Untitled

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXVI, Issue 8448, 21 February 1899, Page 2

Mr Sliplmcrdinc, manager of the Pelichet Bay starch works, Dunedin, was severely burned about the face and Lands owing to the bursting of a jar of acid. J The Covcniment have granted Mr - William Toogood, of Featherston, .Cl.ifl to ] improve and perfect his lla\:-dre=sing I machine, a trial of which was recently!' nude under (iovcrumci.t inspection. .Mr and Mr-. Ivimiol, XeNon-street Auckland, and Miss M'Cunc, and daughter, pailaking together of tinned hen ing-, became seriously ill, but are now regarded out of danger. In the iTinr-i of ii speech at a banquet tendered to him at Kumaia, Lord Kanfurly had something to say of the way in whic h children were 1 eing brought up in l he colonies, and, according lo the Knmara Times, he made the a-crtion that a "grave tendency was noticeable both in India and in the colonies towaids atheism ! He cared not what any man's religion was .so long as he believed in a Supreme Power. He could not believe that it would tend tciH-aid- the prosperity of the Kmpiie to have I heir people glowing up without a ihntough belie! in cieation." The mail .-.learner Australia, which for many ye.u-s l.iv lo Xev. Zealand from Sin Krnm-1-.co, under the au-pices of the l'acilic Mad (.'ump.in\'i line, anived at San r'l.meiuo recently alter a thrilling pas-age fiom Honolulu. The steamer was caught m the thick of a hurricane, and for a lime it appealed to tiiose on board that the vessel wa.s going to the bottom. After struggling with the waves for two d.ijs. one big sea struck the .steamer broadside on, and came near finishing her. A great deluge of water h.urded the steamer amidships, and spread along the deck. The heavy rail was sin.T-hcd a.s if it. had been so imi. h pipe-stem Stanchions were twislcd out of shape, the hurricane deck forced upward, and the; great flood of water went pruning down below. The saloon was Hooded, the lights on the engine-room and lireroom were put out, and fur a short time panic prevailed on the ste.mier. There \\,is a dramatic tone about the Supremo Court proceedings in Wellington on Kiiil.iy illuming (says the Timc~). 1 lie life siinicnce un the youni; man Dougl.i--, pronounced with an intensity and cloquenre seldom heard fr.mi 'a Supreme Court Bench nou-a-davs, piodueed a marked ull'ect, upon the large audience which had assembled, including two or three women ; an 1 the incident following, in whkh a woman prisoner at the bar used thieateniim language towards His Honor, was no less i'\e-iliiig. Douglas, who received the life srnlence, is a poor, attenuated specimen of humanity. As the .Indue, in austeie tones delivered senleiice, young Douglas did not wince; but by nervous facial] luilchings and the rapid movements of his hands the prisoner showed he fully recognised the import of the words conveying the dreadful sentence. The appearance of the girl Looney has altered greatly since she last stood in the dock, side by side with her aged father. .She has apparently aged greatly, though at tin: same time she has become much more robust physically. Her brother's physical and mental limitations are noticeable at a glance, lie has usually what is known a« a "vacant" countenance. lie amused himself by picking pieces out of his hat and chewing them, meanwhile tracing eccentric figures ou the rail in front of the dock. At his sister's outburst towards the Judge he .seemed rather amused.

Mr Thomas Mackenzie, lately malinger in London tor the Canterbury Farmer* Do-Hponilivc Association, who is returning to the colony, promises to make known a story of the iniquities of the dead meat trade that should prove of value to producers. Before leau'ng London the other day, Mr Mackenzie stated that he had run some set ions matters to earth lately in connection with the meat trade, but he dared not publish all the information lie had. "They may rest assured in New Zealand, however," Mr Mackenzie continued, " that when I leturn to the colony tlit! whole of mv discoveries, in fact, the whole nf my experience, will be placed at the disposal of the public free of compensation of any kind. I cune here for the purpose of learning all I could of the Home markets, and I have spared neither time nnr labor, nor anything else, to got :i full grasp of the whole question. And it is my desire to give the colony the full benefit of it when Ire-enter pul.he life, that is, if any constituency honors me witli it*, confidence," Mr Mackenzie has succeeded in getting money restored that has been paid for snppused " damage,'' and if the insurance companies would only unite with him, be is sure that many of the scandals now existing would cease. Regarding assessments, in one big consignment where light was let in upon certain questionable proceedings, ho has succeeded in selling without any assessments being made, and heeured the full market price. Kurther, lie has stopped other asr-ei-sments made fiom being carried out.

The award of £1500 for Miss French, the plaintiff in the Napier breach of promise action, led to a demonstration at the close of the Com tat 10.400n Friday night. As soon as His Honor had left the Jiench, the large crowd assembled in the body of the Com I gave vent to their feelings and displayed their sympathies by hearty cheers. Outside the Courthouse the demonstrations of public approval wore renewed and became exuberant. The plaintiff drove away just in time to prevent the horses being taken out of the carriage, and her solicitor (Mr Cie^swcll) narrowly escaped being seized iind earriud through the streets shoulder high. According lo the reports in the Napier papers, the parlies to this case became engaged in November, ISDIi, and in the course of a. few months Robjohns showed by his conduct that he desired to sever the engagement, and did so. In the pleadings filed in the action, defendant alleged that the engagement was made through the fraud of the plaintiff, it being alleged that three previous engagements by plaintiff existed at the same time; and further, that the plaintiff was not a chaste anil modest woman, and had an illegitimate child in England. Plaintiff, in her evidence, admitted the last named statement, Iml. explained that she was seduced by force when 1G years of age, by a man who entered her room and struggled with her until she became unconscious. This was the only misbehaviour she had ever been guilty of, and she made a full confession of jthc facts to Rohjoliiis, who had been perfectly satislied. In cross-examina-tion the plaintiff admitted that she had received t he benefit of X"2."ifl paid by her cousin, Mr Chislctt, in Knglaud, which counsel suggested was for breach of promise, though the witness denied it. Letters read in Court showed that the plea on which defendant brnke olf the engagement was that he was physically unlit to get married, and intended to do his best to dismiss anything that would tend to worry and annoy him, thus hoping to retrieve his health.

The ISorough Council and the Harbor Board meet tins evening at 7.30. , The Presbytciian Assembly has granted ' £20 for Ormond elmrch. Miss Russell daughter of Captain Russell, i is coming from Kngland in the s.s. I'apauui to marry Dr. Nairn of Hastings. "It, would have been well," said the Rev. J. Paterson at the Presbyterian ' Synod, " had our Universities established a degree for common sense. '' I The Wai roa Harbor Board have resolved j to approach the Government with a rcijucsl , for a £1 for £1 subsidy towards the ri\er ' improvement, works which it is proposed to put in hand. , The Union Company intend taking the i Mokoia ofl' the Sydney -K ist Const running i nt (he end of this month, replacing her by c the s.s. Mararoa. Tlie Mokoia will bo put on the Wellington-Sydney service. I A splendid programme has been arranged for lhe grand concert and dunce at Tc Ami on Friday evening in aid of the school fund. A brake has heen engaged to carry visitors from town free of charge, which should be an inducement to a large number 1 to attend. The Validation Court was occupied the whole of yesterday afternoon hearing matters in relation to the Whangani C block. The fSovcrniiienL have made an j oiler of £1 per acre far the block, which ' in all probability will be accepted, the i majority of the Natives being in favor of ; the proposal. An elderly man named Joseph Shepherd ■ wascharged atlhc Police Courtthis morning with having been found drunk in (iladstone , Road the pievious day. The Magistrate remarked that the defendant was at present, ! under prohibition. A line of 20s and f costs was imposed, in default of payment , 48 hours imprisonment. i The members of the City Band are to-night to pass under the measuring tape of an Auckland tailor, with whom they have contracted for the supply of uniforms. ' The new uniforms are to be of blue . material with red facings and black hr.iid, : and will bedelivcrcd by Mr ficorgc Fowlds, the contractor, on March 12th. 1 There are some thirty men employed ; upon the stock track in tin's district, and a number more are working in from the Urewera country. Mr Seeats is in charge of the local contingent, who arc at present at <he head of the Hangaroa valley, and have cut, a track one chain wide through bush and scrub for a distance of about twelve miles. The Tyser Company's agent has received advice that the freight war in New York for colonial trade is still raging, and that the statement, that an arrangement had been come to to work amicably is incorrect The Tyser line have put on a tine new steamer called the Tomoana, which makes its first voyage after the Queen Eleanor, the next, steamer to leave >7cw York. It is understood that before i el inning to Auckland, Mr Jas. Stewart, C. K., who is undertaking the reconnaisanre for a railway between Oisbornc and Rotorua, will be 'asked to travel by way of the Motu in order to ascertain the praclicahilitv of a line in that direction. Mr Carroll, after his recent visit to the Motu, is stronclv impressed with the necessity of tapping tint rich country, in which there is timber sufficient to pay for the cost of a line, and has promised to obtain the neee^sarv instructions for Mr Stewart to inspect the Motu-Opotiki route. The Turanga Church Fete at Wncreuga-a-hika on Thursday next is attracting much attention, and the excellent progiamme piowderl is likely to draw a very lar^e attendance of visitors fiom all parts of the district. Entries for the dill'orent events are coming in well and some very close finishes are anticipated. The committee have succeeded in securing .some prizes worthy of competition, and the winners should lie highly satisfied with the trophies. The ladies, to whom has been entrusted the matter of providing tea, look forward with every confidence to having to cater for more numerous patrons than in past year-". Altogether Thursday's fete promises to be, as in the past, the event of the year. Mr Stewart, the engineer who is exploring the country between here find Rotoiua, is understood to he strongly of opinion that the line to be cons-United should he of the standard gnage in preference to a narrow guace railway. With country lying so favorably for railway const lnetiiji), Mr Stewart believes the ciili'erence in the c-0.-l would not amount to more than £200 or £300 per mile, and there are distinct disadvantages connected with a break of , guage. Of course the line could he of ! '-ome-wh.it lighter and cheaper consl ruction than the ordinary lines of the colony without impainng its ellii iency, hut if we are to have a railway Mr Stewart thinks it should not be of narrower guage than the present accepted standard.