GENERAL NEWS ITEMS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 7545, 28 January 1896, Page 4

GENERAL NEWS ITEMS.

v ATcook named William Proctor committed suicide at Hawthorn, Victoria, by throwing himself under- a passing train. ■ " A; happy father inserts a birth notice in '.: the Dannevirke paper, and adds " twins, both «irls. This makes 14, all alive and well." , " An Oamaru business firm has had its '"insurance rate raised from 7s to 27a 6d. Tho 7s was under tho old tariff, and the " ; 27s 6d is under the new. The Mayor of Petono has been served with a writ at the instance of Messrs . Richardson, Reardon, and Co., claiming L2OO damages for alleged wrongful - dismissal from the position of Drainage Engineers to the Borough Council. Several casea of typhoid fever have lately broken out at Wairaate, Canterbury, and nearly all have been traced to ' one locality. The presumption is that bsd water bas been the cause of the outbreak, Recently, as a Hawke's Bay settler was driving over a bridge on the Taradale road and leading a polo pony, the latter disappeared through a hole in the structure. The occurrence took place at night, and the pony was bo severely injured that it had to be destroyed. Owing to the imposition of the tax of LSO per annum on commercial travellers, the Otago Dally Times says that foreign honsoa in many oases are withdrawing . their representatives, and are trusting to samples and price-lists. . The tax is generally regarded as vexatious and shortsighted, and calculated to iiijure the - consumer without assisting the revenue. A 'Mr J. W. M'Laren advertises in a Wanganui paper under the bold' heading "I want to bean M.H.R.," and announces that he will be a candidate lor the Wanganui seat at the ne.^.t election. Then he boldly yet tersely announces his war cry, which is—" The prosperity of Wanganui depends upon close and progressive settlement on our waste lands — in the employment for all at a living wage." Voua tout! Then he concludes : "If you agree with me, write offering your support. Your communications will be ' strictly confidential." The Post Bays : A man stands in the ' street and uses offensive words to another, ■ who is standing up on his own premises. There are no passers-by, but the words . are heard by several other persons on the premises of the person addressed. According to the New Zealand law, a man can ' use insulting language under these circumstances with impunity, and no offence is committed. Such is the effect of an anomaly noticed by Mr Wilford iv the case T. Leydon v. R. Greig, in which the insulting language was used under the circumstances above described. Mr Martin on Friday agreed with Mr Wilford'B contention, and dismissed the case, .; which' had been reserved for judgment. '" The Palmeraton North Borough Council have passed a bye-law prohibiting , racing ..with bicycles, tricycles, or other each machines on private or public streets within the borough. The City Fathers of that progressive centre also enacted that a driver of a licensed vehicle is not allowed to smoke, on his vehicle while it is in use. Any person throwing banana or orange skins On the footpath, or sweeping dust or paper into watertablos, will be deemed guilty of an offence. Tyres are only to bo ■ heated in a closed and fire proof building. The Wellington Acclimatisation Society ■ intends to introduce Elliott pheasants, , natives of Ning-po, China. Experiments . have been made by the Acclimatisation Society -in crossing fontinalj a w ith the . brown trout, and also the rainbow with the brown trout, in each cas B with great 'success. The latter cross i 8 new to -naturalists. :. Mr James Ashcroft, the Wellington '. coroner, has applied, through Mr T. F. Maf tin, the local honorary correspondent, to the Royal Humane Society, Melbourne, for proper recognition of the pluoky conduct of Masters Von Dadelszen Kinniburgb in connection with the recent drowning accident at Island Bay. While three residents of Greytown, Messrs H. McKay, H. Tully, and A. McMaster, were driving through a . Masterton street on Wednesday evening their gig collided with a drag, and they - were thrown out. McKay received a -.fracture of the collarbone, concussion of ■ -the brain, a severe scalp wound, and cuts on the face ; Tully received a nasty -"-wound on the forehead, and was badly injured in the mouth, but McMaster was . more fortunate, and escaped with a few bruises. ; " "I have just heard," writes a correspondent of the Westminster Gazette, "a ■-; rather good atory of Chinese readiness in % the matter of pecuniary compensation for .; ■ ;outrsg9. •• A mandarin was the bearer of - » cheque for L6OOO to a British officer, : sum demanded by our rightly offended ; - Government. He expressed himself in : but indifferent English, the sum and ■ Bttbatance icrf 1 which, however, wbb as v follows : ' Here is the money, L6OOO. We ! have taken it from the funds which your good ladies in England subscribed for the -;. sufferers from the Yangste inundations.'" . ( A London correspondent under date 1 .November 30, writes :— I hear that Mr r David Ziman. who made what most men r would deem an ample fortune in South ./African mining speculations, and who : recently paid a lengthy visit to New ./Zealand, is going ta systematically exploit r, the West Coast gold area. I'm told that ;j , he believes most thoroughly in the future ""of that auriferous region, and is ready to :baok his belief to the tune of LoO.OOO, and,, that others possessed of wealth are '» ready to embark their money on Mr 3 Ziman'e : recommendation. Well, the , gentleman in question is no greenhorn in mining matters. He has seen all that is ; worth seeing in South Africa, and if the :. West Coast is good enough for his money it is worth New Zealanders' while to K venture some of their own in developing ' the field. More on this matter soon. •I i Afe a meeting of the committee of the .-„ Invercargill Fire Insurance League the ; :,chatrman, Mr J. KiDgsland, stated that J//1500 cppies of the League's proposals had ;' been . Circulated in Australasia. From 30 k";to 40 replies had been received from bodies all favorable to the soheme. from Canada for copieß of j^the, document had been complied with. |;^ln view of the Conference of delegates a ||' f dep'utatioh that day had waited on tho Treasurer, who had stated that #r. the Government proposals on the subject is- would not bo made public till laid before so that the Conference would Knot have an opportunity to consider tho |£Bill. '. Mr Jno. Kingsland was appointed UTtne League's delegate to the Willington g% '"-'A' terrible encounter with a pet kanfcgaroo on the Kalangadoo Station, Vic%poria, is Reported. An "old roan," thirteen Fijearso^age, arid six feet high, was rung'nirig. w|(V throe kangaroo does, and a '.^hand aomed Jeryy O'tiullivan gwenr ii!)fpithe fowl-yard to feed them. fcHa i--hadffiß the^doeß, and as the buck *}%ameup*|ij£;struflfc it across the nose with |»*cabbß^|'jtiaf..;,;lmniodiately the auimal Showed '^ht.'.-p'tiullivun ran to a treo, ftiftttd dodjjfijl the kangaroo for a time, but ;; eventually it got hold of him, and tackled ; him with -his fore and hind claws. The Sjfrkangarob fought until it got its two hind ||legs over the man's shoulders, and kept pin that position until two other men came Kg - O'Sullivan's assistance. The poor Kfejlow was black and blue all over, as P'though be had been beaten by a rod of Miop, arid whs frightfully torn on the pJo'Wer part of the abdomen by the kanP^aroo's. hind feet. His whole body is gcpV^redwith holes and sorntches, his nose Kfpjit/ and clothes literally torn to pieces. P^tdoptor put 25 stitches, in* the wounds, MM »V. ifl doubtful whether the result will raolbßfttel,'..-;' ■'■-;"

The London Times holds that President Kruger was born a century too late. " Ho is a statesman who would have done very well a hundred years ago in the Transvaal, but who is not possessed of adequate ability for the modern conditions of the State. The Government should frankly recognize tho fact that; it is the Uitlanders that have raised the Transvaal from its past condition of bankruptcy to its present wealth, and if President Kruger possesses any of the statesmanlike qualities ascribed to him by some people, he will hasten to accept the loyalty proferred to him by the Uitlanders who have caused the South African Republic to prosper in the past, and whose earnest desire it is that it shall continue prospering in the future."

Almosb from the dawn of civilisation men in all ages and in countries wide asunder have been hunting for the Philosopher's Stone and trying to get at tho secret which will ensure perpetual motion. Hitherto the quest has been a reoord of dismal failure, but there is now in Wellington a gentleman of an inventive turn of mind who claims to have at last solved the problem of perpetual motion. He waited upon tho Premier yesterday, and informed him that ho has ascertained that there is in the air a latent power hitherto undreamt of, and that he has perfected a machine to utilise this power, and by means of ib to secure perpetual motion. The Premier listened attentively to the unfoldment of this important information, but as the claims of public business were urgent and hU time was limited, he sent on the inventor to the Engineor-in-Chief. 'Mr Hales, however, was in a hurry to get on board the Hinemoa, and it is doubtful whether the wonderful machine has yet received a trial. — N.Z. Times.