LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXXIII, Issue 11204, 26 February 1891, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

■. The name of James Crabbe, of Wanganui, appears in- the list of those whq havegairiecTspeoial mention for French in class " E " Teachers' Examination. Mr J. H. Keesing was successful yesterday in selling the valuable freehold residence in Wicksteed-street, opposite Dr Earle's, and occupied by Mr J. Duigan. The property was purchased* by Mrs J. Anderson for w£335. ■; In compliance with the desire of a large number of ratepayers, the Mayor invites the inhabitants of Wanganui to observe Monday, the 2nd day of March, as a -partial holiday, on the occasion of the Championship Regatta. The Carin run, Dunedin, - comprising 1700 acres freehold and 13,560 acres leasehold, with 10,000 half-bred and merino Bheep," was sold on Tuesday •by the Farmers' Agency and Co., to a Dunedin gentlemen for .£BOOO. Nominations for the handicap events at the Woodville Jockey Club's Autumn 'meeting' close with the Secretary 'at Woodville, on Saturday next, the 28th, at 9 p.m.' Mr R. J. Fenn, has just formed a class with a view of preparing candidates for the forthcoming Trinity College music examination to be held in Wanganui. A small white poodle slut, with, double rows of teeth in both jaws, has been lost, and is advertised for. A reward will be given to the finder on information being left at the Chronicle officer. The horse O'Rourke was omitted from the nominations for the St. Patrick's Handicap at the Waverleyand Waitotara Race ' meeting. Entries for the catchweights and Ladies Bracelet close on the evening of March 6th, when general entries will be received. The bushfelling contract case Sullivan T. A. Mullins (claim £6 7s 6d) heard at 'the R.M. Court, resulted as follows— The R.M. struck two acres off the measurement ef the land, and, the set off being successful, he gave judgment for the plaintiff for the balance £1 3s 2d j costs, ; 16=i ; and solicitors fee (Mr Hogg) Ml Is.' It ia understood, says a telegram,- that the moderate party at Dunedin are not at all likely to agree to the proposals of the Temperance party, namely, to nominate a Licensing Committee pledged to abolish bottle licenses, and restrict publichouses to 10 o'clock licenses. The Temperance party will, therefore, nominate candidates pledged to prohibition. The Property Tax coljected up to the present time for' the" current year amounts to ' Several . postal advances are yet to come 'in (says a press 'wire), and when these and the Fire Insurance Companies' tax (due on the sth proximo) are received, it is expected' that the Colonial Treasurer's estimate of £355,000 will be fully realised. . -A team of the Wanganui Cricket >plub .will play a friendly game* of cricket against the Collegiate School next Saturday (the 20th), on. the School Ground. The match will commence at 2 o'clock sharp, and the Wanganui Club will be represented by the following members :- J. Watt (captain), S. Powell, P. Marshall, W. F.Downes, d'Arcy,;W. Jb. Cave, H. B. Cave, A. N. Cave, F. Skipwith, J. Hatrick, F. Mason, and F. Parkes. . The heaviest sea known at Lyttelton for years was experienced on Monday night and early on Tuesday unorning. A fresh south-westerly breeze blew on Tuesday afternoon, but died away at night, and was followed by a heavy sea. No damage of consequence -was done to the shipping, but some hundreds of tons of Btuff was washed away at the reclaimed land below the Sumner Road. : The bathing sheds, near ..Dampiere Day, with the wooden protective fenoe and stone breakwater were also washed awa-y. Wanganui is about to have the privilege —accorded the larger cenixes— of . haying the " wonder of the century" the phonograph, shown here. This, wonderful instrument of Edison's fertile and scientific brain reproduces with fidelity songs by famous artistes, speeches by Mr Gladstone, and conversations by other eminent men of the day. It also reproduces music performed by famous instrumentalists. Professor Archibald, M.A., delivers an interesting lecture in connection wifjh tlnv phonagrap'h, the exhibition of, which forms an entertainment of tne most novel kind. The machine will be shown for two nights (10th and 11th of March), at the Drill Hall. The advance agent 1 (Mr Petherick) for the Dobson-Kennedy Dramatic Company is in town making arrangements 'for a six nights' season, commencing on March the 6th, at the Oddfellows' Hall. The repertoire of the company is as follows :— "Peril," "The Shaughran," "Euchred," "Lost in London," "The Colleen Bawn," " Pygmalion and Galatea," and " East Lynne." The Company open here on the Cth of March, and are now playing at Masterton. The management have purchased the New Zealand right of " Little Lord Fanntleroy," in which Ruby Kennedy, the clever child actress, will appear as the little Lord. The Company will probably open in " The Shaughran " one of Boucicault's moat popular dramas. For the convenience of local candidates the musical examination of Trinity College, London, will be held in Wanganui, and an advertisement appears in this issue notifying that prospectuses containing full particulars may be obtained of Messrs Collier and Co. The College possesses a reputation among examining bodies in England, and Mr Parker during a recent .visit to England made arrangements for colonial students to have the advantage of an independent test of their work. The committee for New Zealand consists of Sir James Hector (Chancellor of the University), the Rev W. J. Habens, Inspec-tor-General of Charts, and Mr J, R. Blair, Chairman of tho Wellington Board of Education, with Mr R. Parker, as honorary secretary. At the District Court yesterday, before His Honor Judge Kettle, the case of Robert Davis v. William White for slander was heard. Damages amounting to JJIOO were claimed, Mr Borlase appearing for the plaintiff and Mr Hogg for the defendant. The following jury were empannelled — Messrs T. B. Williams (foreman), F. Wall, W. Pickup, and A. Gilmour. For the plaintiff Lewis, Batkin, who was present when the alleged slander took place, was called and examined. The defendant denied the charge, and was supported by his wife in denying the use of the words complained of. His Honor summed up, and the jury retired at 1.45, returning at 2.5 p.m., with a verdict in favour of plaintiff, and assessing the damages at £5 and costs. At the Police Court, before the R.M., Robert Forsyth was charged with leaving a eait unattended in Victoria Avenue without passing a suitable chain through the wheel so as to pvevent tho wheel from moving.— Accused pleadnd guilty, and was fined ss, and costs 2s. A. Ralph, charged with a similar offence, was fined a like amount. George Hannington was charged with being the driver of a certain cart, and leaving the same unattended whi\st he proceeded to a distance of more than two yards aivay without first passing a suitable chain through the near wheel so as 'to effectually; prevent the rotation of the same. A fine of 5s and costs 2s was jnflicted. He was charged also that whilst being the driver of a certain cart he did feed the horse attached to such cart other than by a properly constructed nose bag attached to the neck of the horse. The_ R.M. dislnjfjsed the charge with a caution. The case mi Smith v. Phoenix Insurance Company was concluded at Dun,edin on Tuesday. The case was the same as that against the Liverpool and London and Globe, and the only new point raised was the evidence given by Mr Leary, accountant, who said it was necessary that Smith should have made over 50 per cent lirofit. Hiß stock-taking in September last correctly represented his position. The jury, after nearly three hours' deliberation, says a Press wire, returned a three-fourths verdict answering all the issues in favour of the plaintiff, assessing the stock at the time of the fire at £150 less than the previous jury, and giving a verdict for .£750. Mr Justice Williams, as in the previous case, told the jury that if they foxind for the plaintiff they must find for the full amount. Mr Haggit pointed o»i that a clause in the policy provided far 't£e of loss. His Honor said that' Vas cpncjuujye, and redirected the jury accordingly,

We acknowledge with pleasure the In- .. spector .of. Schools'- report for the past ■' year. , ' ■ .There, will be a full rehearsal of the drama '^'.'Current' Cash "to-night at the Oddfellows' Hall, and.of the "Pirates" to-morrow evening. We are glad to hear that Major Brassey has quite recovered from his late illness, and was able to drive into town yesterday. An error crept into the handicaps of the Naval Artillery, .appearing in our issue 1 of .Tuesday. Lieut. Neill is represented 1 as having 6 points, whereas he is scratch, 1 and JLiieut Russell receives 6 points. Mr Peter Sim, who is on leave for two ' months, returned to town yesterday from a short visit to Christclnirch. Heintends ; starting to-day on a riding tour to the 1 • hot lakes district via Field's track and i Tokaanu. ' ; ""*,| 1 The Druids' Dramatic Cldk havebeejr 1 hard at work lately in rehearsing for igjre. performance in aid of the Hospitalpiteio i fund, all the members entering inf&rtne i scheme with characteristic energy, -*'' ' We noticed in Mr Ferry's window yes- ' terday a ( very handsome aneroid . barometer -presented for a surprise -one-man i competion by the Fire Brigade, to take r place at the March. practice meeting. ' A telegram states that 1 Sir John Hall, after deducting his expenses' during the , recent session in Wellington, has divided the balance of his honorarium among J the public institutions jix his electorate. ' Reserved seats fqr',th'e performances on the Regatta nighja? 6l " Current Cash" t and the "Pirat&>> o¥ • Penzance" . are . already, being booked at Messrs H. I. k Jones and Son's/where tickets may be . obtained. ':- Those . who wish ■to Becure i seats will.tlo'^ell to book them at ouce . as crow^ed^ houses are expected. The^ra&ary. of the Hospital Board wisbesjwy^knowledge, with thankß on behaJfjafthe patients, the receipt of three boxes|Bf. fruit and flowers, the proceeds from.ijme Feilding- Church of England Harvest , Thanksgiving festival. It is pleading to hear of a gift of this kind .comingi'.i rom the outskirts of the district.-.^ ': . A narrow escape ..from a serious accident was experienced by Mr Fred Harrisod yesterday, morning, He was riding and otj-'turning the corner at Campbell and BJyinouth Streets the ground suddently gave way, with the result that the rider was shot over the mare's head,' and both horse and man found themselves several feet in the ground. Mr Harrison fortunately kept hold of the horse's reiu or the - animal, which struggled hard, would have got away. It was a wonder that both man and horse were not badly injured.) The cause of the subsidence was the falling in of the. .drain, caused, it is supposed, by the late heavy rains. According to the Napier Telegraph the following corps are expected to take part in the Easter Encampment at Palmerston j—Navals— Wellington, Wanganui, Nelson,, Petone, and Napier. CavalryAlexandra, Wairoa, M.1., Heretauaga, M.1., Rangitikei, and Marlborough. Artillery— D. F. and H. Batteries. Rifles — Marton Royal, Wellington City Guards, Wellington City, Wanganui, Nelson City, Taranaki, Stoke, Blenheim, Napier, Greytown, Palmerston, Masterton, Manchester, Waimea, Warigani". City, Wellington, Featherston, Richmond, Papawai (native), Hawera, Blenheim City, and Hastings. : The quantity of hill-land under cultivation in the Nelson districthas been considerably increased during the last few years and it is found to improve, year by year. This is more particularly said to be the case with land formerly covered with manuka.. . It has. been frequently remarked that grass . growing among manuka is not eaten by cattle and sheep, and so it would seem all manuka covered land is thoroughly sour. However, after having been, broken up for a year or two, it will bring some good crops of oats, and in some cases heavy, wheat crops. It is a' matter of controversy among farmers whether it is better to clear manuka and sow grass straight away, or sow on ploughed land. Personally. I have, no hesitation in deciding in favour of ploughing the land, first, as the. grass roots better, and will ihold out . longer in summer time.-^-Nelson correspondent. ' ; ' A New York ' (World correspondent' writes : — " The society beauty in London goes j» her photographer, and hp photographs her with the same . professional and mercantile ideas in his head that he entertains when he photographs Ellen Terry or Lady Dunlo w. The photographs of the Duchess of Leinster and the Duchess of Marlborough aro offered in the fhops and displayed in the shop windows alongside those of Oscar Wilde and the hero of the latest pugilist encounter in the. rooms of the Pelican Club. And I am told that these drawing-room beauties collect royalties on the sales with- just as much promptness as their less aristocratic associates. Presumably these women have considered the propriety of this photographic proceeding from every point of view, and long ago came to the conclusion that it was all right. Why American women, who are so prompt to adopt English fads] and. ideas of all kinds, should hesitate over this one is matter for interesting speculation. Thai; they have no radical objection to their photographs appearing in shop windows along with other, " celebrities " is demonstrated by the fact that as soon as the American woman is established in London she resorts to a London photographer, and that enterprising artist-tradesman puts her photograph on sale precisely as he does •the photographs, of other customers." A writer in an JAinerican paper believes in clover. He says that if he was asked which is the cheapest hog food we can produce, he would, unhesitatingly say, clover. If asked which is the best single food, he would answer- maize, ' But in the combination of these two foods lies the security of the pork producer. You may say that this necessisates exclusive summer feeding. Not necessarily. Clover hay and ensilage are being very generally used in many parts of the states for pig feeding, and with very good results, especially when fed to mature stock kept for breeding purposes, and some parties report that they have kept brood sows on good clover hay, each receiving two pounds of maize meal per day in addition to hay, the letter feed without preparation of any kind. Spealpng from experience in feeding pigs on clover pasture, this writer prefers mai%e, and oan honestly say it is one of the best, if not the very beat way to produce pork at a low cost. In the cases of Jardine v. O'Leary and Jardine v. Giesen the R.M. gave judgment on Tuesday. CThese cases were heardconjointly the causes of action boing the same, viz.. breach of contract through not felling certain bush within the time specified. Mr Barnicoat appeared for the plaintiff and Mr Hogg for the defendants. In the case against O'Leary the claim was £40, and judgment was given for the • plaintiff for 4>2, costs 335, sqlicitor's fee £2 2s, and witnesses 265. The claim against Giesen was .£3O, judgment being given for £2 _2s, costs 86s, solicitor's fee £2 2s, and witnesses 235. These actions were brought in connection with two cases brought by O'Leary and Giesen against Jardine which were heard last wfiek, the claims being for £od 18s 9dand £18 6b respectively. Judgmeut was given in these cases as follows : — O'Leary v. Jardine, judgment for the plaintiff for JE36 13s fld and costs ; Giesen v. Jardine, judgment for the plaintiff for the full amount claimed (,£7B 6s). A meeting of the friends of Mr H. E. Ayes (who has accepted an appointment on the staff of the Now Zealand Times), was held at the Fire Brigade Hall last night, to consider what steps should be taken to give him a suitable send-off. The chair was occupied by Mr S. H. Drew. Apologies fo,r absence were ieceived from Messrs A. j. Parsons and T. D. Cummins. After some discussion, it was resolved, on t]ie motipn Qf Mr W. I\ Eussoll, "That tho testimonial take the form of an address and a purse of sovereigns." It was further resolved that the following gentlemen (with power to add to their number) bo asked to net as a committee to carry the foregoing resolution : — Messrs A. J. Parsons (exMayor), S. H. Drew, G. Marshall, T. D. Cummins, H. B. Williamson, J. Cattell, J. W. Day, J. Fairbum, W. F. Dovnes, J. Thain, F. Krull, F. R. Jackson, W. R. Remington, J. Duigan, W. F. Russell, D. Lundon, G. C. Russell, H. J. H. Tilly, F. M. Spurdle, T. Thatcher, Dr Connolly, and the Rev. Father Kirk. It was resolved that Mr Remington be asked to act as treasurer to the fund- The meeting then adjourned to Wednesday, 4th Msvch, at g p.m., at the same place. i

The problem of " visual telegraphy " is said to have been solved by English inventors; The instrument is known as the electro-phonoscope, and is the joint invention of Professor .Hughes, F. B. S., arid Mr W. H: Preece, 'F. R. S., and the work was carried out by- Mr- Stroh 'and, Mr Martin Roberts. By the use of this instrument the sender of a message from a distant station appears in person before his correspondent, and with a telephone it is possible not only to speak to him, but also sj^'him and watch the expression of : hi3 features. The largest tree in the world has been discovered in Fresno County, beating by all odds the wonder of Calaveras. Frank Looniis, an old mountaineer, with a party, w&Hlinting bears in the Sierras, east of C®i|ervillo, and wounded a big fellow in fifire most rugged portion of the range. In pursuing him they were forced to use Sixes and. knives through the underbush, "and they unexpectedly came upon the king of the forest. In spanning it a rope 143 feet 5 inches long was required, and its diameter was found to be 43 feot. The great tree was christened " Los Orejano." Very few people, an American contemporary remarks, realise how much the dentist has done for ''mankind. To mention one thing only, the perfection to which the manufacture of false teeth has been carried has practically abolished old age— that is, old in the sense I used to know it. You see none of the helpless, mumbling old men and women that you formerly did. This is not because the people do not attain the age their parents and grand-parents reached, but becau } the dentist has prevented some of tl c most unpleasant consequences of advancing years. Men of, • seventy ; no longer either look or feel old because they are not deprived of nourishing food at the time when they need it most. ' Estimates have been made showing that the average length of life has been increased from four to six years by the use of false teeth. ••' Under the new tariff of the United States, wool is divided into three classes as follows : Class I — .Merino or of Merino blood; Down clothing wools and wools of like character. 'Clasp ll. — Leicester,Cotswold, Lincoln, Down combing, or other like combing wools of English blood ; also camels' and goats' hair, Alpaca and kindred qualities. Class' 111. — Donskoi, and inferior qualities of" low. " For Class I. the rate is 11 cents per pound, j Class 11., 12 cents; and Class 111 (value' with charges being 13 cents perlb or under) 32 per centum, and exceeding this .value CO percentum. Wools of Class 1., if washed, pay now twice the above duty, and of Class I. and 11., if scoured,. thricft. It will thus be seen that the importation of wool ' washed on the sheeps back is severely handicapped in theU J A. The chrysanthemum is the flower of the season, and the present ye,ar, says an English conteraporary ; will be remepbored as the 100 th anniversary of its introduction into England. Parkinson, who cult-mated many charming fidwers that we grow with care in the borders now, never knew the great kiku of Japan, which was not mentioned until 1689, when Breynins noted it as growing in Holland; 1764 is a date that must be taken into account, af then three plants were growing in the Apothecaries' Garden at Chelsea. These three 1 plants howeVer, never survived, so that we must pass on to 1789, when M. Blancard. of Marseilles, introduced from Ohina the first large flowering variety, which was sent to the Royal Gardens. Kew, in the following year, 1790, and flowered first by a nurseryman of the name of Colville at Chelsea. This is itß modern history in a nutshell. An interesting case has just been heard in the Chancery Court of Ontario, the validity of a white man's marriage with an Indian woman being the point at issno. It seems that Mr William George Eobb acquired a dusky bride named Supulcattle belonging to the Comox tribe of Indians in British Columbia, by payingfortyhalfdollar pieces and a number of blankets to her father and mother, who rejoiced in the names of Wahkus and Klachwaskumkeach respectively. Miss Robb, of New York, one of the parties in the present suit, is the result of this marriage, which -was valid according to the customs of her mother's tribe— and there have been previous decisons in this sense — while her claim is contested by relations who' will come in for her father's money if they can upset his marriage. The title of- "Windy Wellington,? which has been conferred bn"tne*'seat hi Government, and is frequently applied to it, is confirmed by official records. The report on statistics of the colony for 1889 goes to show that it is by no means a pleasant fiction. that high winds are far more numerous in Wellington than m the other centres ; for it appears that while in that year there were gales or high winds at Dunedin on 1C days, at Lincoln (Canterbury) on 26 days, and at Auckland on 39 days, the inhabitants of Wellin,;ton had to endure as many as 77 windy days. The report states, moreover, that such days were fmuch less numerous in Wellington in 1889 than in 1888,