NEWS ITEMS.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXVI, Issue 8699, 19 December 1899, Page 4

NEWS ITEMS.

The plans of the proposed public baths at T« Aro, Wellington, provide for two (one for each sex), 150 ft by 60ft. Throughout the Transvaal, it is stated, women and children are busy ploughing and sowipg in the absence of the farmers on commando. There .was a good deal of feeling at one of Mr Colvin'a meetings at Hokitika, and Sn the excitement a lady and gentleman came "to blows. The incident naturally caused a Btir amongst the audience. The Taranaki Herald Bays that the new Moturoa bore is now 1250 feet deep, but no oil or gas has been met with, although it is only about 200 yards from the bore iv which both were found in quantity at 916 feet. Mr Samuel hopes to continue boring until the end of the papa or the oil level, struok in the other bore at about 2000 feet. The following candidates at the elections who failed to secure one-tenth of the number of votes polled by the successful candidates, lost their deposits of £10 : — J. C. Dunlop, Waiapu ; Coleman Phillips, Wairarapa; J. Mahoney, Timaru; P. Quintan, Auckland ; J. M. Murphy, Wangunui; D. B. Duncan, Wellington ; R. C. Knight, Wellington. The Martori Advocate describes how settlers in that district are handicapped through their lands being loaded at the rate of 6s per aore for roads which have not been made. A petition is being signed there settiog forth how the settlers have held their land for seven years, and yet have no access to their market town. The same thing applies to the back blooks in this district. A correspondent from Springfield, Otago, writing to the Daily Times, says :— "'A young man named John Greer was struck by lightning on December 5. He was shifting sheep at about nine o'clock in the evening. Although his brother, who accompanied him, saw no flash, John was knooked to the ground unconscious. Medical aid was summoned, but the patient remained insensible until about four o'clock next morning. The hair on his forehead was singed, otherwise no injury is apparent. The city of Auokland proposes to raise £50,000 next year of tho £100,000 it has been authorised to borrow, and £10,000 per annum during -the succeeding five years. The purposes to which the loan will be applied are the re-payment of existing overdraft at the National Bank of New Zealand (Limited) at Auckland, of about £30,000, and the construction of the following works, namely : Drainage, £44,354 ; auxiliary water supply, £12,000 ; purchase of land and the erection of necessary buildings for a fire brigade Btation and housing of firemen, horseß, and appliances, £31)00 ; and .paving with wood or asphalt or other approved material Queen street, Auckland. £10,645, The N.Z. Times, referring to the defeat of Mr Bolleston by a single vote, says :— "He is one of thoße men who is an ornament to the public life oi the colony, whose character is above reproach, whose patriotism is undoubted, and whose services to the people deserved better requittal than rejection at tho poll. It is the fortune of battle, and Mr Rolleston will accept the reverse with the same stolidity that the British received tho news of Boer victories in South Africa, but it is a public misfortune that the services of such a man should be temporarily lost to tho people. The country can ill afford to lose men of Mr Rolleston's stamp, and it may be hoped that oiroumstauces will favor his early return to the political arena, where his earnestness, ability and high sense of I publio duty have gained him the esteem of men of all shades of opinion." Speaking of Mr Charles Arnold, who is to open at the Palace Theatre, Sydney, early next year, the JKra says : — **Ml , Charles Arnold's "What's Happened to Jones " Company left Pretoria on the 29th September, arriving in Port Elizabeth on | October Ist. They were hissed and booed on their departure, and at all the stations in the Transvaal through which they passed. They saw thirty big guns leave Pretoria Btation on the 28th, and train nfter train of bearded Boers with their horses. The " What Happened to Jones" Company was at Port Elizabeth for two or three weeks. They havo only one box with the costumes, etc., necessary for performance, and no luggago of their own. Tho company suffered much hardship on the journey, the carriages being terribly overcrowded. Port Elizabeth is very full, und the cost of living is excessive; but the members of the company are warmly congratulating themselves on having got across the border."

Hawke's Bay lumbermen have orders for 4,000,000 ft of timber for Sydney, and are hunting for vessels to carry it over. The petroleum wells at Peneela and ILangear, on the eaßt coast of Sumatra, which flow very freely, are abont to be worked by a lnrge company. Operations will be begun as soon as sufficient troops have arrived from Medan for protecting the workmen. It is said (remarks the Wellington Post) that on a recent occasion a certain member of the- House so far exceeded the bounds of decency that during the supper adjournment the lights had to be turned out while he was carried out of the Chamber where the laws of the land are debated and passed. This was not the only such offence against Parliament and country committed by that member, and yet he still remains a representative of the people. There were other members, also, who were scarcely lees faulty, and they, too, retain the confidence of their constituents. A hopeful feature of the new I'arliament is the fact that a large proportion of the new members are men iv the very prime of life. The two Aucklanders who replace Messrs Thompson and Holland— Messrs Napier and SWlds— are both 40 years of age. Mr Arnold (Dunedin) is 40, and Mr Barclay (his fellow-member) 39. Mr Ell (Christchurch)is37, and Mr W. W. Collins 45 ; Mr Atkinson (Wellington) is 36, and Mr Wilford (Suburbs) only 30. Mr Buddo b between 40 and 50, Mr Hanan 31, Mr Fraser 37, and Heaton Rhodes 38. Mr Jackson Palmer is also quite a young man. A remarkable entertainment was to have been held in the Princess Theatre, Melbourne, on Saturday evening last. It was held to serve a double purpose, namely, to mark the close of the partnership which has for many years existed between Mr Williamson and Mr Musgrove, and to raise a fund that will substantially augment the credit balance of the Distressed Actors' Fund. Referring to this performance the Leader says :— " Mr George Tallis, who is arranging details in connection with the forthcoming combination entertainment, is preparing a souvenir programme, which should prove uniquely interesting. It will consist of eight plates, and will contain photographs of over 200 of the most popular artists and stare who have appeared at the Princess during the past 13 years under the management of Williamson and Muagrove. The collection of faces will doubtless revive many old memories and help to recall many an old favorite who has vanished all tooquickly from the memories of playgoerß." At an auction sale of seats, four boxes brought £96, and Beven dress circle seats £21. None realised less than 255, and several seats in the reserved stalls brought 50s each. The total proceeds of the auction amounted to £475. There were still a good number of seats available to the public, the dress cirole and reserved stalls at 10a, others at 5s to 3s.