Local and General Intelligence.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XX, Issue 1342, 13 April 1887, Page 2

Local and General Intelligence.

•The members of the Loyal Bine Spar Lodge, M.U.1.0.0.F , will celebrate the nineteenth anniversary of their lodge by a soiree and ball in the Oddfellows' Hall on Monday evening next. These anniversary gatherings have always been very enjoyable, and the committee have determined that this one shall be no . exception to the general rule,

To Interprovincial draughts match between Canterbury and Ot«i?f\ played at Danedin on Saturday last, resulted in a victory for O ago by 15 games tot. There were 24 draws. Drawo the year 1886, 104 bankruptcies were filed in Danedin, debts amounting to £103,939 being proved. £35,891 was realised, and £54,806 paid in dividends. A VntT Interesting and well-written article on the Melbourne Art Gallery and Public library, In " A Trip to Melbourne and Back,* 1 by aft old Lawrence resident, will be found in to-day's supplement. TBIBTT estates of deceased persons were plaoad under tbe charge of the Public Trustee daring tbe month of February. The amounts in Urn estates vary from £1 to £6X3, Tbe total estimated amount is £3819. UfWABDS of five thousand oysters were consumed at a ball which was given a short thn* ago at York by the officers of the 9th Lancers. These were eaten by some twenty persons, including several ladies. A THOUSAND years ago nearly all the working people of England were slaves. There was a regular slave market In Bristol for hundreds of years. The slaves .were sometimes sold into foreign parts, bat in general they were kept on the land on which they were born. Mb J, C Abiuckle announces an important sale of property, including Mr John Barron's Milview farm, farming implements, stock, etc. This farm is well subdivided, and its close proximity to Lawrence makes it eminently suited for a dairy farm. Tbe date of the sale has been extended to Friday, 22nd instant. THE local bodies are evidently bent on having good roads this winter. The County Council is spending a lot of money in gravelling the main road; and the road between Lawrence and the Chinese Camp, which was in such a dreadful condition last year, and that between tbe station and tbe railway bridge are befog rabbled in a very durable manner by the Borough. Council. THE popular verdict at Homo is against the Imperial Institute, and there is no small amount of indignation at tbe wretched devices the promoters are retorting to to get money for this ridiculous folly. All independent men are opposed to it. " Truth " says that tbe Prince of Wales was uowarily led into it by the South Kensington gang, and it wonld be a graceful thing on his part to accept the popular verdict and to allow tbe Institute to perish still-born. This it is most likely to do, for all the assistance the colonies will extend to it. Mb Hindmabbh, who has held the position of accountant at the Bank of New Zealand, Lawrence, for tbe past three years, has been promoted to tbe charge of the Cromwell branch of the same institution. While regretting to lose Mr Hindmarsh, we are pleased to learn that his removal means a step in the right direction. During his stay in Lawrence he has made himself popular with all classes, being a leading " racket " on tbe tennis green, a prominent footballer and cricketer, and in musical circles he will also be much missed. Mr Hindmarsh leaves for his new duties by to-day's coach, and will be succeeded in Lawrence by Mr Fulton, from the Dunedin office. ~ The veteran ex Premier is hard at work organising a movement against the coercion measures of the Conservative Government. With this end in view he haa issued a manifesto to the working men of England on behalf of Ireland. A large anti-coercion meeting has been held in Hyde Park. In the course of his remarks, Mr Gladstone haa pointed oat; that the record of crime in Ireland is relatively less than that of England, and that the elements of the bill are antagonistic to tbe moral code of latter-day civilisation, and should be cait forth in shame and dishonour by a great nation. He also characterises the measure as the most insulting and most causeless Coercion Bill ever submitted to Parliament. Bridget PitiHOHiE waa brought before the R.M. on Saturday morning charged with setting fire to her cottage in Colonsay-street, bat as there waa no evidence against her, and as the doctor certified that she was fit to be at large, she was accordingly discharged. His Worship administered a few worda of timely advice, impressing upon the accused that if she came before him again on a similar charge with the slightest evidence against her, she would be remanded for trial at the Supreme Court. If these fires were owing to accident or careless* ness, she would have to see and be a little more careful in future, as both property and human lives were endangered by these fitful outbreaks, The children, whom it was Intended to send to the Industrial School, were also discharged, the father preferring to maintain them at home. TlSON's Black Cleugh sawmill at Tuapeka West ia now in fall swing. There are eight men employed in connection with the works, and these are kept busily engaged in turning oat the many large orders that are constantly rolling in from all parts. A Urge order waa recently executed for Danedin, and orders are now in hand for several of the stations about. Between 30,000ft'aud 40,000 ft of sawn timber, principally black pine, ia turned out every month, and the. trade is gradually developing. The unfinished state of the road down the east side of the river renders it of very little use for traffic, and the operations of the mill are greatly interfered with in consequence. For the convenience of the settlers, the County Council should have this road pat in better order ; for in its present state it is almost as bad aa having no road at all.' To; anti-tobacco people ought to have their attention called to the fact that " tobacco blindness" is becoming quite a common affliction. At present there are several persona being treated for it at one London hospital. It takes first tbe form of "colour blindness, " the sufferers who have smoked themselves into this condition being quite enable to distinguish the colour of red doth" held up before them. This is the popular medical test, though there is a more scientific one. Eventually the victim of tobacco blindness sometimes loses his eyesight altogether. Although smoking is to a large extent the caote of the malady, and so gives it its name, heavy drinking is also partly responsible. Unless the smoking and drinking go together, the " tobacco blindness " is not serious. A proof of this is, that if a doctor has a case of it in band, he always insists on abstinence, when, as a role, the sufferer gradually regains bis sight.— "St. James* Gazette." The Easter review of the Otago and Canterbury volunteers at Timarn is said to have been of a fairly successful character, there befog 774 on parade. There wa* a sham fight on Saturday between the forces quartered in. the Northern and Southern camps, and it w»i altogether a thorough anccesa. The Canterbury men, who ha J the advantage of numbers and position, were declared tbe victors. On Monday the big sham fight took place, when the men acquitted themselves satisfactorily. It is said to have been tbe best engagement of its kind that ton taken place in the South Island for some years; and Lient.-Col. Wales and the brno under bis charge are given great credit for tbe.manner in which tbe brigade were handled. Monday's battle was declared in favour of the Otago men. The march past is said to have bean a failure owing to the exhausted condition of th« men. The force contributed from this district was— from Lawrence, 29 men all told ; and from Waitahuna, 28 men. We notice that Captain Patrick of the Waitahana R fles was doing statf duty, '

A young woman at Burslem, who has been married for only five months, baa applied (or a judicial separation because her husband will not oat his toe-nails, which are of abnormal length, and she complains that " she ii Marred from head to foot " by them. This is certainly as strange a ground for a separation as ever I heard of,—" Truth.* 1 What a glorious thin? ft would be (says the " Post ") if we could celebrate this year's jubilee strictly after the Mosaic (aibion. All mortgages and debts would be wiped out, the State would rename possession of the land, and wo should all make a fmh start. It would not, however, be much of a jubilee for the great loan companies, the banks, or the English money-lenders. The Great Eastern was sold at Liverpool a few weeks ago for J826.C50. She has proved a profitable bargain to her late owner, who paid only £16,000 for her, and he is declared to have cleared upwards of £10,000 by exhibiting her at various places. It is said that General Booth intends taking her over as a peregrinating Salvation Army barracks, cruising round all the big ports. A Wzbt Coast gentleman who has lately arrived from Sydney says the distress there j amongst working men is very great The day before he left he saw a procession of nearly 5000 unemployed marching through the streets. A large black ooffio waa carried shoulder high, on which was' written Bread, Work, or Death. The sight in the public parks is most pitiful. Hundreds are seen huddling together oo the grass underneath the trees for warmth during the night on their only resting place, the tuif. THE London correspondent of the " Sydney Mail " tells the following story about the late novelist, Mrs Henry Wood :—": — " One of her storieß, 'A Life's Secret,' which appeared anonymously in the ' Leisure Hour,' dealt with the evil tendencies springing out of strikes and trades unions. It so excited the ire of some of the agitators that a crowd assembled outside the office of the Religious Tract Society, that was issuing the work, and threatened to break the windows if the name of the author was not given up.'* Not long ago the editor of an American paper had occasion to write as follows :— A present in the shape of a bottle of fine old Scotch whisky was kindly sent to this office at two p.m. on Thursday ; ten minutes pa it that hour not a ' drain of liquor remained ; ten seconds later the office boy had sold the bottle at the rag and bone shop next door. At 2.30 three men were oharged with being drunk and disorderly, The editor of this paper returns thanks for this handsome gift, and would feel obliged if the dono; of the whisky wocld send along seventytwo shillings, a policeman's helmet, a new office boy, four panes of glass, a new street-door knocker, and — no more whisky. The attempt recently made |to start a brass band in Lawrence appeara to have fallen through, sufficient support not bein<? forthcoming, After the very finished performance of the few gentlemen with brais instruments at the St Patrick's Day concert,, this is very much to be regretted, as these composed a vety promising nucleus. A few days ago the instruments, including the big drum, were lefc lying in the passage of the Town Hall, which gave the larrikins an opportunity for a concert on their own account. People in the neighbour' hood were startled out of bed in the middle of the night, the music being something akin to that rendered by a menagerie on a fast day. The "Harvest Home" at Baaumonb on Friday evening, and which waa held in the schoolhouse, turned out to be as enjoyable an affair as we have had in the district for a lung time, Everybody seemed to he there, and, better still, everyone seemed bent on enjoying himself, and fairly succeeded. Dancing commenced punctually at 8 o'clock to music supplied by Messrs Dannet and Nash, Mr C. Clark acting as M.C. Songs were rendered at intervals by Messrs Donaldson, Daniels, Tough, Bowman, and others, some- of which were well received. Refreshments of a liberal character -were served round at the usual hour. The gathering broke up early in the moroiog, but, before dispersing, a hearty vote of thanks was passed to Messrs Dannet and Nash for their kindness in supplying the music. -(Correspondent.) Winter may now be said to have fairly set in, the weather during the past few days being as wet and as miserable as it was possible for it to be. The days have become very short all at once, and we can hardly look forward to another spell of fine weather for some time to come. Already the country is beginning to show the ravages of autumn ; and the pasture in places presents a very barren and wintry aspect. All the harvest being Bafely gathered, the {threshing mills are now at work ; and in some places the yield is turning out remarkably well, and the farmers generally are very well satisfied. The fruit harvest, which turned out pretty well this year, is about exhausted ; bnt if immediate action is not taken against the codlin moth, we are afraid that future seasons will tell a very sad tale in this department of husbandry. In concluding an a>ticle in which the ' |Wellington Press "'shows why imported goods are preferred by consumers to local productions of the same kind— viz,, because the former are better, and, on the whole, cheaper— the editor says:— lt is a remarkable feature of colonial indnstry that those who engage in it seem ashamed to let the world know what they are doing. They seem to expect customers to come to them privately and to transact business by secret signs, as if they were smugglers and the whole thing had to be kept dark. British and American manufacturers understand the art of advertising and appreciate its value ; but colonists seem to think that money spent in making their wares known is dead lossT la reality it is the best spent money of all, and local industries will never get a proper footing until that fundamental principle of business is recognised and duly acted upon. Wb clip the following from the "Oamaru Mail." No doubt the insolvent referred to was one of those extreme rarities in New Zealand, an honest bankrupt :— ln these days when moat people have as much as they can do to grapple successfully with their financial engagements," it is particularly refreshing to read of the liberality of Mr A. A. M'Master in connection with Mr H. Thomson's insolvency. At Tues- . day's meeting, after M'Alister had arranged to purchase the estate, he expressed sympathy with Mr Thompson, because he wonld have to leave the farm withont any money, and said he would present him with £50 in atth and his furniture. No wonder that there was applause at such an offer. It is seldom that we hear of such voluntary and disinterested generosity. Tbe donor had nothing whatever to gain save a consciousness that be had spontaneously per formed a genuine act of kindness. Mr M'Master has set a noble example to otbera. May he never miss what he ha? given out of puce good ness of heart in tbe interests of humanity, The North Island Volunteers, who have been holding a review at New Plymouth, have, from all accounts, been behaving themselves in a most scandalous manner. On Saturday night (says a telegram from the camp) the town was crowded with volunteers! on furlough. They carried on high jinks, took possession of the Salvation Army barracks, taming out the lights, and creating a general uproar during the service. A picket of navals were detailed from camp to preierve order,

and after some timothe men were got out of the Army baraolu* but the services had to be discontinued. The Salvation Army captain bai bees requested by the authorities not to kold Mrrintfor fear of disturbances, but has rtfuied Che request. Up to late »t night the town wm crowded, anl the streets were taken poueuion of by volunteers. It is then added (ironically, we luppoie) that the men attended divine urvioe at the camp before proceeding to disturb the Salvationists.