Local and General Intelligence.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XVIII, Issue 1162, 15 July 1885, Page 2

Local and General Intelligence.

The Colonial Federation Enabling Bill has passed its second reading in the House of Commons. The services of the Tuapeka Rifles have been accepted >by the Defence Minister as an honorary corps. Correspondence between Mr J. C. Brown and the Defence Minister on the matter appears elsewhere. ■ ■ Mr Matthew Burnett closed hia tour of the goldfieldß at Naseby on Sunday last, where he' announced that, his mission had resulted in 800 taking the pledge and 900 the "bit of blue,'^ between, Lawrence and Naseby, inclusive. . The Tauranga election took place on Saturday with the result that Mr Grace polled 565, against Mr Kelly's 539. The latter has thus! been defeated twice in succession, having contested the seat against the late Mr Sheehan. ; Up to the present time, Mr Donald Eeid (of! Milton) and Mr Vf. Hutchison are the only candidates for the Bruce vacancy. Mr T. Bracken has been reqaested to come forward, but owing to- press of business engagements has declined to stand. , , The quantity of'^old purchased at the Bank of (New,. Zealand, (says the " Thames Advertiser ") during the month of June, was 6103ozg| 6dwts, of which 5091£ozs were- raised within 1 the Thames County, 506oz's lldwta by the mines in the Borough. and'sos£ozs in the Waiorongomai district., „ , . The German colonising scheme in New Guinea ;s likely to rt -.ulfc in failure, and it is probable that no great effort will be 'made to push the matter, ias the German annexation of part of the island was a. mere political move. The Government have ordered the German station at Be'ntley Bay to be abandoned. Latest cable advices state that New Zealand frozen mutton continues to realise from sj;d to s^d in the Home market. — A detachment of. the 20th Hussars, under Brigadier-general Green has proceeded to Assouan, on 'the First Cataract of the Nile.— A report is current that the, Mahdi V dead, but it requires confirmation. —The cholera epidemic is on the decrease in Spaing .!■■'! ' ' > For a number of years past, for savin'g'gold. in quartz and placer mining, the millmen on ! the Pacific, coast have preferred; to use plates which have been prepared with a silver surface, and very few plain copper plates are now used. , These plates have almost entirely displaced' the old style, and give much better results. Labor in cleaning plates ia saved, and the quicksilver is enabled to perform its duty readily.—" Mining and Scientific Press." The processes involved in the manufacture of an Al teacher are greater than the requirements of a ship of the same class at Lloyd's. There are only two teachers in New Zealand who can boast that they are Al teachers. In the revised classification we notice that the following teachers have received promotion since the previous list was issued:— W. A. Eeilly,-B3; A. W. Tyndall, C 4; ,W. Macandrew, Dl; Eobert Neill, D 2; Lanqley Pope. D 2; Bessie Busheli; E3 ; Selina J. Dale, E3 ; L. A. Fowler, E3; Lillie Thompson, E3'; J. H. Patrick, E3. The quarterly meeting of the Tuapeka West Mission Committee was held in the Manse at Tuapeka West on the 3rd inst., when there were present — Messrs Taylor (in the chair), Smith, Dalziel. M'Dnff, Redpath, Geo. Murray (Tuapeka Flat), and Drain (Tuapeka Mouth). The financial statement showed the' receipts to be as follow :— Beaumont, £9 8s; Tuapeka West, £8,63 3drTuapeka-Flat, £4; Tuapeka Mouth, £8' ss ; Evans Flat, £5 15s 6d— total. £35 14s 9d. Mr Drain moved and Mr M'Dnff seconded : " That all money 3 received for the quarter be handed over to Mr Taylor." The motion was carried unanimously, The meeting then dosed in the usual way,

Spaini .1

BRXbIADGH, the infidel, has again been denied' the right to sit in the House of Commons. Byfcorttinuing to return this obnoxious member, bhe electors^* Northampton him Dracticall«: i^A^^Jf A V S "what,.very low! grade gffil ore • 3 eaiKbe ? mad&>top^y itf pklifijenia, whep ihers fßnty of it', it may B|4tatera[6n the auui srity* year! by^a mf i n CalavferffCotiraty, tnlr value ranging from 1 dollar Spefits to 1 dollar 95 cents. The ore assayed!* Kittle more, but all was not saved. ~ £«i Two debt cases were set clowS for hearing at the Resident Magistrate's Court, Lawrence, • tefyP^Btoßpri^ Ew-rJEWMC. -°* Master C. Mulhns sued Luk Dik for the recovery of £2: f Mr Fiplajjson aj>pear«d on behalf of plain-; ' tiff, fdr whonrjudgmen 1 t wot 'given/ with ■ costs' (6s) and professional fee (103 6d).— Sam Yek v, -P. Gahill-:«Claim-ot-£7 83'6dj"> Mr Goodaytfor plaintiff, for; whom a,- verdict? was given, with! costs (19s) and professional fee (10s 6d). j TdE "Mt. Ida Chronicle "says:— The njine; manager, has, broken. through the new reef djs-' covered in' the* Otago oentfal 'Company's reef , j and finds that it is' over 'a foot thick, and! carrying good gold. It isconjectnred' that this* reef will carry heavier and richer gold than the; one opened out some months since. Every effort will.now beitnade to develop the resources, of the property, as early, as possible. The) manager will commence' to take out stone for a' trial-crushing of 300 or 400 tons. , ■ One of our Lawrence tradesmen came very; near the crime of sacrilege at Roxburgh on Sunday last. He happened to be staying at the, same hotel' with a' genial, cleric. Wishing ,to, run round and see some friends before starting! homeward, he hurried up, and putting on the bopts outside bis door was soon on his way to Coal Creek. ' He was very much surprised at being disturbed iv his quiet chat ,by, a messenger' from the hote), saying the clergyman could, not .manage to wear. his (the tradesman's) boot'S'a't any price. ' This little mistake nearly cost the 11 faithful " the loss of thefr monthly Bervice. The late foggy weather appears to have been very extensive in its range. The " Woodville; Examiner " says :— " The Unprecedented fozgy weather experienced in Woodville of late has given our local philosophers something to solve. The best solution we have heard' is that usually at this season of the year the Tararua ranges, are covered with snow, and the atmosphere is consequently, very cold. This Beason, however,' has been exceptionally mild, and 'instead of frosts we have fogs. The most dense fog ever experienced iv Woodville was on Thursday^' and It wan noli hill Monday' moctuug 6U*t it ba^ cleared off." <■ * The man Keade, with several aliases, who has been gaining for himaelf an unenviable notoriety throughout the Colony, has had hia career cut short for a. lengthened period. At Cliratchuich on Saturday, he was sentenced to tea years' penal 'servitude" for ■administering drugs to % woman with intent to commit a felony, and .five .years for forgery, Qthec charges against him for false pretences ■ were withdrawn. This should act as a wholesale deterent to those sharpers who,- finding their field of action limited by the police at'Ho'me,' come to the Colonies in 'the evil hope of giving full rein to their criminal proclivities. • At a meeting of the Waitahun'a-Riflef Corps, held on the 13th inst-.the Captain announced that Mr Alex. Garden had promised to give a silver cup to be competed for by' members of the Corps. On the motion of Private Macan-' drew, seconded by Sergeant Smith, the Secretary was instructed to convey the thanks of the Corps to Mr Garden for his handsome present. — The following are the scores made at the class-firing practice on the 11th inst. — Ist class : Eanges 500 and 600 yards, and points required 25— Sergeant Smith, 34; Vol. Camerori,' '31 ; Vol. Martin, 31. 2nd class: 200 and 300 yards, points required 40— Vol. ICorry, 35; Vol. A. Auld, 33 ; Corporal York, 32 ; Vol. Durward, 31; Vol. R. M'Corkindale, 31 ; Vol. M'Kenzie, 29; Corporal Higgins, 26; Vol. Bruce, 22; Corporal Grant,' |19:

The Press stands' between tHe people and serfdom, and aoy and all attempts to curtail its freedom should be strenuously resisted. The freedom of the Press must be jealously guarded,! but that is no reason why it should be used as a vehicle for giving 'expression to malice. A, recent London experience .reveals the latter! phase of the question. An immense sensation J has been caused there by the "Pastoral Gazette "(publishing an article under the guise of a reform of social -evils, in consequence of; which the paper has been expelled from all| clubs and book-stalls.. ' The police are also pre-, venting the sale of the paper containing the offensive article, and the authoritiesthreaten to, take proceedings against the proprietor of the! "Gazette." In retaliation, the proprietors of' the paper threaten to publish disclosures, which' would involve Royalty and Cabinet Ministers. The dull misty weather Which we have experienced -in Lawrence appears to have been' much worse further up-country, judging by the following from the " Dunstan Times ";— "We have heard several amusing stories of people'loaing themaelvesin the Heavy fog that 1 prevailed during the latter part of last week. On Saturday night last we; heard of one mab making for Alexandra by the brewery road from Moutere Station, when, on thinking himself near Alexandra, he was very much surprised to find that he had landed' 'much nearer to the Clyde pound, a distance of 3 or i miles off the road he imagined he, was following. Others were also seen or heard of wandering* about here and there, but as we have not heard of any one missing on that particular night, ' we surmise that they reached their respective destinations sometime during the

The following Yankee description of the average football player appears to be slightly over-drawn : — Even a blind man can tell a footballer at first sight. He never wears more than one ear and about the same number of eyes. His nose looks like a piece of liver stretched across a thimble ; one arm ,is bent backwards, he appears to have two left legs, and he carries about as much scalp to the square inch as a cat-fish. The principal part of the game seems to be for one player to run till he falls. If he falls on a broken bottle, so much the better, he gets more honor and nearly all the bottle. Thirty-seven r dther plays then fall on top of him, punch his ribs, chaw off his ears, gouge out his- eyes, and kick plugs off his cheek as. big as Hobart potatoes.- .Then they lift him up, stick him together with giant cement, and cart him to tHe nearest duly qualified circular' sawyer. Taking it as a whole, it is an extremely healthy game — for the spectators behind', the fence. It is mostly played by married men who are tired of their existence.

Life Insurance has now been fully recognised as one of the best pro visions a man- , can make for his family in the event of their being deprived of their breadwinner. So much is this appreciated that in Germany. state insurance is compulsory, and 'other nation? are likely to follow. With the number of insurance associations now ia the field,' life insurance is placed within ' the ; reach. , of , .everyone. We have seen the list of reversionary bonuses due to policies in this district, declared at thejast quinquennial investigation' bf^the' Australian' Mutual Provident Society, and anyone perusing the list must be struck with the ■ handsome bonuses added to policies', showing that this Society offers the very, beat inducements to insurers. The bonuses, speak for themselves, and it is almost superfluous for us to add that the Australian Mutual Provident Society is the beat doing business in the Colony. The enormous sum of £2,094,392 ia represented in reversionary bonuses as the result of last acturial investigation, j ; , ( - . 5 A corbespondent of the "Oiutha LeadeV" sends the following to that journal :— While the inmates of a settler's house in ; this neighborhood were on Wednesday evening sitting by the fireside the subject of conversation was the hunt that day at Balclutha. Suddenly a monster of a rat that had been hotly, pursued by its natural enemy outside rushed into the room. There was the usual amount of'screaming on the part of the females. The men shut all the doors, seized all available clubs, and an exciting hunt ensued... Being tired of the sport, and desiring a place of shelter, it rushed to the settler and made its way inside the leg of his trousers; It pursued its upward course until it lodged between his shoulders,' between, his shirt and flannels. Some difficulty was experienced in unearthing the " varmint " from his peculiar retreat, and various appliances and methods were unsuccessfully tried. At length, however, he was got hold of with b pair of topgs, and the hunt was brought to a speedy termination. Quietness having again been restored, a little girl looked up in her father's face and remarked, " Papa, we've got a new use for you now : you make a capital rat trap,"

The crushings at C§a^6e»^^r^Dldfield for May amounted to 5^4 tot& j^ichvpielded 99710z 9dwfc gold. The^DayJOaSma^Ptospectors .head thfelist with 1302 jtonS.ffiisg^poz ; North 'Q uei 5!WSNi I WI^ ll lsopoz jftjay *Bkvn Block and WradhafiSjf&hionij i<^W°z£jmha total reßultip -om nm field f roflSthe mooning of the pj& sat Jji|jar to the e^fl offJSa&y were ing lalt evetmfo i^-The'BfJa^^i^lon is likely to cause a considerable amount of excitement. Messrs D. Reid and Jas. M'Donald are the only candidates who have yet announced themselves. It is thought probable, however, that Mr W. Hutchison will also contest the seat. The Hon. T. Dick and Mr Jas. Adam *ifrralso'-m-entibraa^ yet,known, . ' ' The Australian magazine, " Once a Month,' for July is jußt to hand. Thiß popular periodi. "cal h'arnow fairly>made itß«way»iiFth6?ColGmeß . in s^ite/.of the powerful rivalry of i old estat)-! lished Home' magazines. The " Gallery^ -of \ eminent AusSralians ", gives a portrait of H. Clarence Kendall; 'the ill-fated pfoiat of New South Wales, who died in early manhood, a victim to drink, v 'Among the .very last poems . which Kendall wrote was one on the wreck of. the Tararua, which, for touching pathos, has! .rarely been excelled. There is a VGry.nice poem on the death of General Gordon in this number,' and throughout there is a lot of readable literal ture suited for all tastes. ■■ \ The weather has a marvellous influence on! sonic people's fipiriis. Under the influence of; bright sunshine, a warm glow of exhileration; pervades their, being; but the effects, of damp,] foggy weather are felt as ultra-depressing. The; gloomy mißta which have enwrapped thfroountry ■ in a kind of funeral pall lately have had so. de-; pressing an effect upon sundry Celestials that; they have. found life on the. O tago goldfields unendurable, and have resolved upon taking the # shortest cut, to the Flowery Land. Two Chinamen were lodged in Clyde gaol , forj attempted suicide last week, and one or two. other cases both attempted and accomplished are reported from other places; f " ' ' THE latest on the Afghan frontier quesjapirisj " that the'Rusaian troops are constructing bridges' across' ( the Murghab River,' oh the' highway, toi Penjdeh, at which place large re-inforcementsj have arrived 'from Sarakhs. - Russia thus means] to 'plaoe'her recent ■ acquisition in the position! : of a p^owerful-fr6ntiier. ( t6wn, r potent'either for! offensive or defensive purposes.' .The Persian's 1 are stated, to be ; f oijtif ving their frontier on the' Heri Ru'd, along the Russian line of march, and a" cannon foundry has been started at Herat.' This latter ia bo doubfc la charge of experienced! English officials, and with heavy cannon and substantial fortifications, Herat can be made practically impregnable. Mr HIBST, no doubt with a view of having! it placed on the records, had a question put on; the order pape'r.Oaslcing if the Government .Would <esta,blish' 'a post-office savings bank at' Hiretfield. To this, .Sir Julius Yogel replied" that,prepuki, which w,aa identical with Hirst-, field,-had a post-office savings bank already.; However great the desire may be to flatter the ■■ vanity of M.H.R.B and other eminent colonists,; we protest against substituting harsh English : > and foreign, names for .ithe euph'oneous Maori 1 names which ; form .the chief charm; of some! obscure places. We submit it. to our readers' .whether Orepuki or Hirstfield is the more* jPleasing to the ear., . ; v, , : ' * , , )-• The Lawrence Congrega«*onal Church was* re-opened on Sunday by the Rev. J. Beokenham,! of Dunedin. lftr ' B'eckenham held service in. the morning and, evening, and at Wetherstones in the afternoon. At the evening service, there was a very good attendance ; and<at a .Meeting' held after the service, it was resolved to have! church once cv.cry Sunday, the Congregational, Union' undertaking to send <-& minister from' t Dunedia as of ten' aS 'possible'.'— MV-Beck'erma'mi gave an excellent lecture in. Mes'sra Arbuckle,; Robertson and Co.'s sale-room on Saturday! -evening.. t The^eubject was *' Reminiscences of! Bush Life,' r and the rev. gentleman pourtrayed, ' in a realistic manner, stirring incidents of his! own career in the wilds of Australia. i An adjourned meeting of the Directors of the! Tuapeka .Milling was held in the] Town Hallrott Monday evening. Present—; Messrs M'lntosh (Chairman), Jno. Thompson,' Mi^chinson, Morrison, / Cowefij,' >and Herb^.", Four tenders were received for the erection 'of' eight chains of fiuming to convey water from! the Company's race' on to the mill-wheel. AJA J .subcommittee' Hvaa- appointed (consisting'- of the Chairman, Treasurer, and Manager) to ascertain jwhiph of the.. two lowest tenderers; wdß in a> position to erect the .flaming within the shortest pirfdsible time, and to accept one or < the other accordingly.— Eight applications were 1 received'for the appointment of miller, &c M to the Company, and Mr W. Browrt (of Dunedin), who holds firsNclass. testimonials as a tradesman, ( and , has had great experience in the buying of grain, was unanimously selected. , It was decided, that an agreement,; (terminable , by a month's notice on either side, be prepared for signature by Mr Brown as soonaa he enters ' the Company's employ, t- Mx; Hetherington (Inspector) reported that the contractor had completed the building in accordance with the plans and .specifications, and had .given -up possession,^ the. key.— An account from Mr' •Beatty for the balance of his contract*mo'ney (including deposit oh" contract), amounting to £158 7s, was passed for payment.— lt was decided'.to<allow Mr Reidy (Gabriels Golly) £2 for damage done, .to' hiff .gardtn owing to the . Company's water-race .passing through it.— lt \ was resolved to announce through, the medium > of the advertising columns of the Tuapeka. i Times that the Company are now in a position to' redeiva' grain either 'tor' storage ' or gristing purposes.— On the motiorrof Mr Thompson, it was agreed to call for tenders for' continuing the Company's a further distancTbf 21 chains higher up Gabriels Gully.— The meet* ing then closed. Air interesting discovery of ancient Maori relics (says an exchange) was made last week by, a party of ditchers employed on Captain Porters; farm at Kai-awa, near, Miranda. 'WheVengaged in reclaiming some of the lowlying land on the station, the men oame upon ten pieces of, intricate and rare carvings, each \ representing' a human figure, an/1 • finished | with more than > usual d,etail. The natives living in the jipmity have a tradition to the effect that these curiosities at one time formed part of jthe sepulchral cairn of < some of their ancestors, but during the invasion of a hostile tribe, about ISO years ago, the remains of the deceased chiefs : were removed' to Tamaki, to escape desooralion, and the carvings were concealed in the swamp. A gentleman who has had considerable' acquaintance 1 witn Maori carvings pronounced "thesp tp be equal to any he' f '£'as' ever seen, and I ' endeavored to prevail upon the tribe claiming ownership Ito * send them .to , the Auckland Museum fo.r. Exhibition, as' treasures of aboriginal art;. The natives, however, 1 declined to do so,' and haye 1 expressed their intention of , re-erecting the memorials in their own neighborhood. '^'It is Very'ralrely that anything crops up in" the Borough Council to disturb the equanimity of ( pur "piyip Fathers," who hare long been; noted for the orderly and decorous way in whioh' they' discharge the duties appertaining to ■, their office. Their meeting on Monday evening, however, proved an exception to the general run of things, for what is commonly known as a'f breeze" occurred. What gave rise to this truly exceptional state of matters, mfty -be • told thtisly':— His Worship ttie ' Mayor having finished reading 'the inward' correspondence, which was received, laid aside a letter 1 from the Milling Company Ve the mill-site, in Derwent-street, remarking, at the same time, that the' letter could be considered when the deputation from the Company put in an appearance. Cr Fraer took exceptidnto this way of doing business, and! informed the Mayor that the Council as a body had no knowledge of the fact that a deputation was to wait on the Council. — The' Mayor : A mistake has been made ia forwarding the letter ; for it is intended that a deputation will wait upon the Council tonight. Cr, Fraer: We have no communica-, tion to show that a deputation will wait on. thb, Council, and I object to the letter, being, held over. The Mayor : f Take your Beat,sCr Fraer. Or Fraer: IJII dp .nothing of the ) sort. , I move : '" That -the letter be don? 1 sidered'." * The May"or : t TU .not take^Voa^ motion. Cr Fraor • (infiignantly 1 ) V 'not take my motion! I appeal to the Council to say whether I am in the right or in the wrong. The Mayor : Kindly take your seat, Cr Fraer. Cr Fraer (excitedly) :

j I am not out of order, and you can't put mo \ down. It is an nnheard-of thing for a Mayor to rule a motion like this out of order. The Mayor : G-entlemen— A deputatiojpr^l he here presently to discuss matterß^iEJ|frx>u 1 relating to the mill-site. I would ask fm toi allow the letter to stand over for^aamtle' time. Cr Fraer has some ill-feeling towards the Milling Company. Cr FraerV^^We not. You have no right to rule myfmotion out of order. We do not know whether ar deputation will be here or not, and it is a question whether we should allow a deputa^tion to monopolise our time. The Mayor (to Cr Fraer) : I ask you to sit down. Cr Fraer :^I, will nofc.^ -Yourcarft-do^as you'likef " Mr Mayor. You must troat Councillors withall due reßpec^— CrrMpVpson'came to the rescue at this stage by moving — " That the s Je.tffir,stand...ove]; l till the dflputa~tiott-.pnfcin«an< appearance." Cr Miller seconded the motion, which w^s put and carried. And thus ended ! what, at an earlier stage,' looked like a ".nice little row." ■"