LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Tuapeka Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1906, 22 June 1892, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

THE Government have decided to proclaim an Arbour Day for the colony.

On (lit that in the event of the Hon. Mr Fergus not offering himself again for the Wakatipu seat, Mr Vincent Pyke will be a candidate for the electorate.

There are 2,570 manufacturing industries and works in the colony, showing an increase of 302 upon the number in 1886. Employment is afforded by these to 26,911 males and 2,969 females.

There was no sitting of the Resident Magistrate's Court, Lawrence, on Monday, all the cases set down for hearing having either been withdrawn or settled before the Court was declared open.

Mb G. F. Richardson addressed his constituents st Gore on Monday night, and by a substantial majority received a vote of confidence against an amendment of thanks and confidence in the Ministry.

AT the half-yearly change of chairs last evening of the Loyal Tuapeka Pioneer Lodge, M.U.1.0.0.F., the following appointments were made :— N.G., Bro. W. Lawrence ; V.G., Bro. Jno. Sutherland ; E.S., Bro. W. Kemp (re-elected). Bro. Jas. Mackay fills the G. M.'s chair.

THE Hon. R. E. O'Connor, Minister of Justice in New South Wales, who made a tour of this colony, was greatly struck with the completeness of our local government. He thinks that the country is splendidly roaded and bridged.

The Minister for Lands is of the opinion that for every honest mau who goes through the Insolvency Court in the colony six rascals take advantage of the law.

The number of New Zealanders destitute in Syd ney is appalling to the yisitor, and they have no hesitation in asking for alms from any prominent New Zealander who goes over. Sir Patrick Buckley (says a Wellington paper) was stuck up all over Sydney by destitute exfellow colonists, and as the Hinemoa came nway a number came to him on the wharf on toe same pitiful errand.

A HOME correspondent writes : — It would hardly do to say that Lord Glasgow is a man of great administrative or oratorical talent (the two qualifications most needed in a colonial Governor uow-a-days) ; hut, nevertheless, he is a man of good parts and firmness of character. He is a good braw Scotsman, who can drink whiskey and smoke strong tobacco, and as such he should become distinctly popular with the Maorilanders.

The gold returns of the following mining companies are to hatid : — Hercules No. 1, BGoz 13twt 3gr for 7 days' sluicing ; Dunedin Dredging Co., 17oz for 5 days' dredging ; Golden Run Dredging Co., 52'iz for fortnight's work; Ettrick Dredging Co., 8 >z ; Jutland VUb Dredging Co , 270z for 144 hours' wagestime; Upper Waipori Alluvial (Jo.'s No. 2 dredge, 18'»z ldwt for 5 -lays 3 hours' work. The Company's No. 1 dredge was not working for want of fuel.

THE Commissioner of Customs has recently had under his consideration the question of excise duty on hop and tonic beer, which is extensively produced in this colony, and has decided that for the f nturn every manufacturer of these beverages is to be deemed a brewer under the Beer Duty Act, 1880, and will require to take out a license and conform with the regulations under the said Act. By section 7 of the Beer Duty Act, 1880, persons carrying on the business of a brewer without a license are liable to a penalty of not less than £10 nor more than £200.

THE Marton correspondent of the " Weekly Press " writes as follows : — A good story is going the rounds of a favoured few — viz., that a staunch Oppositiou man got a letter a day or two ago from the Hon. Mr Seddon asking that :i requisition should be sent him to address the Rangitibei electors and stating that certain bridges, etc., previously asKed for might be arranged for. Either Mr Seddon or his advisers should have made more certain of the m;in they were addressing; but it is thought that the letter was addressed to the wron-.' party. It is said that the receiver, however, explained his political views in reply, but, nevertheless, took occasion to remark that he was glad the Minister had decide 1 to cacry out the works mentioned.

SOME particulars as to the method of electting the Presideut of the United States may be interesting just now. The following is the form of procedure : — Eich State chooses by popular vote "electors" equal in number to the senators and representatives sent by that Stute to the Congress. The electors of each State mccc at their respective State capitals on a day appointed, and there vote by ballot for a President. The ballots are then sent to Washington, where they are opened by the President of the Senate in the presence of the Congress, and the candidate who has received a majority of the whole nnmbcr of electoral votes cast is declared President for the ensuing term. If no candidate has secured a majority, then from the three highest on the list the House of Representatives elect a President.

There was a fair attendance at the meeting at the Volunteer Hall ou Saturday evening to consider whether the sheepdog trial would be held this year or not in connection with the local Poultry Society's exhibition. The bulk of the meeting was composed of members of the Society, the class on whom principally depends the success af the competition, and for which the meeting was called, not/attending in anything like the strength that might very reasouably be expected. It was stated during the course of the meeting that several of the farmers and shepherds in the district had offered to contribute to a fuud if the trial was held as usual. Two or three of those present undertook to collect subscriptions, and were accordingly furnished with lists for that purpose. It was decided that the Poultry Society give a donation of £2 2j to the fund, and undertake its management on condition that the trial be held on the Society's showday and within i\ mile of Lnvrence.

THE rabbits are said to be unusually plentiful just now, a fact, no doubt, that has not escaped the observation of the rabbit inspector and his subordinates, and we may in consequence expect to see those useful officials very active after the date on which the general poisoning is notified to commence. And it is imperative that they should be, otherwise the labours and money of those settlers who pursne a systematic and effective course of repression may find themselves no freer from the depredations of the rabbits than their easy-going neighbour, who con cerns himself in the matter only when he has been goaded into doing so by the threat of logal proceedings, or the still more convincing argument of a lively five minutes before the R.M. Tim destruction or, at all events, the diminution of the rabbit pest, it should be pretty well known by this time, is very much like the acquisition of knowledge : it can only be accomplished by steady and systematic labour, and those who arc so obtuse as not to have familiarised themselves with the fact before this, or, having done so, are so neglectful of their own aud their neighbours ' interests as to continue inactive and unconcerned, C3n hardly expect sympathy if they find themselves in the meshes of the law. These arc the people for whom the Rabbit Act was designed ; and it would be misdirected clemency not to give them an occasional taste of it.

Fbabs have been expressed that when all the refrigerating companies of Australia are in actual operation the English market will be completely glutted with frozen beef. If so, the competition will come from the home growers, not from the foreigners. A return has just been issued showing the sources of the meat supply of Great Britain. This return was called forth by the fears expressed that the closure of British ports against Continental stock, in consequence of the outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, would cause a serious scarcity of meat ; but it appears that so far from that being the case, the supply from Continental Europe only amounted to 021 of the whole of last year's supplies. The total meat supply of the United Kingdom last year is calculated to have been about 2,170,000 tons. Of this, 1,500,000 tons represents the quantity of meat actually produced by the flocks and herds of Great Britain and Ireland, while the foreign supply amounted to about 670,000 tons, comprising nearly 500,000 tons of dead meat, and only 170,000 tons of meat from animals landed alive. The 670,000 tons of foreign meat (says the " Qucenslander "), if represented by beef, would mean 2,000,000 of bullocks 7so that even if the Australians were to do their utmost in the way of refrigerating, their united output would not exceed 10 per cent of last year's demand for meat in England.

The hand of death has been very busy in our midst during the last few days. Our Saturday's issue contained a notification of the death of Mr Patrick Brosnan, a very old resident of the Tuapeka district, who died at an advanced age on the 16th instant; also, that of Mrs Nash, wife of Mr M. Nash, a miner long resident at Wefcberstones. Mrs Nash's funeral took place on Sunday, and the esteem in which she was held was testified by the immense concourse of people who followed her remains to the grave. On Monday Mr Jas. Brown, who bad been a resident of the dis trio for over 27 years, passed away, after a brief illness,havingonly been received into the Hospital on the previous day. Deceased was at one time noted as a champion ploughman, but of late years he followed mining pursuits at Bungtown. A still more recent death is that of Peter, third son of Mr Peter Robertson, one of Tuapeka's veteran and most respected settlers, which took place rather suddenly yesterday afternoon. He was apparently in his usual good health and spirits on Sunday, but towards night complained of being unwell, and passed away, as just stated, yesterday afternoon, death being due to inflammation of the stomach. He was a young man of good parts and estimable character, very popular and highly respected, and his death is all the more painful, occurring, a3 it did, in the very flower of his manhood. The blow is a heavy one to his aged and respected parents, and they have the deepest sympathy of the community in their affliction.

We undcnt-in^ that in tbe g.nu'oi:ng fracas in a Dunedit>->hotel, of which so much has lately been heard, the three most prominent figures were a rising medical mau, a member of Parliament, and a J.P., who is well known as one of the sternest " beaks " in the city, a perfect terror, in fact, to evil-doers when he takes his seat in the hall of justice. We don't profess to be much horrified at finding an M.H.R, in such company : legislators are not cherabims as a rule, and professional men sometimes err, but better things should be expected from a pillar of the law. SOME interesting statistics have been compiled bearing on the politics and occupations of the candidates who are in the field for the ;ipproaching general elections ut Home. They are 1,056 in number, and out of the 520 Unionists 91 are lawyers, while out of 536 Home Rule candidates 143 are lawyers. The disparity between the landlords among tbe Home Rulers and Unionists is sufficiently marked, the former having 118 and the latter only 43. Of the journalist candidates 13 are Unionists and 29 Home Rulers. Brewers and distillers— l 7 Home Rulers and 11 Unionists. Naval officers— i Unionists, 0 Home Rulers. Medical profession— 3 Unionists, 13 Home Rulers. There are 31 labour candidates, of whom one is a Conservative, but of course some of the others are opposing the Gladstonian candidates. ACASEof considerable importance in mining circles has just been decided at Greymouth by the Warden, Major Keddell. Some time ago, when the idea of mining by means of dredges caught the public mind, all the beaches between Charleston and Okarita were applied for and taken up in claims varying from 20 to 100 acres. Borers were employed to test the ground, and in some cases expensive machinery was erected ; but owing to the want of success that attended the ventures, there lias been a general dilatoriness in the I payment of the annual rental. Action was taken by the receiver of gold revenue for the recovery of tbe rents, but the decision was given against him, the Warden holding that tno lease should have been by deed, and that where the State is the lessor no distinction can be made, no more than when the contract is between subject and subject. THE Sunday trader, when caught redhanded — that is to say, in the act of handing over a large glass of beer to a customer — pleads "philanthropy," friendship, bona fide travelling, or some excuse of that kind, but rarely pleads guilby so ingeniously as in a case recently tried at a country court. The landlord told his story in this way:— "A lot o' them kern down to me house, and, thoompin' on the door, sez, 'Are ye asleep, Dinnis?' ♦I am,' I sez, but sorra fear o' them bein' satisfied. I'd hardly got thim oat o' the house agin before the policeman kern, and sez he, 1 What are ye doin' wid a light in your bar a' Sunday night?' « An' how ken I see to surf me customers widout a light,' sez I. I give you me word, your Worship, there was nothin' more passed bechune v*, and he's com mittin' black perjury, so he is, in sayiu' I admitted the offence." At the close of the Borough Council meeting on Monday night, an informal discussion took place relative to the proposal to strike a Harbour Board rate. Cr Johnston, who introduced the matter, spoke strongly against it, and expressed surprise that the Dunedin Harbour Board should attempt to shufno out of its responsibilities at the expense of country ratepayers. The other councillors expressed themselves to the same effect, the general opinion being that if the Board undertook certain financial responsibilities it should be allowed to discharge them the best way it could. It was made very plain that the Council will strenously oppose the imposition of a rate for such a purpose. No resolution was adopted, as the Harbour Board's proposal has not yet taken definite shape ; but if an attempt should be made to get a Bill through the House for that purpose, the member for tbe district will bo communicated with and his oppositiou to the measure enlisted.