LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1816, 29 July 1891, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

j The census shows the population of France to be 38,095,000, which is 123,903 less than at the enumeration in 1886. We are in receipt of the August number of the "New Zealand Government Railways Time table," which is issued at one penny. There was no sitting of the R.M. Oourt, Lawrence, on Monday, all the cases set down for hearing having been settled out of court. The total number of stamps printed for the colony in the Government office last year was 37,489,113, their total value being £816,5(56. Miss C. B. Duncan, of Green Island, has received the appointment of mistress of the Clark* Flat school. There were five applicants for the position. The gold returns of the following mining companies are to hand :— No. 2 Hercules Co., 7 days 8 hours' work, 530z 17dwt 15gr of gold ; Dunodin Dredging Co. (Roxburgh), 5 day?, 118oz ; Upper Waipori Alluvial Gold Dredging Co., 4 days 12 hours, 9oz lOdwt 18gr. GENERAL BOOTH'S social scheme is being extended to the English provinces. Premises lately used as baths have been secured at Leeds at a cost of £1800, and £'2000 has been i spent in necessary alterations to convert the whole into convenient and commodious buildings for food and shelter depots and workshops. The General formally opened the place on the 3rd of last month. Mr Arthur Has, the successful labour candidate for Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, is a native of Blenheim, his father having been sub-editor of the " Express " there for years. His brother is the well known Jack Rae, the cross-country jockey. Some time ago Arthur Rae was arrested on a charge of inciting 29 shearers to strike, and was sentenced to a fine of £5 or 14 days' imprisonment for every shearer who had ccme out. In electing to take the imprisonment Rae pointed out the monstrous nature of the sentence, as if be had called out the 500 shearers in his Union he would have been sentenced to 7000 days' imprisonment, and concluded by telling the Magistrate that he might as well go to Sheol for ice as to that Court for justice.

There are at the present time 250 men and women exclusively engaged in Salvation Army operations in New Zealand. Seventy separate corps or stations are worked by them, to which are attached over one hundred outposts. The Victorian and Now South Wales markets will not b°. so gno.l this year for tbn JS>w Zealarvl firmer. It is one of the years u£ plenty ; the great & kxU nuke fat kino, and all other tat things The land will flow with milk ami honey, commodities which we shall not care to increase from our store. It has bpon we'l ■nM, in the Fericntinn discussions, that the markets for us to depend upon are the steady m irkets of the Old World, which depend upon us. THE traffic on the Otago Central railway has increased so mush that the Railway Department find it necessary to run four trains a week to xMiildleraarch instead of the' two " which were run at first. Much of the traffic has been diverted from the Dunback route, and it is evident that in a few months the whole of the goods for Central Otago will go by the line. We are informed that Messrs H. Craig and Co. intended to run a coach between Middlemarcb, Naseby, Clyde, etc., but at present some difficulty has arisen in connection with the mail contract. While scouting round Palmerston for victims the other day, two of the " Picturesque Atlas " fiends were followed to their hotel by an enraged tradesman, whose place they had visited in his absence, and fired the whole 42 parts through the door after them. The publican, who happened to get between the fiends and the ten guinea missile, wondered what was up ; and ou recovering himself went for the gentleman who threw the book, the fiends meanwhile chuckling over the fun from a sate distance. The next scene, the local piper says, will be laid in the R:M. Court, where the fiends will figure as plaintiff and those who allege thoy have been victimised as defendants. A BACHELOR'S ball, which brought together a large number of the young people of both sexes, was held at Tuapeka West last Friday ercning. The dancing throughout the night and into what the poet calls the " wee short hour ayont the twal " was fast and furious, and, as far as outward evidence went, was thoroughly enjoyed by all present At the same time, the bachelors of Tuapeka West would wish that a greater number of people in the district took advantage of the festive occasion and made themselves merry. .Songs were contributed during the evening by Misses Webb and Cormack, and Messrs W. O. Brown, A. Anderson and W. Bulfin ; Mr J. Butler entertaining the company with a step dance, while the duties of M.C. were happily curried out by Mr W. Bulfin. The following ladies kindly attended to the material wants of those present :— Misses Bulfin, M. Smith, AI. Hart and Mackay. Mr Jas. Dunnet supplied the music in capital style. We understand there is a movement on foot among a number of the residents of Tuapeka Flat, having for its object the establishment of a post-office, of which it is proposed the local school teacher should have charge. It is suggested that the Tuapeka Mouth mail carrier, who delivers the Tuapeka West mail on his road to Tuapeka Mouth, could also deliver the Tuapeka Flat mail. The idea, we should say, is a capital one and thoroughly practica' ; and, if acted on, as we" have no doubt it will be, it will be the means of conferring a decided benefit on the settlers of Tuapeka Flat without imposing much extra labour on the mail carrier beyond his present duties, nor should it be a matter of any expense worth while speaking of to the department. It lias been decided to communicate with Mr Valentine on th« subject with the view of bringing the matter under the notice of the Postmaster-General, and explaining to him the necessity as well as the feasibility of the proposal. A correspondent informs us that a fistic encounter took place a few days ago at an upcountry hotel in which one of the guests, a gentleman of doubtful occupation, but popularly supposed to be a " book-fiend," received an ugly mauling. The row originated in a game of cards, as many rows have done before to-day, one of the gamesters accusing the mysterious gentleman of imitating the tactics of Sir William Gordon Gumming in what the French newspapers call the " baccarat scandale." The baccarat man, under threat of being exterminated, produced his cheque-book and offered to write a cheque for the amount in dispute. This the other refused, telling him he was " a blooming book-fiend," and that his cheque was consequently no good, and insisted on having the "sugar instanter or else . The next instant the fiend was seen going over the table as if he had been hit by a round shot, and received as the result of the encounter some facial embellishments that are not likely to aid him much in his professional pursuits. The condition of the colony is evidently not so bad as the late Tory Government tried to make out, for the present Government have brought in a Bill to increase the honorarium to members to £240 a year, paid monthly— probably in advance— and so that this hardearned douceur may not be within the grasp of the übiquitous court bailiff, it is proposed to protect it against his machinations. The ordinary creditor can come in when the legislator goes out. In addition to this protection it is also proposed to pay members' travelling expenses. We warn members of the House that if they allow the Bill to pass in its proposed form there will be such a crop of aspirants for parliamentary honow at next election that they might be tied in sheaves and stooked for future use. Why isn't the free run of Bellamy's included in the proposals ? The overdraft of that institution was paid off the other day, and it could be paid off again just as easily. There is surely no difficulty in passing a motion of this nature.— "North Otago Times." . Mr F. Niooll, manager of the Hercules No. 2 Goldmining Co. writing on the 24th instant, reports that there is great irregularity ia the water supply, owing to some action which takes place at tho Roxburgh Amalgamated Company's reservoir at Lake Onslow. On the 23rd he sent a man to turn down water, in compliance with a requisition from the Roxburgh Water- Race Company. After the water had been turned down for about an hour, the Teviot stream came down in full flood, leaving about fifty heads running to waste. In twelve hours afterwards there was again a short supply, only thirty-two heads altogether being iv the stream. On last Tuesday night the flume was frozen, causing a stoppage for thirteen hours. Since then up to date of writing he had been able to keep going, although the night frosts have been very severe. Mr Nicoll further states that he was disappointed with the last washing up. The gold was lighter and of a different kind from that obtained on the previous washing up. He thinks that the run has turned inland. We have been informed that some of the members of Mr Dunbar Ross's family, of Tuapeka West, had a narrow escape from phosphoriw poisoning a few days ago. It appears that one of the milking cows, unknown, of course, to the family, had been eating freely of a quantity of phosphorised grain, which had been carelessly left on the roadside apparently by some rabbiter. The cow was milked in the ordinary course, and a sago pudding made from the milk. When the pudding was about ready for the table, it was noticed that it smelt strongly of phosphorus, and was fortunately thrown out of doors. The incident naturally excited a good deal of curiosity, the key to the puzzle being accidentally discovered later in the day. During the course of the evening, the cow from which the milk had been taken was found at the place where she had been grazing in the morning, and beside her was part of a small bag of phosphorised grain, to which she had evidently been liberally helping herself. When found the poor beast gave evidence of suffering the most extreme agony, and though remedies were applied, and everything that could be thought of done to alleviate the sufferings of the animal, she died in the course of an hour or two. We are informed by one of those who assisted in drenching her that the phosphorus fumes from her throat were overpowering, the intestines of the animal, apparently being slowly consumed by the action of this most terrible of all poisons. Putting aside the pecuniary loss sustained by Mr Ross, the torture inflicted on the animal should have the effect to cause not only this particular rabbiter but others of the guild to exercise more caution in using poisoned grain in future.

DAVID Scott, a shunter at tho Danedin railway station, fell on the line on Saturday, and a goods waggon passed over him, inflicting such injuries that he died. Mr G. F. Booth, of Manuka Creek sen 001, has been appointed head-master of the Dunrobin school. Mr Booth has been four und a-half year* in charge at Manuka Creek, aud during that time has earned the reputation of being a thoroughly painstaking and conscientious teacher, proof of which is to be found in the excellent results set forth in the periodical examinations of the school, as well as in the confidence and esteem which his efforts have won for him not only among the parents of his pupils but among the entire community. Steps, we understand, are being taken to erect a public hall at Tuapeka Mouth, the need of such a building being much felt on several occasions of late. It is iutended by those interested in the matter to hold a public meeting at the local schoolhouse on the Bth August, when it is expected the necessary preliminaries will be arranged for commencing the undertaking. Already both iv cash and promises some £60 has been raised towards the erection of the building, one gentleman having generously contributed £5. With such a promising start already made, there need be no hesitation in predicting the speedy erection of the building. Its estimated cost is not expected to, exceed fclOO or £120, about half of which.as we have just stated, is already in hand and no doubt the meeting will result in bringing in the remainder. The local school room has hitherto done duty ; bat as the Education, Board has a disinclination to grant the use of school buildings for public entertainments, the present action has been decided on. THE shearing trouble having about exhausted itself in Queensland, the struggle now appears to have been transferred to New South Wales, and there is reason to think the ; battle between the pastoralists and unionists will be even more desperate and protracted than it was in the other colony. Shearers' camps are being formed along the. Darling Biver, and atoncof these camps at Wilcannia one hundred free labourers are held captive. At Bourke the unionists have already attacked the free labourers, and some desperate fighting has been the result. The first contingent of free labourers arriving were surronnded by an excited crowd, and a large number of them were taken forcibly from under the protection of their escort, while others voluntarily went over to the unionists. One agent of the pastoralists, who made himself active in resisting the unionists, was felled to the ground by a terrible blow, and would probably have been killed but for the interference of the police. A desperate attack was finally made as the free labourers were being put on board the steamer, and it was feared that lives would be lost. On the return of the unionists to the town, all those who had assisted in getting the non-unionists away were hunted for their lives. The police acted _ quietly, and deserve credit, although the force is too small to do any good in case of a serious riot. Matters are assuming a grave Aspect, and those who assisted the pastoralists to get the free labourers away by steamers are afraid of their lives. It is feared that unless some decisive action is taken bloodshed will yet ensue. The general results of the agricultural statistics, collected in March and April last, having been published in the New Zealand "Gazette," information is now forthcoming as to what was the area in potatoes last season, together with the returns to the acre for the several provincial districts. Taking the entire colony, the amount of land in these tubers was 32,691 acres, upwards of 2000 acres more than last year. The estimate in tons is set down at 178,121, or upwards of ■ 18,000 tons more than the previous season. The average yield per acre for the colony has been about 544 tons, compared with 522 for last year. Bather more than five tons to the acre is the general yield for this colony. The figures for Auckland show that the area in potatoes last season was considerably less than for the previous season, there having been a decrease of more than 5000 tons of the tubers. The yield per acre this year, has, however, been about the same as last. Marlborough and Hawkes Bay appear to head the list in re*gard to the yield per acre, Wellington coming next, followed by Taranaki, though the latter province, with its fertile lands, should have averaged much <nore than six tons to the acre. With the enormous returns of 178,000 tons for the colony, there should be large quantities of potatoes for export, though prices appear to be very low in the Sydney market. There is, however, no duty to pay when tubers are shipped to New South • Wales. Not so in regard to the other colonies, tbe duties being as follows : — Queensland, 15s per ton ; South Australia, Is per cwt ; Tasmania, 6d per cwt ; Victoria, 10s per ton ; Western Australia, 20s per ton. Latest cablegrams. — Cholera is still rag ing at Mecca, and 400 deaths are reported. daily. Extensive precautions are being taken to prevent its spread into Egypt. — The Russian Government are making large purchases of corn in Vienna.— Le " Galois " states that Belgian) has joined the Ti iple Alliance. — At tbe National Rifle Association meeting at Bigley Common the Victorians won a second prize of £30. —Twenty-live tons of potatoes ex Tainui from New Zealand have been sold at the average of £4 per ton.— The Bank of New Zealand declares a dividend of 5 per cent. The balance-sheet shows that the profits for the half-year amounted to £59,500.— The Czar and Czarina have paid a visit to the French squadron at Cronstadt. It is expected that the Czar and Czarina will arrive at Portsmouth about 20th August. — General Booth has been given an immense "send off " by the Salvation Army. — Mr H. M. Stanley has met with an accident, bis thigh being fractured. — It is announced that the intended marriage of the Marquis of Hartington with the Dowager Duchess of Manchester will not take place. — The Berlin correspondent of the " Times " telegraphs that King Charles of Roumania will shortly meet the Prince of Wales for the purpose of arranging the betrothal of Prince Ferdinand (his nephew), heir presumptive to the Roumanian throne, with the daughter of the Duke of Edinburgh. — The English wheat market has an upward tendency, while the Continental is steady, and the American advancing. — The "Spectator" advocates that the colonies should become entirely indepen dent and autonomous, that they should establish a common citizenship of English speaking nations, also perpetual treaties and an offensive and defensive alliance. The " Spectator " predicts if this is done, in half a century half the civilised world would be lapped in the security of a mighty pan-Anglicana. Bellamy's having been carefully nursed through its illness and put on its feet once more, the generous taxpayers, of course, providing the needful, members have now time to engage in regulating a few other little matters of some moment to themselves. They have, in the first place, decided on raising the honorarium to £240 a-year; and before the country has had time to rec >ver from the shock, the announcement comes forth that it ' is intended to repeal the Act reducing the number of members, and bring, the House back to its original strength of 95 members instead of 74 as at present. Not a bad little programme this to start a Liberal Government with, and all without in the slightest degree being concerned as to what the country may think of it. Both the redaction of (he honorarium and the reduction of members were undertaken by the special and unanimous desire of the country, and since both these measures became law, there has been no change of opinion in the country on either subject, no desire expressed to revert to the old order of things, and no authority given to a single representative in the House, as far as we are aware, to upset the existing arrangements. Neither of these questions were discasscd or referred to at the general election : not by the electors, because the present order of things was looked upon as hnal for some considerable time to come, until circumstances warranted a change, which they certainly do not at present, and no attempt at introducing or discussing them was made by the candidates, simply because they were aware that such a piece of imprudence meant certain death to their chances of election. They are cow stejßag a march on the country. Is there a single.' member of the House in the Ministry or out of it who would dare to stand on any public platform at tbe late elections and advocate such a measure 7 Is there even one who would have the moral courage to do so even now? Why, then, do they get behind the country's back in Parliament and do it? Such conduct is not only unprincipled but mean and dishonest ; and every member who refrains from entering his strenuous protest •gainst it shares in the guilt involved in it.