LOCAL AND GENNERAL.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXIII, Issue 9456, 22 July 1881, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENNERAL.

Hunt Club, — The hounds will meet to-morrow at Wangaehu, at 2 p.m. Police, — The town is at present sadly curtailed of its usual strength of guar- ! dians of the peace. There is only one constable on the beat, three having been despatched to Upokongaro, and the two men who were to have come from Wellington having been delayed on account of no steamer being on the berth. The Wakatu.— Our readers will be pleased to observe, by a telegram in our shipping columns, that the favourite little steamer, the Wakatu, which went ashore on Tuesday last at the entrance of the Patea River, was got off last night, having sustained no damage whatever. '. Wellington House. — This well- ; known restaurant, which was in the i occupation of the late Mr Kirby, is now carried on by his widow. The situation ; of the house is most convenient to ' travellers and others, and the excellence ' of the accommodation is undeniable. < The ISTew Zealand Schoolmaster, j — We have received the prospectus of a ] paper to be called the- ' ' New Zealand 1 Schoolmaster," a monthly educational "* journal and review. In size it will be < what is known as foolscap folio, and ■■ will contain sixteen pages. The pro- "* prietors promise that the staff shall con- £ sist of University men and practical i " educatienalists." The aim will be 3 "to make the publication specially 1 adapted to the requirements of teachers, t and those connected with the work of t education. School systems will be dis- t cussed, model lessons given, educational i publications reviewed, and everything s done to assist teachers in obtaining the t best and fullest information relating to educational matters." The first number s will appear about the beginning of I August. It is to be published in Napier, i

EontlNG. — The Drill Hall continues to be well patronised, and last night there was a large attendance. It is expected, however, that a still greater crowd will be present to-night, as some good skaters will put in an appearance, and the Band of the City Rifles will go through a well-selected programme. Choice Nursery Stock. — Mr A. Barns has received instructions to sell a splendid assortment of camellias, azalias, roses, &c, just received from Fergusson's Cainbclen Nursery, Sydney. The sale will be held in Mr J. P. Watt's yard, Taupo Quay, at 2 o'clock to-day. Football. — A match will be played on the Eecreation Ground to-morrow afternoon between players representing the World and New Zealand. The following are the players : — World — W. M. Smith, P. Smith, Tyndall, G. Godwin, W. Montgomery, J. Bentley, Barton. A. McLean, G. Sinclair, Nelson, Stevenson, Copeland. New Zealand — Marshall, Allison, Hackett, Coakley, Greenwood, Moore, Powell, Gower, Bell, Blyth, Bates, Thomson, Walker, Symes, Aiken, Taylor. Play will commence at 3 o'clock sharp, and a large attendance is looked forward to. The Parisian. — The machinery of the steamship Parisian consists of a massive set of compound engines of the threecylinder type, capable of developing 6200 indicated horse-power, which will propel the ship at a speed of from 15 to 16 knots per hour. The vessel ranks nest to the Great Eastern in point of size. An Old Bird. — According to the " Frankfurter Zeitung," at Kakkoo, in the Island of Lapland, an eagle was shot on the 15th ult., which measured six and a hah 0 feet between the tips of the wings. Round its neck it had a brass chain to which a little box was fastened. The box contained a slip of paper on which was written in Danish — "Caught and set free again in 1792 by N. and C. Anderson — Boetod in Falster, Denmark." Powder and Ball Christians. — There had been a serious division in the coloured Methodist church at Elizabethtown, Ky. A meeting of the members developed a great amount of bitterness. "When all in favour of a certain resolution were requested to hold up their right hands Brother Winterbower's hand was uplifted, and Brother Lee shot a bullet through it. Both men then fired indiscriminately, and the gathering dispersed without waiting for a formal dismissal. The Breakwater. — The heavy seas lately experienced, says the Timaru Herald, have "thoroughly tested the blocks placed in position at the end of the mole and established the certainty of their resting on a sound foundation. The upper tier is now being removed, with the object of completing this part of the structure by the usual process. The first of the series of top blocks or monoliths will probably be laid next week. Death of a Victorian Pioneer. — The Portland Guardian states that " one of the old and infirm inmates of the Benevolent Asylum, named John Fowles, who died recently at the age of 96 years, appeal's to have had the peculiar distinction of being the first man who turned up Victorian soil with a plough. Fowles, who was a native of Hampshire, England, landed in Tasmania early in the century, after having served some years in America as a private in the British army. In Launceston he was employed Quick Travelling. — From Liverpool to New York in a week ! The Servia, the latest addition to the Cunard line, is 580 feet long, and her burden is 8500 tons. Her engines are expected to work up to 10,500 horse-power, and it is hoped that she will make 20 miles an hour. The Servia is built of steel throughout, and has an inner hull five feet from the outer one. A hole, however large, knocked through the outer skin, would not endanger her. Indeed, if both skins are perforated, the danger would not be great, for the ship is divided into nine watertight compartments. The only way in which a ship of this kind could be swamped during a gale is through the washing away of the deck houses, and the other exposed structures which protect the staircases and skylights. It is safe to say that no such catastrophe can happen to the Servia. Science and Art. — A writer in the Sportsman says : — ' ' Tennyson can take a worthless sheet of paper, and, by writing a poem on it, make it worth £1000. That's genius. Mr W. J. Clark can write fewer words on a similar sheet, and make it worth. £1,000,000. That's capital. The Victorian Government can take so much gold and alloy, and stamp upon it the Queen's head and the English coat of arms. That's money. The mechanic can take material worth .±'lo, and make it into a watch worth £20. That's skill. The merchant can take an article worth Is and sell it for 4s. That's business. A lady can purchase a comfortable bonnet for £2, but she prefers to pay £20 for one because it's more stylish. That's foolishness. The ditchdigger works tenhours a day, and shovels out three or four tons of earth for 4s. That's labour." Electric Motor. — A tricycle driven by electricity appeared lately in one of the streets of Paris. M. Trouve writes of it to La Nature, stating that the tricycle was of English make, and very heavy (55 kilogr.), and that he had adapted to it two of his small electric motors, fed by three of the secondary elements or accumulators of electricity, which serve for his polyscope. The vehicle, mounted by a friend of his, ran several times along the Eve de Valais as fast, at least, as a good ordinary cab. The total weight of the vehicle, with its rider, was about 160 kilogrammes, and the effective force produced by the two motors was seven kilogrammetres. The experiment lasted an hour and a hah 7 . In view of the results, M. Trouve has set about the construction of a motor which will produce as much as the two others, so as to obtain a greater velocity, say 20 to 30 kilometres an hour. A Euffianly Act. — The St Amaud Mercury reports that a few nights ago, at the old township, a resident named Taylor was sitting quietly by his fireside conversing with his wife, when they were disturbed by the appearance of a stranger at the door, who requested that he might be allowed to stay there that night. Not liking the look of the intruder, Mr Taylor gave him to understand that he could not be accommodated, and, seeing that he did not then depart, went outside to direct the stranger to a place where he would find lodgings. The two walked away for a short distance, when MiTaylor, after pointing out the road, and wishing his visitor good night, turned to go back. He had not proceeded far, however, berore he was startled by the report of firearms from behind, and on looking round perceived that the man was following him, who almost immediately afterwards fired another shot, which, like the first, was fortunately wide of the mark. Mr Taylor ran home, and upon getting inside shut the door securely. The man who had attacked him then commenced to belabour the house with heavy boulders, which were thrown with such force as to go through the corrugated iron roof, smashing in their descent several articles of furniture, and one hitting Mrs Taylor a very severe blow on the shoulder. After delivering a parting shot at the door with a large bucket of pipeclay which stood near, the ruffian was heard to take bis departure, to the infinite relief of the inmates of the dwelling.