names of horses, drawn last evening-in Paye'a sweep on the Melbourne Cup, which ia to be run next Tnesday. Mr. Brownlow is crazetted as ferryman for the Turanganui Ferry for the Borough Council. A general meeting of Mr. Edward Walker's creditors will be held at the ofßce of Messrs Bromley and Buller, on Monday next at 3 p.m. The proceedings at the meeting re Native Lawsuits Bill now being held at Roseland * will appear m full m our Monday afternoon's issue. The Georgia Minstrels will appear this evening for the last time but one m G-is-b»rne, with an entire change of programme. The company will appear at Ormond on Tuesday evening,

The Gishorne Lodi»e of that very useful anil powerful fraternity, the Independent Order of Odd Pellows, haa determined, as usual, to celebrate their anuiversay by a large gathering of the members and others of the general public who may choose to meet them, at the Masonic Hall, on the eveuing of Monday, the 10th iust. The festivities will consist of a ball, for which a very excellent programme has been drawn up. Of course there will be eatables and drinkables of the choicest sorts and richest qualities, as is guaranteed by the fact of Mr. Craicf catering for the supper, while Mr. iT. Dick, of the Gisbotne Hotel, will attend to the more powerful stimulants required by the sterner sex. The services of an excellent band have been secured, and some choice music, new to those amongst us uiveu to terpsichorean proclivities, will be dispensed. The Committee has made such arrangements as will leave nothing wanting for the comfort of their guests, and it is contemplated that the forthcoming ball will be one of the if»ost successful and satisfactory ever given m the Bay. la the Standard this morning a local calls on " Mr. Inspector Hill "to introduce calisthenics into the Government Schools. In the the Gisborne School " Drill " is marked on the time table for two half hours per week, and is regularly carried out by order of the inspector, and no doubt the other schools m the district are doing likewise, The Town Clerk of the Borough of Gisborne has publicly notified through our columns that on and after to-day, the Dog Nuisance Act will be strictly enforced. Dog tickets may be obtained at the Police Station. It is quite time the law m respect to the dog nuisance was brought m force. There are numbers of dogs of mongrel breed allowed to roam at large, frightening horses, and endangering the lives or limbs of riders, and the sooner they are put out of the way the better. The Church of England, Holy Trinity Church, will give a very pleasing entertainment at M'Farlane's Hall, on Tuesday evening, at which a good attendance may be looked for. The entertainment will take the form of a promenade concert and a conversazione. The concert portion will be given by our best amateur vocalists and the children trained m singing drawn from the Makaraka and Gisborne Schools will form not the least interesting part of it. The whole is under the patronage of the Bishop of VVaiapu. Refreshments will be provided during the evening. A Southern exchange says : — " An analysis of the roll of the House of Representatives will shew that some of the names are only sponsorial, there being Andrews, Adams, Stevens, Harris, Stewart. Oliver, George, Seymour, and some even more familiar, as Kenny and Dick. There are three colours — Brown, Whyte, and Grey. Fish are not plentiful, there being only one Pyke and a Finn, and yet there are two Fiahers. Of quadrupeds there is only a Buuny, and yet there is a Driver and a Shepherd. The only other trade is a Mason, and there is only a Moorhouse with a Hall. Of English towus there is Lundon, and its environs Richmond and Sutton, Hurst and Waketield, while Ireland is m its entirety. There is only one Wood, and a Pitt, but no plants except Moss. Locomotion is only suggested by Shanks. One party will have Wright on its side,, and may be Allwright, bat measures can be weighed, there being a Ballance on the premises. The House should have good nerves, there being only one Trimble amongst them. Rank is represented by a Barron." Truth is stranger than fiction. Would anyone imagine that m these days of usury and keen competition for the " bawbees," a man would allow a cool thousand to remain m a bank for 30 years or so without making any use of it, and, moreover, without getting any interest? Sueh fi case has just come to light m Hobart Town, and curiously enough too. The circumstances detailed m the Tasmanian Mail are these : — An old man whose appearance betokened anything but affluence, bid for a number of shares at a recent sale, and offered the knight of the hammer his cheque for £800 m payment. Very doubtfully the paper was presented at the bank . upon which it was drawn, when it was explained that the bank had a large sum of money to the credit of the name of the drawer, but as the depositor had not ..been heard «of for the last 27 years, the -presentation of the cheque caused no little surprise. Inquiries were, however, instituted, and the buyer of the shares duly proved his identity and secured the transfer of the cash. The Colonies thus refers to the ferns of New Zealand :— "Lovers and collectors of ferns — and their name is legion — should enrich their greenhouses or their books with specimens ,of some of the beautiful varieties which abound m New Zealand, Australia, and Fiji. The first and last named colonies are peculiarly rich m ferns ; and a considerable trade is carried on by collectors m the colonies m forwarding assorted specimens to different parts of the •world. These interesting plants, being easy to carry, and equally easy to rear m a moderately warm and moist atmosphere, are deserving of far more general attention m this - country than they have hitherto received. A carefully-packed parcel from either New Zealand or Fiji could reach England m perfect condition if shipped by one of the regular lines of steamers via Sydney or via Francisco. A peculiarity observable m the leaves of several varities of New Zealand ferns, is that they will grow for many years after being mounted and pressed m analbuu. This remarkable growth m a leaf quite dry and apparently head, is worthy of careful examination, being unique, we believe, m the history of plants." Professor De Candolle has made a remarkable discovery m regard to the preservation powers of boiled sea-water. A branch of a coffee plant bad been preserved m liquid, said to be salt-water, for fiftythree years. De Caudolle had some doubts of it, because all experiments with ordinary sea water failed. But recently the wax and cork were removed, and the preserved plant and liquid examined chemically. It was found that the sea-water had been boiled before using. De Candolle believes that boiled sea-water will displace alcohol for museum work. : The defection from the Auckland party has completely split up the Opposition and probably there will be no future opposition to the Government this session. Both Sir George Grey and Mr Macandrew declare to lead the party. The Southern members say that all advances made on account of Auckland will be rigorously scrutinised, and they will get only bare justice. Mr. Plant, Mary-street, Thames, an amateur potter, is now, according to the Thames Advertiser, engaged making half-a--dozen porcelain telegraph insulators, Government having requested him some time since to forward a sample of the goods which can be manufactured front Thames clays. The articles have been modelled, and m a day or two will be baked. " Matrimony is defined by a musical cynic as a common c(h)ord of two flats.