LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 964, 1 December 1879, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The assault case, committed on James Richardson, better known as "Yorkie," was broueht on before Mr. C. Whitefoord, R.M., this morning, at the Court-house. The prisoners charged were Butene Kereama, Hapi. Eru Hauraki, Wiremu te Owai, aud Hari Hemi. The charge was that the

said persons did ou the 23rd November last steal, take and carry away, one saddle and bridle, of the value of £4, the property of James Richardson, and immediately before sucli robbery, did cause him grievous bodily harm, by kicking and choking him, the offence being indictable. The prisoners were undefended by counsel. Sergeant Kiild prosecuted. All the prisoners were committed for trial at the Supreme Court, Napier. A full report will appear m our issue of to-morrow. On Saturday we were asked to sign a circular, m which, with many others m common, we agreed that any employes m our office belonging to the Volunteer forces should be allowed absence from work to attend Volunteer parade and drill duty. We did so m full confidence that there were no Volunteers belonging to the Herald establishment. To our surprise and the enlightenment of our ignorance, we discovered immediately upon signing that the whole of our boy printers were Volunteers. They said so, and we were not m a position to say they were not. We feel now rather proud that w6 have m our employ so many youthful gallant defenders of our hearths and homes. But our readers must forgive us if our paper is not quite m usual form this evening, Boys cannot be printers and gallant defenders of ',\i ..rllis and iiouioj at juj miJ. tho danic time. A rather sharp hail storm occurred some four or five miles beyond Ormond during yesterday, a little before noon. The stones for the greater part were not as usual rounded, but sharp and angular. Part of the same drift fell all over the district and iv tho township, but were more or less softened by the warmer strata through whicli they came. Mischief must have been done to fruit. The Volunteers, under the comraaud of Captain Porter, headed by the Band, mustered this morning at 11 o'clock opposite the Court House, and after inspection and being put through a few evolutions, they marched to the Hapera, the use of Mr Ward's line paddocks having been lent to the volunteers and the public by that gentleman for the occasion. At an inquest held m London recently a boy nine years old, who appeared to give evidence, stated, m answer to questions, that he had never heard of God or the Devil— (by the way, we don't believe the young larrikin told the truth). Two or three jurymen thereupon got up, and stated that it was a most scandalous fact that such a thing was allowed as that a lad who for the last two years had been a constant attendant at a school board school did not know the difference between God and the Devil. The Coroner quite concurred with the remarks of the jury, but thought also LuaL O ioat laxity wu. onuivu uy tmo |j<ir«aus themselves iv not having taught the boy the Lord's prayer, as every mother should do. A juryman remarked that the London School Board were paid for that work, and it was their duty to fulfil the contract they had undertaken. Another juryman said — " We could go and civilise tne Zulus off the face of the earth, and grossly neglect the education of our so-called white brethren m London." *In the course of a debate which took place recently ou the subject of twenty copies of Hansard being supplied free of coat to members, Mr. De JLatour said it might be as well to let the House know what Hansard cost. The cost last year was, for tue actual printing, .£2900 ; reporting, .£2450 ; making a total of over JSSOOO. lv 1877 the total cost was £5900. The total revenue last year was 220 subscribers at 123 each, £111. The cost of member's corrections was very considerable, beiug JL2O2 last year, L 289 the year before, and L 276 m 1876. Mr. Saunders, m speaking to the motion, said he would have no hesitation m sweeping the Hansard away altogether, but while it was m existence he certainly thought the country ought to receive more advantage from it than it did at the present time.

The Agent-General for Victoria had ordered the words " Ageut-Geueral " to ba put m guilt letters oh some blinds at Ids office m London, and the artist, thinking ko iiiijjiovt; km, jju» ' uou-l'ai »i_eut.'' lv some cases tliere would have been good reason for the transposition.

The Thames Advertiser has the following item about timber iv the North : — As showing the magnitude of the operations of the Shortlaud Sawmill Company we may mention that a contract for the supply of thirty million feet of sawn timber has just been let to Mr. Robert Webb. The contract is the same size as the one let to Captain Christie a year ago, and with thirty men will take about 14 years to complete. There are over 100 hands employed m the bush, and 30 m the mill yard. The wages m connection with the former amounting to £180 per week, aud the latter, £75. The average quantity of timber sawn weekly is 100,000 feet, 25,000 feet of which consist of slabs and waste ; but if pressed 120,000 feet could be turned out.

The Nelson Evening Mail of of the 15th instant has the following : — A man named James William Willan, an absconding debtor, who on Thursday evening sailed from New Plymouth m the Wellington, leaving a few lamenting friends benind him, arrived here yesterday morning, and apparently iutended to spend a few days m Nelson, but, unfortunately for him, the wires had been at work, and his visit was ruthlessly cut short by Detective Ede, who disturbed him whilst comfortably enjoying his dinner at an hotel, took him before two Justices, had him remanded to New Plymouth, and packed him off to the Tairoa m the evening, so that his trusting friends would not be deprived of the pleasure os his company for more than six and thirty hours. What with cables, wires, steamboats, and detectives, a runaway does not stand much of a show m New Zealand at the present time.

Wo take tho following from a Wellington paper : — As the Naval Brigade were going through evolutions on the reclaimed land about half-past eight the other evening, one of the members named Woods saw what he had first thought was the body of a man hanging across a frame used for stacking timber. On Mr. Woods and other members hastening to the spot they found a boy of about 14 suspended over the timber by a rope, to the other end of which a bag of chips was attached. The bag is m possession of the police, and is of small weight. The boy was taken clown anddenied any intention or reason for committing suicide. Being further questioned he gave most impudent answer?, and the men, being anxious to rejoin "the brigade evolutions, rather unwisel} let the boy go. The youngster left the bag of chips behind, but took the rope away with him. Sergeant Roper,at'once communicated with tho police, and inquiries were instituted by Sergeant Anderson. It is the general opinion that the boy was indulging m a "lark," but as he was black iv the face when cut down, it was evident that he had carried the practical joke too far for his own benefit. It was at first thought that the boy was the juvenile who recently ran away from his patents at Kai warra, but it seems that this latter delinquent has turned up all right. The police are endeavouring to find out the hero of the adventure.