Local and General Intelligence.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1682, 12 April 1890, Page 2

Local and General Intelligence.

There was no business of local interest transacted at the Land Board meeting on Wednesday last. Carbine won the All-aged Stakes and Cumberland Stakes at the Australian Jockey Clnb's autumn meeting at Sydney on Thursday. There were eight patients in the Tuapeka Hospital last evening— five male and three female. Two patients were admitted into the institution during the week and two were discharged. The Southland County Council are supplying poisoned grain to farmers' clubs and committees at half cost in order to encourage residents in the country to deal with the small bird pest. It is feared that as the damp, cold weather sets in in Melbourne influenza will become a very serious menace to the public health. The epidemic is spreading rapidly, and there is no sign of its abating. The revenue paid into the County exchequer during the months of February and March amounted to £1,652 15s lid, made up as follows:— Rates and licenses, £1,121 2s; land revenue, £169 19s sd; gold duty and goldfields revenue, £361 14s 6d. The "Evening Star " says :— Business does not appear to be brisk in Melbourne just now. A private letter received in Dunedin this week says : " I fear that an epidemic of insolvency has set in, and will increase in intensity. This morning (March 31st) there were nineteen meetings of creditors. We are glad to say that the outbreak of diphtheria at Millers Flat appears to be abating and that there are no further cases reported from there. Meantime, every reasonable precaution should be taken to guard against the re-appearance of the disease, as, if once it should establish itself in the district, the limits of its ravages can hardly be guaged. The " Napier News " says that the country would be pleased were the veteran Mr Vincent Pyke promoted to the Upper House. " With all hi 3 faults," adds our contemporary, "Mr Pyke is an extremely able and practical man, and as an expert in mining matters, he can still render many valuable services to the colony." The Tichborne Claimant has announced to the world at large that his case is to be reopened during the present month, a fund of £150,000 being guaranteed towards the necessary legal expenses. The Claimant, who is said to be looking remarkably well, resides for the nonce at Hanley, where he delivers free lectures each evening upon the points of the last trial. The " Courier " does not wish to see a " carpet bag " politician sent to Parliament— with innumerable public works to scheme — from the Tapanui district, but an upright, honest man who, whilst doing what he can for his constituents, will also have a sharp eye to the general welfare of the colony and the economical management of public affairs in this sadly over-governed country. The latest cable advices state that chick wheat is quoted in Sydney at 2s 9d to 2s lOd and milling at 3s 8d to 3s 9d. Oats are dull ; quotations, Is lOd to 2s 2d. In the Melbourne grain market, owing to the holidays, little business is doing. Wheat is quoted at 3s Bd, and New Zealand oats (stout) at 3s. At Adelaide shipping parcels of wheat bring 8s 6d ; and oats (New Zetland), 2s lOd.

The Upper Waipori Alluvial Gold Dredging Co. washed up last evening, the return being 21ozs 16dwts of gold for 4$ days' dredging. The dredge, which is now running two shifts per day, is working very smoothly. Full time will be made in the course of another week or two. AT a meeting of Court Star of Tuapeka, A.0.F., last Tuesday night, the question of providing a qualified medical attendant in the place of Dr Blair, lately resigned, was discussed ; and it was decided that Messrs Thompson, Smythe, and Fraer, be appointed delegates to confer with the other lodges in the district with the view of having the vacancy filled up. The actual cash receipts of accounts of the Government railway lines for the financial year, according to the Treasury returns, are £1,092,000. The amount of working expenses has not yet been compiled, but the Commissioners are certain that the net revenue will be quite £400,000. This will enable 3 per cent, to be paid on the capital invested, and such a result has only once previously been obtained since the railways were inaugurated in the colony. Diphtheria is at present very prevalent in Dunedin, though the fact is entirely ignored by the Press of that city in case of causing an Exhibition scare. This is rather a heartless attitude to take up, particularly when it is known that hundreds of families are every day pouring in there from the country districts. But, of course, the knowledge that the arrivals are so numerous is alone accountable for the silence we complain of. The contract for the addition to the Millers Flat school is now about nearing completion, and promises, when finished, to be a very substantial and well finished as well as useful piece of work. The school needed the improvement very much, and it will conduce not only to the health but also to the comfort of both scholars and teachers. It will also enable the latter to employ their teaching powers to greater advantage with their pupils, and with less labour to themselves. We have been informed by an eye-witness that there was a lively fracas, which took the form of a knock-out fight between two gentlemen well-known in racing circles, in a railway carriage returning to Dunedin from Outram last Saturday. The other passengers stood up on the seats, and the fight proceeded to a finish in the passage between the seats. One of the combatants was severely punished. The matter will come before the R.M. Court, Dunedin, in the course of a few days. Hitherto the Canadian farmers have made no efforts to secure for themselves a portion of the profitable dairy produce trade with England, but now they appear to be gradually grasping the fact that it will be to their advantage to enter the lists, and as they can produce butter, cheese, etc., quite as cheap as New Zealand or South Australia, and freight from America is so much cheaper, it cannot be denied that Canada will develop into a most formidable rival. Latterly some very large shipments have arrived, and on the whole commanded fairly high prices. An accident happened yesterday afternoon to Messrs Craig and Co.'s up-country coach, happily unattended with anything more' serious than a short delay to the passengers. Whilst proceeding between Tubman 's and the Beaumont, a bull, driven along the road, suddenly crossed in front of the horses, causing them to swerve, the result being that the coach swayed, snapping the uprights on which the upper part of the coach rested. A messenger was at once despatched to Lawrence, and another coach procured, to which the passengers were transferred, reaching Roxburgh a few hours later. The Agent-General telegraphs to the Government that hemp, after a heavy fall, has recovered in the market. Fair Wellington is now £21 to £24 ; best, £27 10s. We hope that this means the beginning of a better state of things, and of a permanent and equal market. It is evident that the market for New Zealand flax is apt to be "beared," and that the best precaution against this is to send the material in a thoroughly well prepared state. r The advices by the American mail show that the market there is quite stagnant, and that offers are being made from London to American houses. The London wool market is just now passing through the most trying time of the year. Manufacturers, both in England and on the Continent, who purchased in the colonies, are now well stocked at high prices ; and as that portion of the clip destined for sale in London or on growers' account is also now arriving in large quantities, it follows that there must be to some extent the appearance of a glut of wool in London at the present time. It is not by any means surprising, therefore, that cablegrams now coming to hand report the market there as exceedingly dull, with hardly any business doing, and as showing a tendency towards easiness in price. The return laid on the table by the clerk at yesterday's meeting of the Tuapeka County Council showed that the expenditure on day labour and carting for the months of February and March amounted to £266 9s. The number of surfacemen employed and the expenditure on wages in the various ridings were as follow : - Waipori (2 surfacemen), £35 Is 6d ; Gabriels (1), £15 ; Browns (1 4-sths), £29 Is 6d-including carting £1 12s 6d ; Clarks (A), £5 2s ; Waitahuna (1), £15 7s-carting, 10s ; Beaumont (1J), £17 13s— carting, lls ; James (2|), £61 175 -carting, £23; Teviot (3), £58 6s -carting, £8 ss ; Tapanui (li), £29 lscarting, £7. Lawyers' bills of costs have always been the subject of much ridicule and bitter pleasantry. None of the bills told of in truth or fiction, however, quite equal one which has (says the " New Zealand Times ") recently been occupying the individual attention of the recipient and various Supreme Court registrars. This particular account was rendered to certain natives, and the amount of it was only £6000. The exact language used by the natives when they received this bill has not been preserved for historic reference, but there is reason to believe that it was expressive and free. Subsequent investigations by registrars led to a sum of £4600 being knocked off, and the amount of the bill as it now stands (subject to further reduction) is £1400. TASMANIAN crops are remarkably light this season. The Longford correspondent of the " Tasmanian " says : " Indeed, it is thought that Tasmania will be obliged to import wheat this season for her own requirements. One yield I heard of was only seven bushels to the acre, and a poor sample, only fit for fowls. Another was nine bushels,and a third averaged eighteen bushels. At the farm last referred to it took three long days— s a.m. to 7 p.m.— to thresh out 600 bushels, which under ordinary circumstances should have been the result of one day's work, so that the machine labour costs just three times as much per bushel as it should do. The straw in this instance, too, was plentiful enough for about 40 or 50 bushels to the acre. Last season this was bringing as high as 25s per ton at the railway station ; this year the offer is only 7s 6d. The oat crop, I am informed, will turn out fairly well. Last week I was told that a farmer in another district had burnt off 100 acres of wheat, being too poor a crop to pay for cutting. At the annual meeting of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Company on February 7th, a dividend of 10 per cent, on old shares and of 5 per cent, on sixth issue shares was declared, £20,000 was added to the reserve fund, and £13,000 carried forward. The Chairman (Sir James Fergusson) congratulated the shareholders on the success of the year's operations and on the improved colonial prospects. Speaking of New Zealand, he said their inspector in that colony reported as follows :— " The season has on the whole been excellent. Favourable rains in the early spring 'brought on 'the feed, and stock is in excellent condition. The lambing has, in the majority of districts, been above the average. The export of frozen meat is rapidly assuming increased volume. With the good prices for wool (the English demand being immediately reflected at colonial centres), there is c very reason to hope for an improving demand for pastoral properties. In connection witn the pastoral interest, it is specially gratifying to note that in Otago and Southland there is, on the whole, a marked diminution of the ravages of the rabbits: I have not for several years been in a position to record such a uniformly favourable outlook for this colony, and our share of its business as it is my good fortune to report on the present occasion." The directors complained of the continuance of the property-tax.

The football season opened here on Thursday afternoon, a match being played on the recreation ground between sides chosen by Roscoe and Purdue. Some good play was shown on both sides. Among the most prominent were Roscoe, Royds, Robertson, Purdue, Green, Leary, Millard, Moyle, Kelliher, who along with several others, did really good service. There was a tendency on the part of some of the members to indulge in rather too much talk; but, perhaps, this is excusable being the first match of the season. There is a probability of a match being played here on the 24th May; it, therefore, devolves upon the local players to be regular in their attendance at the practice matches on Thursday afternoons. By doing this, and paying strict attention to the rules, Lawrence players should give a good account of themselves this season. OtTR correspondent writes :— Mr Sillars' two children, who just lately fell victims to the dreadful diphtheria scourge, were interred in the Millers Flat cemetery on Tuesday, the remains being followed by a very large number of people. All the residents in and around Millers Flat showed their sympathy for Mr Sillars in his affliction by swelling the cortege. The funeral service was performed by the Rev. Mr Telford, of Roxburgh, who delivered a very touching and impressive address at the grave. The sad event has cast quite a gloom over the place, Mr Sillars being a very old and respected resident, and his grief is in consequence shared by many. The eldest of the two children was a bright, intelli-, gent little girl attending the Millers Flat school. Last Thursday afternoon (3rd instant) she went home from school, like most children, delighted at the prospect of the Easter holidays, and on the following Sabbath she was a corpse. The sudden death of two such promising children, while in the enjoyment of robust health, and in one family, too, is an event to make people thoughtful. AT the last meeting of the Dunedin Charitable Aid Board there were no less than twenty -five relief cases to be dealt with; a heavy list, it should be said, even for Dunedin, with its big reputation for professional charity -seekers and unemployed. There should be no poverty,comparatively speaking, in Dunedin just now, and very little necessity for the weekly meeting of such a body as the Charitable Aid Board. During the past six months or more, the spare cash - and very often the cash that couldn't be spared— of the whole colony has been pouring into that city. During that time employment has been more plentiful there than it has been for some years past, to say nothing of the openings in the country districts during the present busy season. Yet the street corners are blocked and taken possession of by the same individuals who infest them during the winter months when there is, perhaps, some excuse for the unemployed wail. There is no remedy for poverty of this kind, unless it be the rigorous application of those repressive measures contained in Mr Hislop's Bill of last session. There is little doubt that among the twentyfive applicants referred to there must be some deserving cases ; but there are also quite as certainly many more that deserve the knout instead of charity. Able-bodied men who betray a repugnance to work must live somehow, and no easier way suggests itself than by applying to the Charitable Aid Board. Hence the liberality with which that most useful institution is patronised. Cable advices report New Zealand butter in London to be of inferior quality, and that its reputation is suffering in consequence. A complaint of this kind, coming close on the heels of the repeated protests from manufacturers in England against the dishonest tricks resorted to by shippers of flax in this country, is bound to militate seriously against the interests of this colony. We hear a good deal almost every day about the splendid pastures and superior climate of New Zealand, and its pre-eminence as a dairying country, yet our butter is seldom found ruling above bottom prices, and is now literally producing a feeling of disgust in England, while that exported from Victoria invariably commands top prices and is regarded with the highest favour. It would be unfair to impute such a state of things either to the inferiority of our pastures or our climate, for both are unrivalled ; the result is caused by the dishonesty, as well as by the ignorance and carelessness, but principally by the former, of those people who manufacture butter for exportation in this colony. The bulk of the butter sent from New Zealand has to be sold at from 30s to 40s per cwt ; Victorian ranges at 90s to 112s ; while Danish reaches the top prices, 110s to 1225. There should be a very fruitful lesson in this last sentence for all who chose to profit by it. Honesty, it is said, is the best policy : a proverb that should by this time be properly appreciated by the people of this country. In all such matters there seems to be something like a curse or a fatality pursuing .the colony ; our mines, or the greater number of them, that we took to England, were bogus ; our method of packing and exporting flax was proved to be dishonest, and almost ruined our trade in that article at a very early period of the boom ; and now the roguery practised in the exportation of butter appears to be on the verge of driving that article completely out of the English market. Not our place, surely, after this to rail at the dishonesty of the Melbourne land boomers ! In view of the spread of la grippe in the Victorian capital, the Board of Health there points out for general guidance that the disease when at all marked does not admit of neglect. It is recommended therefore that persons while suffering from the disease will not attempt to " shake it off," and that they will lie up in a room properly ventilated and free from draughts, and avoid all unnecessary exposure. Persons suffering from affections of the chest have special need to take care of themselves while under the influence of this disease. The disease very generally manifests itself by headache, pains in the limbs, back, and other parts of the body, loss of appetite, chilliness, which may be severely felt, and marked prostration. In persons debilitated by disease or impoverishment, or in those in whom the chest is " weak," as also in persons who attempt to get about too early in the course of the disease, bronchitis and inflammation of the lungs of a very debilitating and even dangerous type are apt to develop. The symptoms are not in some cases unlike those of typhoid fever. For this reason, as well as for other obvious reasons already indicated, no hesitation should be admitted in seeking medical advice where it can be obtained. For the sake of persons who may be beyond the reach of medical aid— as, for instance, those living in a bush— it is to be added that a little quinine (as much as will lie on a threepenny piece) in a teaspoonful of jam, twice a day to an adult, may be recommended. The chief points to be attended to are to avoid exposure to cold and getting about too early. Persons suffering from the disease may be allowed to partake freely of light food and domestic drinks, such as barley water, special care being taken to keep up the strength by beef ' tea, broths, lightly-cooked eggs, milk and similar articles of diet. Mr J. C. Arlmclde notifies that as the Ormaglade sheep will not be forward at his sale on Tuesday next, they will he sold at Ms next sale at Lawrence yards. Services will ho conducted hy the Rev. J. L. Stanley at Trinity Church, Lawrence, to-morrow — morniug and evening ; also, at Waitahuna Gully at 2.30 p.m. The Salvation Army will hold three days' harvest festivities in Lawrence, commencing to-day (Saturday). Major and Mrs Hammond in command. Mr Arhuckle's regular sale of sheep, cattle, etc., takes place at Lawrence yards on Tuesday, at 1 p.m. Dr Blair's household furniture, etc., will be sold hy Mr Arbuckle on the premises, Peel-street, on Saturday next, at 1 p.m. Baxter's Lung Preserver.— This potent and palat able medicine has gained great popularity in this district in the treatment Aest and throat complsints. How an Obstinate Cough was Cured.— "An aged day of my acquaintance was for many years, troubled with a chronic cough so severe that she eldom had an honr's quiet sleep. After spending all her substance in medicine, she was persuaded to try Barter's Lung Preserver, which under God's blessing, soon cured her Bey S Sellars.* Certainly the most effective medicine in the world is Sander and Sons' Eucaltpti Extract, Test its eminent powerful effects in coughs, colds, influenza, and relief is instantaneous. In serious cases and accidents of all kinds, be they wounds burns, scoldings, bruises, sprains, it is the safest remedy no swelling — no inflam (nation. Like snr. prising effects produced in croup, diphtheria, bronchitis, inflammation of the lungs, swellings, etc. ; diarrhoea, dysentery; diseases of the kidneys and urinary organs. In use at all hospitals and medical clinics ; patronised by His Majesty the King of Italy ; crowned with medal and diploma at Internatoml Exhibition, Amsterdam. Trust in this approved article and reject all others.

O'Connor's claims to be considered champion are coldly received.