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Waipawa Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 781, 26 May 1885, Page 2

We arc requested to state that, the Rev. Father Ahern will hold service at Wallingford next Sunday at 11 a.m. On Sunday afternoon, Mr David Annctt, Waipawa, was driving towards Kaikora, with two ladies and a friend in the. trap. When about 100 yards from tho Kaikora school the axle broke, but fortunately no one was hurt. A buggy was borrowed from Mr Pettit, of Kaikora, and the party reached home in safety. The first volume of Hansard, embracing the period from the first session of the Assembly in 1854 until the appointment of an official staff of reporters in 1867, has just been issued. It will be remembered, says the Yeoman, that the idea of collecting reports of these earlier debates originated with Mr Maeandrew, and on a motion moved by him being carried, Mr M. Fitzgerald was selected for the post of superintending the publication. The Wellington Times has been favoured with a copy of the first volume, and considers Mr Fitzgerald has made the most of the materials at his command. The Wanganui evidence in tho BryecRusden case is concluded. The Commissioners having examined the witnesses from up the coast, says the Wanganui Herald, travelling in that direction was not necessary. There still remains to be taken evidence at Wellington and Auckland. That at the former place will be taken by the same Commissioners, viz., the Hons. Buckley and Tole. At Auckland two other Commissioners will be appointed. The exhumation of the bodies at Nukumaru cannot be proceeded with at present, as the consent of the natives interested has not been obtained, some of them being at Parihaka, and others in the back country. It is probable that they may not be exhumed at all. but the course to be taken will be decided later on. The Clerk to the Porangahau Road Board kindly sends the following : A meeting of the Board was held last Friday, the following members being present—Messrs Hunter, Speedy and Herbert, also the Rev. Mr Simcox. It was decided to strike a rate of a farthing in the pound. Mr Hunter was elected Chairman for the ensuing year. A vote of thanks was passed to the chairman for past services. The clerk was re-appointed at a salary of £ls a year. He was instructed to write to defaulting ratepayers requesting them to pay their rates immediately. The station master of Swizzletown-cum-Boozely :—“ Sir, I kuows I does my dooty in looking after the interests of ‘ commercials’ careful, which as a rule they appreciates, and treats me liberal ; but you’re a out and outer. Why, a-standiug fifteen glasses of old ale on after another iu half a hour is luxuriant, sir, luxuriant 1” Mysterious stranger (thrown off his balance at the station master’s coherence.) *• But I’m a private detective. It having reached the ears of the general manager that you are in the habit of a gettiug intoxicated, I was sent down to test you. My report will be in your favour though.” The station master of Swizzletown-cura Boozely ; “ Gracious goodness ! You might have gived me straight tip I was drinking at the company’s expense a bit earlier, then I’d have had pints instead of glasses.” The landlord of the Club Hotel, in Blenheim, has lately started a novelty in the shape of a ladies’ room in connection with his house. “ Two rooms,” says a Marlborough papier, “have been set apart for the purpose, and the membership of nearly all those ladies who dwell at a distance from the town is promised.” The project, if confirmed to meeting the convenience of ladies coming into town from the country on business, is not a bad one, but in any other shape a ladies club at a publichouse is altogether opposed to English ideas.—Express.

The Clerk to the Wallingford Road Board kindly sends the following: A meeting of the Wallingford Road Board was held last Wednesday, the following members being present—Messrs Kims, Mac kersey and Hunter. Mr Hunter was elected chairman for the ensuing year. A vote of thanks was passed to Mr Ormond for his past services as Chairman. It was decided to strike a rate of a farthing in the pound. The clerk was re-appointed at a salary of £lO a year. The chairman was authorised to get work on the Wallingford-Blackhead Road completed iu order to obtain the grant under the Roads and Bridges Construction Act. Referring to the value of the tobacco leaf, Mr R. C. Barstow of Auckland, has written to a Wanganui gentleman as follows : —Good descriptions of American leaf cost us here Is per lb i.b., German leaf is cheaper a good deal. We consider then that our local growth, cured, should not be dearer. Loss of weight, wages, rent, interest, insurance, &c., whilst sweating will involve a cost of about 4d per lb. Our price then for sound dry leaf will range up to 8d here, extra parcels may fetch a trifle more, whilst inferior sorts will not be worth so much. These rates are 30 per cent, higher than the Australian or Victorian, except for selected lots. Rcmeuyi and his pertinacious curio hunting have several times been made the theme of newspaper paragraphs. From the Inangahua Times it appears that at Reefton he was nearly disappointed. His weakness there was quartz specimens, but time was short and he could not get about. After his concert ho commenced to bewail his fate to some gentlemen in the hotel, and a bargain was made, he was to bring down the violin and play a solo in the parlor, for which he would get some specimens. He agreed, played Schubert’s “ Serenade,” and received some splendid specimens. So gratified was he that he played his audience his grand “ Hymn of Liberty” before putting away his fiddle. The same paper says that “ short as his stay has been in New Zealand he has already shipped to his agents iu Sydney no less than forty-four boxes of varieties gathered together from every nook ami corner of the Colony. His collection includes two complete skeletons of the moa, presented to him by Professor Von Haast, besides innumerable other specimens of the extinct fauna of the Middle and North Islands, immense quantities of greenstone, kauri gum, Maori mats, and other native manufactures.” Yesterday was kept a close holiday, in honor of Her Majesty’s Birthday, and amusements of various sorts were the order of the day. In Petane the races took place ; and a volunteer review was held in Napier. When the latter was over, the new boat, which will in future be used by the naval brigade, was christened. Iu the presence of a large number of spectators, the “ Beatrice ** received her name, Mrs Spencer going through the usual christening form. In Wanganui, the races took place, whilst in Woodville, yesterday evening, the local volunteers gave a grand ball. Perhaps Waipawa was the quietest of all the townships in this district ; most of the residents here amusing themselves cither by visiting other places, or by shooting. Several good bags were obtained by sportsmen, ducks being very plentiful indeed. Owing to the holiday we were unable to get a telegraphic report of the race meetings. The Wellington Times states that on Monday two fishesman caught a fish amongst a haul in the harbor which closelv resembled an English salmon. The fish which weighs 51b. if not the true salmon, is closely allied to the species, and is probably a Californian salmon. The species referred to possesses the head anil tail of the true salmon, ami has striped, horizontal, dark bars, which are generally considered tube unmistakable signs of the English species. The body, however, is rather too thick for the “ king of English fish.” An important change has been made in the rifle practice in the United States army by the substitution of elliptical for circular targets. This has been introduced because the chief object of army marksmanship is not to make a big record so much as it is to make good line shots. The question was recently submitted to a number of officers in active service in the Indian country, and 1)4 per cent of the replies were in favor of the elliptical target practice, as tending to develop good line shots, which iu actual service would render the troops more efficient. The lady superintendent cf the Guard's Hospital, now out iu the Soudan at the front, had extremely short notice to prepare for the desert journey—a matter of a few hours. It was however, long enough for the officers to present her watch set in a leather hand which can be worn around the waist. The men, her principal patients, also presented her with a testimony of their appreciation of her services, skill and unfailing kindness. Two sisters accompanied the lady superintendent, and while the latter is probably at Korti, the others are some two miles above Assouan. Their quarters consist of three tents, a sleeping and eating one, a bell tent for dressing, with a bath, and a tent for the pitchers. An Arab tends, cooks, and. washes for the hospital staff. The cooking must be almost a sinecure seeing that the food mainly consists of tinned meat, tea and coffee and sugar, and hard biscuits. The field nurses wear scarlet cloaks, white aprons, and helmets lined with green, the same as the officers. The mosquitoes are reported very troublesome, and the rats at night very distracting. The journey up the Nile was made more interesting, the ladies write, by previous acquaintance with Miss Edward’s book, “ A thousand miles up the Nile,” and other works dealing with this and kindred subjects. The nursing sisters now in Egypt were there in ISB2, and did good work at Tel-el-Kebir. “ Once more the French flag floats over the spires of Strasburg.” Such is the announcement proudly propagated by the whole French press. This fact does not however, mean that the lost provinces have been restored to the French people ; it is simple emblematic of a childish and theatrical phase in French character. It would appear that a dyer of Strasburg succeeded in capturing some of the storks which, it is well known, are the pride of the town. He forthwith dyed the underpart of the wings of the birds—the one wing red, the other blue, leaving the body to form the white or central portion of the French tricolour Hag. This done, the birds were at once restored to freedom, and as they spread out their wing to regain their roosts, they displayed to all the colours of France. The fury of the German authorities was so great that at first they proposed to shoot these innocent standard bearers.

Some time ago two merchant princes in the West of Scotland, both very determined and obstinate men, got rather hot over an argument, and after going at it for some time, the oue called the other a “ blockhead who did not know what he was talking about.” “ Man, Jamie,” said he, “ ye’re that ignorant, I don’t believe ye even ken the Lord’s prayer.” “ Nae fear o’ that, Sandy.” said he, “ I ken it fine.” “ I’ll bet ye a five pound note ye don’t,” was the retort. “ Done ?” said Jamie, who immediately launched forth as follows :—“ The Lord’s my Shepherd, I’ll n .” “Stop, Jamie, stop 1” said Sandy . that’ll dae ; here’s yer siller. I kent fine ye could say it, but ye’re wrung about yon.”