LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1905, 18 June 1892, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

THE arrivals in the colony during May were 1057, and the departures 1023. The bulk of the people, as usual, came from Victoria or New South Wales.

At the meeting of the Education Board this week an application from the Waifcahtjoa School Committed re a more suitable residence was referred to the architect to visit and

There were three patients in the Tuapeka Hospital last evening— two male and one female. One patient was admitted into the institution during the week and two were discharged.

The latest advices state that biddings at the London wool sales are brisk. Sydney and Port Phillip heavy sorts are being keenly competed for. Prices are very firm, with an upward tendency for best classes. All sections of the trade are operating.

Dr Fitzgerald, of Kaitangata, condemns the use of the Clutha water for drinking purpofes, and attributes, after careful inquiries, three cases of typhoid fever to the fact of his advice in this respect being disregarded.

At the meeting of the Sydenham Licensing Committee on Wednesday, licenses for the three remaining hotels were refused ; therefore after June 30th no licensed bouse will exist in Sydenham. The population of the borough numbers 10,800 persons.

WE learn by cablegram that in the Sydney grain market New Zealand milling brings 4s 7d to is lOd ; chick wheat, 3s 8d to 3a 9d Oats : Peed, 2i 4d to 2s 6d ; seed, 2s 83. In the Melbourne grain market milling wheat is in moderate demand ; prime quality, 4s 2d. Oats : Algerian and Danish, 2s 2d ; stout, heavy, 2s 4d. In the Adelaide grain market milling wheat is quiet at 4s 3d. Oats : 3s 3d to 3s 4d.

It is necessary, if the aheep dog competition is to be retained on the programme of the Tuapeka Poultry Society, that the meeting called, for this evening should be represented by the class whose benefit this particular item is designed to benefit. In any other district we are inclined to think there would be no necessity for the efforts which the Society is compelled to put forth in this matter ; farmers and shepherds and others would regard it as a duty to come forward voluntarily and render what assistance they could. It is to be hoped, now that the matter has been pressed upon them, they will attend in force this evening and so prevent the item from being abandoned.

The Millers C:-s~k Dredging Cj. h^ve obtained IGoz 16dwt 15gr of gold for 123 hours' dredging.

At the Police Court, Milton, on Wednesday, Thos. Kilgariff was charged on the information of Inspector Hull with exposing for sale in a public sale yard sheep infected with lice. Defendent pleaded guilty, and was fined LI, costs 7s.

The "Tapanui Courier" advocates the Tapanui-Heriot route for a railway to Hawea and Wanaka. The distance is put down at 120 miles, with no en.siueeri:^ difficulties. It contends that if ever railway communication is extended to the West C<> >st, this is the best route.

CHAS. Kidd, a Winton fanner, was convicted at luvercargill on Thursday of stealing six lambs, and sentenced to four years' penal servitude. In passing sentence, Mr Justice Williams said it was necessary to inflict substantial punishment, the offence being so prevalent and difficult of detection. Further, he was o( opinion, in view of ,he fact that tho prisoner had been twice before the court on similar charges and acquitted, that he was not a new hand at this illegal business.

One of the measures to be introduced by the Government next session is a Bill for dealing with the restriction of testamentary trusts. It provides that in cases where the beneficiaries are not all adults, the adult beneficiaries may petition the Supreme Court for the realisation of the estate, and the Oonrt may order the property to be sold, with a view of giving the adults their share and investing the balance with the Public Trust Office at 4 per cent, for the minors until they come of age. The same provision.! made for widows and other legatees desiring to realise. The Bill applies only to estates exceeding £1000 in value, and its object is to faoiJitate tbe subdivision of large properties. On the surface tbe measure seems to be in the right direction, but its provisions should be most carefully scrutinized, for it aims at introducing quite a new and highly important principle into our legislation.

For some months past the Clutha River Board has had a large gang of men at work throwing out a stone groin to remove a shingle brink that had formed iv the river and obstructed the navigation at a point about a mile and a half above Clydevale ferry. It was at one time feared that the obstruction would prevent the settlers in the .Tuapeka Mouth district getting their grain sent away by steamer this season. The groin referred to has, however, acted more promptly and more effectively than had been anticipated, and the obstruction has already been sufficiently removed to allow the 9teamer to pass. We understand the steamer will be sent to Tuapeka Mouth at the beginning of next week, and will continue to run betweeu there and B'tlclutha so long as there is cargo for her to carry. As a commodious goods-shed has been erected by the River Board at Tuapeka Mouth, there is no reason why the steamer should not have full cargoes and speedy despatches at Tuapeka Mouth.

The "Trade Eevicw" understands that there is likely to be some excitement in this colony over the rights of the patentees of barbed wire before the now fast-approaching expiry of these patents. It appears that the original patents terminate in August next-, and considerable shipments of outside makes are on the way to New Zealand, consigned to importers who were ignorant of the fact that the colonial patents do not expire till February, 1893. Now it happens that a substantial fighting fund exists in England for the defence of the patent rights of this invention, formed by arrangement between the patentees and the licensees, which, if not needed, will roveet to the pa.tcutees. The fund is, we understand, in the hands of certaiu gentlemen of the legal profession, whose representatives out here are on the look out lo put it to the 113 c for which it was subscribed, and every shipment of barbed wire other than 3f this patent that is landed in New Zealand before February, 1893, will give an opportunity for a prosecution for infringement of patent rights. Uuder the circumstances we may reasonably expect that the opportunity will not be lost.

The Minister of Lands in his address fa Harapden on Thursday night accused Mr H. S. Valentine of playing on the ignorance of his audience on the occasion of his recent appearance before his constituents in Lawrence. In order to give this ridiculous assertion an appearance of plausibility, Mr M'Kenzie resorted to a piece of shabbiness that one would hardly expect from a man in his position. Mr Valentine stated that the Government were desirous of obtaining as much patronage as they could to enable them to retain their seats. In proof of this, he instanced the Lands for Settlement Bill, by which the Minister desired to obtain £50,000 per annum for the purchase of private lands, to be spent as he thought fit. This plain, matter-of-fact statement the Minister twisted to suit the purpose of the moment, and provide himself with an opportunity of indulging his disposition to be offensive and insultiug. Mr Valentine, he said, presuming on the iguorance of his audience, had stated that he (the Minister of Lands) bad already spent the i' 50,000 passed last session for opening up Crown lands ; whereas, he had only spent tB,OOO. It is a singular thing that the Minister of Lands, who is persistently crying out about being misrepresented and unfairly attacked, should himself on this occasion be guilty of so contemptible and flagrant a piece of misrepresentation. ■

No one at this distance can hope to understand the details of the struggle for the American Presidency. It is, of course, obvious that Mr Blame, as a candidate, has thrown off the mask and done the right thing in severing his connection with the public service. That he ought to have done 90 long ago every man of honour will admit. He played for the Presidency throughout the discussion of the M'Kinlay Tariff, and made an amount of capital by his suggestion of the reciprocity clauses. Harrisou, without having anything very particular to recommend him, runs for a second term ; so does Grover Cleveland ; and Major M'Kinlay finds the candidature for the Presidency the very best thing for appealing to the nation on behalf of the tariff. As to who will win, we only know that out of twenty-three Presidents of the United States since the first election in 1789, six only have been returned for a second term of office. These were Geo. Washington, Thos. Jefferson, Jas. Madison, Jas. Monroe, Andrew Jackson, and Ulysses Grant. The Americans are jealous of second-term men, and only granted a second term to their six greatest men for very distinguished services, as the above list of names very abundantly proves. Tbe latest cables show that Blame is altogether out of the running, and that the contest for the Presidency will lie between Harrison and Cleveland. The election takes place next November.

Mr T. Johnston, in a letter to the Education Board at their meeting on Thursday, strongly protested agaicst what he regards as the grossly unfair treatment to which he was subjected by the inspectors in the late inquiry in which he was concerned as headmaster of Bavensbourue school. He has also charged the Education Board with doing him a grievous and irreparable injury by giving publicity to the misstateaients in the inspectors' report on the result of tbe inquiry. The inspectors, in their report, jointly alleged that to their knowledge they were aware some of the passes made in the school in certain subjects were of the barest kind. To this Mr Johnston replies that one, at least, of the inspectors could have no such personal knowledge, as he had not examined the school during the past ten years. The average passes of his school during tbe past five years were, he says, 83 4 per cent, |and itfcertainly must be said, that is to say if inspectors' reports are reliable data on which to form a judgment, that Mr .Johnston must be a very capable, methodical and diligent teacher. And if their annual reports are not reliable as proof of the manner in which the school has been conducted, how then can any importance be reasonably attached to their latest report? If Mr Johnston had not been so persistently harried and an enquiry forced on theEdncation Board, it is quite legitimate to suppose the inspectors would go on from year to year furnishing Mr Johnston with evidence of his capacity in -the shape of big pass percentages. Either Mr Johnston, as he himself says, has been treated with gross injustice as the result of the recent inquiry, or else the annual reports on his school made by the inspectors for years past have been both unreliable and misleading. \

A CABLEGRAM has been received from London, announcing the dealh of Lady Bell, wife of Sir Francis Dillon Bell, ex- Agent General of New Zealand. As it is a matter of no small importance, it will be well to direct the attention of the pnl - lie to the great winter fair which opens here during the week. The whole of the goods offered have been imported direct from London, have been bought for cash, and will be offered at prices which are in many cases less than landed cost. Early callers fare best. — (Advt.) AT the Education Board meeting in Dunedin on Thursday, the Secretary reported that the householders at Moa Flat had failed to elect a school committee. The Board appointed the following commissioners : — Messrs E. Tubman, W. Westcott, John Gunn, and Jas. Allen. The names of John Muir and Jas. Patterson were added to the Tuapeka Mouth School Committee, the householders having failed to appoint the full committee at the. annuul meeting. The resignation of Miss Livingston as mistress of the Kelso school was accepted. The Board granted the sum of £8 to Glenkenich and Crookston school committees for the erection of coal sheds. The ecualyptus is declared to be the most valuable tree introduced into France, and its cultivation is rapidly extending in the southern departments. Its bark is in great demand by the French tanners. Its fibres are employed in the making of mats, baskets, cordage, packing and blotting paper, and filters. A resinous substance is extracted from it by distillation, which is know in commerce as vegetable naphtha. An illuminating oil is obtained from it which affords a brilliant light, without smoke and without odour. Fragrant essences are distilled from its flowers. Its chemical products enter largely into the French pharmacopoeia ; and a decoction of the wood, after having been cut into fine flakes, is found to be superior to any other agency for cleansing the calcareous incrustations which gather on the inside of the boilers cf steam engines. In defending himself from the charges made against him in connection with Bun 199, Teviot, before his constituents on 'Ihursday night, the Minister of Lands said that he visited the Roxburgh district in January last and saw a large portion of the run. He was met by two deputations, both of which told him that the land was only suitable for small grazing runs. On returning to Dunedin -he got a plan of the run, from which he saw there was a good deal of very high country in it, and he caused a surveyor to be scut to ascertain the wishes of the people who were interested in opening the run. The surveyor was sent, and no sooner was it found that the land was going to be surveyed in a certain direction than a meeting was got up to show thut this would be doing the country a wrong. A petition was sent up to Wellington which he forwarded to the Otago Land Board, who had dealt vtith it, and had recommended the Government that 700 or 800 acres should be surveyed in smaller areas and the rest divided iuto small grazing runs. His action in the matter was straightforward and above board, with the object to get as many people on the run as possible. It was said that a Liberal owning 3000 acres in the locality had tele- j graphed bim to cut up the run in a certain direction. There was not one word of truth in the statement. No one had telegraphed to him on the subject whether Liberal, Tory, or any other colour. These statements were entirely fallacious, and on a par with many other statements. The music-loving public of Lawrence will have an opportunity of listeuing in the Town Hall next Friday evening to the performance of one of the most renowned pianists of the present day. The fame of Mons. LeonDriver as a solo pianist and composer is now world-wide, and it is not often in a lifetime that people located in th's quarter of the globe are afforded tbe opportunity of hearing a man of such genius and admitted distinction in the musical world. Mous. Driver is a pupil of theiramortal Abbe Lizst, whose compositions he plays, and much of the secret of whose inexpressibly-brilliant execution and wonderful technique he has succeeded in acquiring. His tour through the colonies has been a series of ovations ; everywhere his performances have drawn crowded and enthusiastic audiences, and the Press, with one voice, has pronounced him to be the most distinguished pianist that has ever visited these shores. The most marvellous of his performances is the descriptive solo of his own composing, entitled "A Storm at Sea," in which is embodied all the brilliance and power and pathos of his splendid genius. There are five movements in this solo. The first describes a ship leaving the harbour, the rolling of the . waves and the swish of the water against the shore being produced with inconceivable realism. In time comes a calm, during which the ripple of the waters and the dead roll of the ship can be heard. This is succeeded by a storm at sea, during which the wind shrieks and howls through the rigging and all the other appalling accompaniments of a hurricane are represented with a trueness to life that must be heard to be fully credited. It is certain on the whole to be one of the most splendid musical treats ever witnessed in Lawrence.

A LIVBLY. discussion on the present method adopted of appointing teachers in the Otago district took place at Thursday's meeting of the Education Board. Mr Macgregor said there was no method for promotion by merit or seniority cr anything else in the manner of selecting teachers, and month after month the greatest injustice was being perpetrated on teachers. While the Board allowed that state of things to exist it was a disgrace to the Board and to every member on the Board. He bad of late months abstained from saying anything concerning the method of appointment, treating the whole thing as a farce, and hoping that some time by-and-by the Board would come to see it was their duty to make an alteration. To do their duty the Board required an impartiality, a firmness, and a great deal of painstaking labour, which the Board by its present method saved itself. . The work of appointing teachers was by far the most important duty the Board was expected to perform, and it was a duty they had deliberately and for years shirked, and as long as the present method continued they were shirking it to the great injustice of the teschers and to the everlasting disgrace of every member of the Board. Dr Hislop thoroughly agreed with the sentiments expressed by Mr Macgregor, but the Board could not act othervv ise as they were tied by resolution to the present method. He believed the names of all suitable applicants should be sent to the committees. A motion was proposed by Mr Green condemnatory of the system employed whicbjhe said, gave satisfaction to individual members of the Board, but was strongly objectionable to the large minority. Mr Green's motion was lost. THE Marlborough " Weekly News " of the 11th instant contains an editorial dealing in • highly eulogistic terms with the speech delivered in Lawrence by Mr H. S. Valentine, M.H.R. " Though perhaps not as well-known throughout the colony as some politicians," says onr contemporary, "because be never talks unless he has something to say, Mr Valentine is still looked on in the House as a man whose opinion is worth having, and whose views are worth listening to. He is not in any sense of the term a strong party man, but will vote for or against a Government as his conscience dictates. In this respect be differs from a number we could name, who vote fora party when they do not believe in the measures that are being pressed on them. Mr Valentine is very strong against the Government all ■ through. He commences by asking what had the Government done for Ibis country since they took office ? Nearly every m ensure — such as the Labor Bills, etc.— passed by them and now on the Statute Book had been previously introduced by the Atkinson Government, and yet for measures such as these, although initiated by their predecessors, the present Government took every credit. . . . But Mr Valentine is no captious critic, and this we are pleased to see. He gives the Govern ment — and deservedly so too — credit for doing good service last session, especially with the Mining Bill. As to the Land Bill, Mr Valentine was very clear. It was thrown np because Mr M'Kenzie could not get his own way, tnd do away entirely with freehold. Altogether, the' speech was one that in Otago at the present time would" do much good, because it would act as a tonic after the depressing effect of the late Ministerial visits. It is well at times for people to compare actions with promises, and in Marlborough this can be done with but little satisfaction."

THE adjourned meeting of the Dunedin City Licensing Bench was hel I yesterday. The application for a renewal of the license for Wain's hotel was granted, on the condition that the M'mse-street bar of the house he closer) up. Licenses were also granted to the Newmarkel, Grange, White Horse, and Liverpool Arms Hotels. Licenses were refused to the National, Occidental, York, and London Hott Is.

The manager of theßoxburgh Amalgamated Co. reports for the week ending June 11 :— " No. 1 elevator has been working all the week, less the necessary stoppage for washing dovn on Monday. Tne return was not up to what I expected, but the dirt was only fr"in the top layers of wash. I finished in No. 2 paddock on Tuesday, and after washing down I starred to remove the boxes and elevator close up to th*> face, and have also placed a second elevator in this paddock. I have a certain amount of drift to strip off before I commence to elevate washdirt, but when finished stripping I expect to get some good returns from this paddock, and also from No. 1 shortly. Washed down No. 1 Monday— 3loz 15dwt (292 hours); washed down No. 2 Tuesday— 62oz 9Jwt 9,jr (324 hours). During the week I have had the by wash at the dam tilled up level with the top of the wall."

A VACANCY for a female assislantship at Forbury school this week, salary £105 a-yeur, brought no less than fifty applicants of various grades of proficiency into the field. The Education Board, anxious, it is easy to surmise, to escape the delicate and, at the same time, laborious task of collating, analysing, aiid comparing the multitudinous claims and qualifications of tlin fair educationists, thoughtfully passed the job along to the school committee. It is hard to say what the committee will think of this generous recognition of their rights by the Education Board ; but it is almost safe to predict that before the business is through they will be inclined to wis.li the Board had cut down the number of applicants before sending them along. But the most suggestive feature of the business is the excessive keenness of the competition that exists in the teaching profession, or, at all events, in that portion of it assigned to females. And this is not a solitary or exceptional instance in that respect. There is the same rush of applicants fwr almost every vacancy for female Ipjiclk rs under the Board. But there is uo i-eiiiciiy for it; the avenues of employment for "iris wii<» look above domestic service or oilier kinds of menial employment are very few; and to make matters worse they show no signs of increasing, while tlie outpuf.if we may so term it, of trained teachers from the schools shows a considerable annual increase.