LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2165, 19 February 1891, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Congregational Union, Tho Con gregational Union met at Nelson o;i Tuesday. It is attended by 37 members. Theft from a Museum. Specimen' of gold quartz and sand, valued at £l6, have been stolen from the specimen cases in the Auckland Museum. Hon. Mr Copley. The Hon. Mr Copley, Commissioner of Crown Lands, South Australia, arrived in Wellington on Sunday from the West Coast. Teachers’ Lx uviinations. —A Wellington telegram says:—The result of the exarainat ons for the teachers’ certificates will not be known for a week. Meeting of Creditors, — The second meeting of creditors in the estate of Mr Biy ey place at the Deputy Assignee’s Office, Timaru, this morning, at 11 o’clock, when important business is to be dealt with. Unregistered Dogs. —Owners of unregistered dogs in the County of Geraldine will be sued after the 23rd instant. , In addition to the registrars already ac- i vertiaed, Messrs 11. Orton and J. Gall ! have been appointed. i Larceny from a Library. —A young < man named Heighrnan was arrested at | Albury on a charge of stealing books from i the Dunedin Athenreum and pawning ' them. Uoighman was sentenced to one £ month’s imprisonment. ( <

TIMAKU Habbob BOAbd.—Mr George Stumbles were the only person nominated vesterday to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Mr 8,. A. Barber, and was declared by Mr Wills to be duly elected. A Lakge Stock 8 ale.— The rain which has Mien in this district lately has had the effect of bringing on an abundance of feed, and as a result there is great activity n the slock market, more especially among sheep. At the oteMdine yards yesterday mo less than 9147 sheep, and between sixty and seventy head of cattle were yarded. There was a good attendance of buyers, and very satisfactory prices were maintained. Football at Geraldine. On the termination of the sports meeting at Geraldine on Tuesday evening the chairman, by request, announced that a meeting would be held at Geraldine oc Friday week for the purpose of resuscitating the old football dub. There were severa' football enthusiasts in the town now who were of opinion that a good team could be got together, and an effort would be made to form a c üb. Cricket. —The following team will represent the Winchester Woolsorters’ C.O. i in a match against the Temuka CJ.C. on , Saturday next:—McCaskill (4), Chalmers, G. YeMo, McKinley, Anderson, Fawcett, Ambler, and McKellan ; emergencies, Kroon, Rutland, Simkins. Members of the Temuka club are requested to be on the ground early tlr’s afternoon, so that a 1 good practice can be had. The team will be picked io the evening. The Weather.— The weather for the past week has not been very favorable for ! harvesting, and if it continues much longer we are afraid it will do a gre it deal 1 of harm. No great quant’ty of rain has 1 fallen, but at the same time the weather l has been soft and murky—just exactly ! the class of weather that would cause r wheat to sprout. It is to be hoped that a . change wilt set in at once, as the crops were light enough already without being ! further damaged. No harm has so fur been done, but any day from this out 1 murky weather would damage the crops, i Extraordinary Growth.— The grow th , during the past week has been most [ extraordinary. On a plot of land in . Temuka grass has during the past few : days grown at the rate of one inch per I day. Grass was cut down last Thursday afternoon, and the young grass had since ' then grown at the rate of one inch pet ■ day. In this connection we may remark j that a second bloom may be seen in many i of the orchards in this district at the ; present time, and that they present a good deal of the appearance of the spring ( season, while at the same time the trees t are laden with fruit. ' Timaeu Gas Company. —At the annual ' meeting of the Timaru Gas Company the report stated: “Notwithstanding the gene- ’ ral dulr.eas of trade experienced during ; a part of the year the consumption of gas i for the past twelve months shows an , increase of 118,000 cubic feet over 1889, , An interim dividend of 4 per cent, was paid in July last, and after including £BO ' of 1889 discounts, a balance of £970 17« 7d ' is left for division. The directors proposs * to pay a dividend of 4 per cent, on 17th ■ February, which will absorb £520, and the • ballance of £450 17a 7d will bo curried i forward. Messrs F. LsOren, H J. LeOren. aad D. M. Ross were re-elected directors [ and Mr W, M. Sims auditor. The income | fur the year from gas was £3609, and from war and coke £420. The report wif 1 adopted. Temuka last Tuesday even- ’ ing, just as the people came out from the i lecture in the Presbyterian Church, a fire ■ alarm was rung out by the firebell, and in , an extremely short space of time the i brigade had their apparatus, ready at the , Temuka Hotel. There being no appearance of fire anywhere it was considered ’ that it was all a hoax, and so the brigade i dame to a standstill, and laughed goodhumoredly at the idea of having been dragged out for nothing. Immediately, ; however, Lieutenant VlcSheeby Gentle- , mun arrived, and directed attention to an ' empty house in the back street on the ' section adjoining the Temuka Hotel, and ! when some members of the brigade 1 reached this they found that the fire wat s getting a hold of the front door. The i work of subduing the fire occupied only a : couple of minutes, but had it not been ’ attended to so timely the house would have been reduced to ashes in no time. The fire was just beginning to get hold of it, and a very short time longer would would have sufficed to set it all in a flame, i The fire was discovered by Lieutenant ■ Qentlemun. He was walking along the street when he noticed the fire, and he proceeded at once to ring the bell. It was evidently a case of attempted arson The house at one time belonged to Mr George Henry Thompson, who mortgaged it to Messrs Woolcomba and Olulee, and they are the local owners of it, but we believe the money invested in it is that of r an English lady. The house was insured Vfor £l5O in the Imperial office. Improvements.— We are glad to note the improvements which have taken place in Temuka. Messrs J. Brown and E. Brown, who appear to have great faith in the future of town, and who are certainty contributing largely towards its growth, and making Commerce street look quite business-hke, quite in harmony with its name. Mr J. Brown has built in it a large grain store, and has otherwise improved its appearance, and Mr E. Brown is erecting an ironmongers’ shop and offices at the corner at the east end, which, when finished, will greatly improve the look of the whole street. Be has also made great improvements in bis coal and timberyards,by eree'ioga substantial shed, j in which the limber ia stowed away. Mr James B yth is also keeping pace with the times. He has bought the large premises I 1 erstwhile known as Mr K. F. Gray's auction rooms, and is laying down in it a flooring of concrete, and otherwise fitting it up for storing grain, for which it will be extremely well suited when finishe-t. He has also pulled down the old stock yard at the back of the premises, and the fence which divided the place from his own section, with the result that the whole now mnkes a splendid coal and timber yard. He also baa erected a timber shed of large dimensions, as well as a workshop, and generally improved the look of the place. On a section adjoining the Star Hotel Mr Hopkinson is erecting a dwelling house and premises for Mr McCann, where be also will carry on the coal and timber business. A temporary saw mill has been erected on this section also, where a good deal of the timber of the dwelling-house has been cut. Mr James Grant has filled in a gap in the main street near the Stone Score by erecting there a blacksmith’s shop, and thus the town is growing, notvyitbatauding the dulnoss of the times. 1

Supposed Absconder. —lt is understood that Bernard Ginsberg, who was out on 1 bail after haying been committed for trial for a breach of the Bankruptcy Act at Dunedin, has left the colony, preaumebly by the last San Francisco mail steamer. The Mails. The Postal authorities r were advised that the Monowai will leave , San Francisco for Auckland on the 21st ’ inst. The Alameda, with the colonial , mails of 26th January, arrived at San j Francisco from Auckland on the 15th I inst,, one day late. j Illegal Election. —On Monday morning Mr Allen, R.M,, sitting as commis- . sioner at Blenheim, gave a decision . upsetting the election of the Wairau River ( Board, on the ground that two voters, who , claimed to vote but were refused because J their names were not on the roll, should 3 have been there. Thank Ottering. —it was announced j in the Presbyterian General Assembly that B Mrs W«tt, the wife of the Church’s New 9 Hebrides missionary, had given a donation of £lO to the Church Extension Committee . as a thank offering on account of the Assembly’s decision to send a third missionary to the Islands. Lax Discipline. An Invercargill ; telegram says that people coming over I I from Milford Sound bring disquieting f reports of the lax discipline exercised over D the convicts engaged in roadmaking there. „ It is rumored that they have planted two I boats, it is supposed for the purpose of escaping along the coast. e Auckland Hospital Enquiry. —The r hospital enquiry was continued on Mon- , day night, when Dr Collins, medical 1 superintendent, gave evidence, the tenor 3 of which was a contradiction of the r charges of Miss Arnaboldi. He deposed p that the two patients (Barry and a McKenzie) had been properly attended to a Presbyterian General Assembly.— s At Christchurch on Monday afternoon the 2 Assembly instructed the scholarship comr miltae to endeavor to increase the scholart ships offered by the Church. A resolution was passed expressing appreciation of the h efforts made by Mr J. Moss to lessen the t evils of unlicensed drink selling at Rara--9 tonga, and urging that further power be v given him to carry out the desire of the r natives for total prohibition. The question y of the date of the Assembly meetings was e remitted to the presbyteries for coneiderar tion. The next meeting of the Assembly £ was arranged for Eebruary, 1892, in yr Auckland. 0 The Late Mr Bunny. Mr Henry a Bunny’s life was insured in the Governor raent Insurance Office for £2OOO, but the l 8 premiums were considerably in arrear, and the surrender value was exhausted a j few weeks ago, so that the policy lapsed. At the inquest Dr Berry said that deceased suffered from sciatica and melancholia, and that anyone in that state would be g liab'e to commit suicide. Deceased was 68 years of age. The verdict was suicide 1 during temporary insanity. By Mr * Bunny’s death vacancies are caused in the g Education Board, Waste Lands Board, j College Governors, and Stock Board, 9 besides in several local bodies in the h Wairarapa. Alleged Embezzlement. William d Stonyer, a Christchurch commission agent, ! was arrested on Monday night on a charge j’ of obtaining considerable sums of money e from Mrs Elizv Agnes Dixon, by false 0 pretences. At the Police Court on Tueeday Stonyer was charged with having in *June or July, 1889, been guilty of using false pretences in connection with oblaining a second mortgage from Mrs Dixon e over land at New Brighton. It is alleged Q that he represented that the land was valued at £ISOO when bought, and that the first mortgage would sell £909, where- .. as be would really have sold for £530. jj The case was remanded till Friday. Bail was allowed in £2OO, and two sureties of £IOO each. u Loan Conversions Particulars of , loans to be converted are: ,* under the Loan Act of 1860, six per cent; n £417,000 under the Act of 1863, also six e per cent; £64,000 under the Act of 1867, five per cent; Provincial loan, Auckland, 0 £31,600; Lyttelton and Christchurch . railway, £7700 ; Canterbury Loan Act, „ 1862, £22,800 ; Otago, £116,700 ; Nelson, a £15,000; Westland, £SOOO. A considerrl able amount of sinking fund has accrued on these loans, which will be applied to , taking up debentures under the Act of .j 1884. The balance will be available for public works. The exact amount cannot be known for some time, although it is [ expected to amount to a handsome sum, e Another million of odds and ends falls e due in November, the bonds of which are (. all held in the colony and probably will simply be renewed. r \ Earthquakes at Rotorua. — DrQinders 1 reports that eighteen shocks of earthJ quakes were felt in the small hours of the B morning at Rotorua on Tuesday. The E shocks of earthquake were in a horizontal j VHrection, and evidently came from frarawera. The lasi one occurred at 11.30 a.m., and was of a severe character. } There has been an extensive rainfall in the Rotorua district lately, aod Dr Ginders ‘ thinks that this stirred up Tarawera. As evidence of the intense heat on the summit of the Tarawera mountain, Mr Malfroy 3 took a green sapling with him from ( Wairoa, which be pushed into the ground , a few inches, and in about a minute’s time pulled it out perfectly chaired, as if from , a furnace, Mr Blytb is much surprised at the heat of the mountain, which exceeds anything he foued on previous occasions. Strange Behaviour. —Edward Davis, who disappeared from a farm at New Plymouth so mysteriously on January (23rd and as to whose whereabouts no tidings could be discovered, turned up yesterday afternoon at a settler’s house and obtained a meal. He said he had been living in the bush on oatmeal and a few apples he had. He had been unconscious three days. Davis ia apparently suffering from delirium. After a while be said he would go for a short walk and i return again, and presently he went away i amongst the hills and did not return. A | telegram to hand yesterday from Gisborne says : —A careful search was made on Tuesday for the missing man Edward I Davis, without any good result. When j he disappeared in January last he left behind him some clothing and money, and when he returned yesteiday he said 1 he was afraid of some men who were t trying to lake his property. He said he I offered evidence against a person who « committted a crime in Ashburton and in 1 consequence bis life had been threatened, n and threats made that his property would p 1 be taken away. Except on this point he A was quite rational, He stayed half a day, h and then mysteriously decamped again, h Being without food, it is likely he will be p captured shortly. a

Scalded to Death.— A child named Skilion, twelve mouths o ! d, was scalded to death by the upsetting of a basin ol boiling water over its body, Timaru High Sshool Board, — The Governor haa appointed Mr D. 11. Rose, o fill the vacancy on the Uimaru High School Board caused by the death of Mr R. A. Barker. Geraldine Council. —Mr J. Guild was yesterday elected a member of the Geraldine County Council, being the only candidate nominated to fill the vacancy on the council caused by Mr R. A. Barker’s death. Found Dead. —Alfred Nci', aged 27, son of Major Neil was found dead in bed at 6.30 yesterday morning, at Murray’s ■ farm, Westmore, near Wanganui. He re- • tired on Tuesday night io his usual health. 1 An Important “Jr.”—By a tele--1 graphisl'a error, the word “if” was omitted from the message re ihe Hod. Mr 1 McKerzie’s speech on Monday. He said, t “If a small loan was necessary to open up ’ lands, it would be taken from trust funds,” 1 etc. ! Important Decision.— At Dunedin on 3 Tuesday Mr Justice Williams decided that ■ the by-law of the Cromwell Borough Council, under which a traveller was fined I for hawking goods, is ultra vires, and the conviction was quashed. ! Representative Athletes.—lt is pro- " posed at. Christchurch to send a small team • of New Zealand Amateur Athletes to 3 England. Some of the principal athletes f have been sounded on the subject, and their replies are satisfactory. 3 Attempted Suicide.—At Ahaura, near • Qreyraontb, on Tuesday, Alfred Francis. 1 aged 56, a native of Wiltshire, cut his i c throat and otherwise mutilated himself, 3 Medical treatment prevented him bleeding 1 to death. He was sent to Greymouth for 1 medical treatment. Memorial Movement.—At Wellington ■ on Tuesday night Mr John Plummer was 3 chosen treasurer of the fund to raise a ■ monument to Mr Parnell, the founder of " the tight hours movement. Me H. 3 Blundell, of the Evening Post, Mr Mac--3 donald, M.H.R., and the mayor were 3 elected trustees. Farmers Insurance Company. The 3 first general meeting of the Farmers Co--0 operative Insurance Company was held at 1 Ohfistcburch| yesterday. It was decided 8 that the number of directors be twenty, " and permanent directors were appointed. f It was stated that applications for insur--3 anco were coming in freely. Remarkable Voyage.—Ao Auckland F telegram says :—lnformation has been ■ received from the Islands of a remarkable 0 voyage made by four children, who tra- , veiled over 200 mile's from Nmafoord, one a of the Friendly Group, to Futuna Island, • io a twelve-foot flit-bottomed dingy. The 1 fourth day. 0 I.O.G.T,—The weekly meeting of Good s Hope Lodge, No. 42, Temuka, was held in e the Social Hall on Monday evening last. The r lodge was opened by Bro. Metson, C.T., there e being thirty-four members in attendance. t Three new members were initiated into the Order, At 8.45 the lodge adjourned, to q allow members to attend, in regalia, Mr Knott’s temperance meeting in the Wesleyan a Church. Mysterious. A mysterious affair ’ happened on Tuesday at Lyttelton. At about 1 p.tn. the mate of the ship Opawa, P lying at the Gladstone Pier, and other persons, heard a child scream three or four times, apparently from under the wharf, close to the ship. He looked over “ but saw no one. Be jumped into the ’ water and swam the whole length of the ship without finding any child. The police were informed, and dragged around t , tbejspol but found nothing.—Referring to the matter the Press says :—News has 1 been received that a small boy, whose l’ name is unknown, waa drowned in ‘j Lyttelton harbor at 1 p.na. on Tuesday, It appears that he was engaged in colleclf log firewood under the wharf, and fell in. The police dragged the spot, but were ua- . able to recover the body. The first alarm was given by some other boys who heard the splash in the water under the wharf ’ and the cries of “Papa! Papal.” The £ mate of the N.Z.S. Company’s ship Opawa went into the water to try and find ihe ’ body, but failed. So far there is no clue ,* , as to who it is. J SYNOPSIS OF ADVERTISEMENTS. p W. Wills, Returning Officer—Notice ie j. Harbor Board election, E' 0. Dann, Chemist, Temuka—Notice re Sultton & Co.’s choice garden seeds. ’ J. Knott—Will give temperance lecture in 9 Temuka Volunteer Hall to-morrow evening. i J. Mundell & Co.—Sell Valuable furniture and effects at Temuka on Thursday next on account of Mr Alex. Allan. 3 Thos. Derrett, Proprietor of the only ■ line of Coaches carrying mails north of j Culverden—Publishes important notice to » tourists, giving particulars of times when I coaches run, etc., etc. ij Aspinall & Co., Temuka Flour Mills— Notify that they have received a large . consignment of cornsacks, and will allow i full price of sacks to farmers and others in i the event of buying their grain ; are cash i buyers of prime milling wheat, and are ; prepared to store grain at Timaru prices ; will receive samples of barley, grass seed, and potatoes for sale, having agents in all the chief centres ; are agents for the noted coal supplied by the Allandale Coal Company.