LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11607, 9 August 1892, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

♦ The Borough Council meets to-night. The monthly meeting of the Kaitoke Eoad Board will be held to-day. The Matron of the Jubilee Home begs to acknowledge with thanks the receipt of books and papers from Mr Freuth, Mr and Mrs Collins and Mrs Fitzherbert. ■ Mr D. C. Bett, of Marton, received a telegram from the Wellington Hospital on Saturday to the effect that Mrs Bett was dangerously ill and not likely to live. The body of George Vesey Stewart, one of the victims of the recent drowning accident at Katikati, has been cast ashore. At the inquest a verdict of drowned by mishap was returned. The Alameda, with the English mails to July 9th, left 'Frisco for Auckland on July 22nd. The Mariposa, with the colonial mails to July 16th, -arrived at 'Frisco on .August 4th. Both are contract dates. A press wire of yesterday from Auckland says the reference to Sir Georgo Grey in tho cablegram is evidently based on tho issue of W. L. Kees' book, " Life and Times of Sir George Grey/ which was to be published in two volumes in London at the'end of J uly. During the past few day's robberies have been reported from Darlinghursfc to the police. Iv each case tho mode of thieving has been the same. While the inmates of the house have been at dinner the robbers have climbed up the verandah posts on to the balcony, and then entering the first-floor rooms have taken whatever they could lay their hands on. The half-yearly report of tho Sydney Trades and Labour Council shows that for tho half year ended December last there were 85 uniona represented by the council. Since then two unions have died and six seceded. For the half year ended 30th June the council included 67 unions.. It has during the past six months leduced its debit balance to some extent. Robert Matterson, a iniddle-agod man, committed suicide in a house near Fremantle, Western Australia. He tied a rope to tho handle of a door and passed it over a beam opposite. He then climbed upon a box, adjnsted the noose, and kicked away tho support and hanged himself. Monetary troubles are supposed to have been the cause of the rash deed. In a letter to the Wellington Hospital trustees, L<-rd Glasgow thanks them for the kindness? and attention which a nurse from Government House received at the Hospital. Hia Excellency enclosed with hi 3 letter a cheque for £5 as a donation. The trustees at their meeting, expressed' their appreciation of His Excellency's thoughtfulnesß. The Christchurch Telegraph says: — " His Lordship Dr. Grimes, Christchurch, received during the week the sum of £10 for some person unknown to him, as restitution money. Those to whom therestitution was made are a poor family residing in Lyttelton, and to whom this amount at the present time is equivalent to a fortune.

The M&yor of Marton hag proclaimed Wednesday (to morrow) a public holiday; in that township, for tho purpose of planting trees and shrubs within that borough. Mr C. H. Hinman will conduct his meetings this evening, to-morrow, and B'riday in thi3 week, whii-h will probably bo his last in Wanganui for the present. To-night his subject is "The Great Things of. the New Testament." A return' has been laid on the tahle of the House, showing the incidence of the Sheep Tax as follows: — Holders of less than 1000- .sheep (9063), J62942 16s ; losa than 5000 (1635), je3220 4s ; less than 20,000 (526), £5,306 la ; over 20,000 (169),£5b0l His; total, £16,970 17s. Mr Keesihg advertises fpr to-morrow a large assortment of ' goods, _to be sold without reserve. The sale will take place in the premises next to Mr Drew's, in the Aveftue. The goods comprise many articles very suitable for presents, and, in fact, useful items of every description are amongst the stock. The sale starts at 1.30 oclo'ck.' A boy was .thrown from a horße in Ridgway street ' about 830 yesterday morning., As he was riding by a fox terrier dog rushed out from the side of the road and ran barking at the heels of the horse. .. The animal shied and the boy was thrown off, falling with his hip on the curb of the footpath. Fortunately he received no injury beyond a somewhat severe bruise. A number of our leading people who enjoyed the hospitality of the Alexandra Cavalry at their late annual ball are deßirous of returning ihe compliment, and with that end .in view they propose holding a meeting at Foster's Hotel on Wedneeday night. It is a little unfortunate that the meeting conflicts with the Poultry Show, but, the date of the Show wbb overlooked' when the meeting was called. It is desired that all those who are interested will make a point of being present. Information ' was received by Ser-geant-Major Anderson yesterday that Parahi Teati, while riding home with his brother on Saturday last, about 11 p.m , from a football match at Fordell, was thrown from his horse. He was picked up insensible, and died at 4 o'clock this inerning. The deceased, who was married, was 35 years of age. The accident is stated, to have occurred through the horse. that he was riding pitting his foot in a hole. The. accident occurred between Fordell and Kaungaroa. The ■ following from an English paper we are told has a local application in Wanganui at the present time : -" When you see a nice girl wearing a chain bracelet from which hangs a jewelled heart yon may know it 'means something'/ as the old women Ray. Some man surety has the little gold key that unlocks the' 'clasp ; some face, not a woman's, is hidden inside the* clasp locket, and the girl does not take tho bracelet off at night. It works beautifully usually, unless the lovers' quarrel and vow never to speak again." -. Lady Henry Somerset has just completed arrangements for' starting a new woman's paper, to be called, the White Ribbon. She herself will act as editor-in-chief, but will have the assistance of an experienced journalist. The aim of the new periodical will be deal with women's work in every form, at home and abroad, and with such outside topics as ■ temperance, the hours of labour, and thrift in relation to the weaker sex. The capital of tho new venture is to be £10,000 (says the London correspondent of the Birmingham Post), and there are already ample signs that it '.will be raised with ease. A mixed wrestling match has been arranged to take place between two wellknown wrestlers, Harry Laing and Jack Sutherland, at the Argyle Hall, on Saturday next. This species of classic struggle seems to be very fii'shionable to Hunterville just now. On Saturday weak Kenny Bayne and Jack Sutherland had a match for £5 a side, but though B.iyne was very trickey in getting hold Sutherland was a comparatively easy winner. Another wrestling match also came off of between Bayne and J. Armstrong in the Cumberland style, which ,was. won by Bayne after a good tusele, — Advocate. A rather amusing story is told of a eonqertTttrHfijli took place at Turakina on Friday evening laat. ■■ A gentleman was on the plitform to sing a comic song. Some dissonlion arose between the singer and the accompanist, as poth wanted a different air ; they struggled through manfully, however, each sticking to the air started on. Bounds' of applause greeted them at ihe conduction, and two bouquets were thrown- to the. singer, one of which, a large' leelt, fell at' his feet Picking ■ this up, Urid-bowing, he was about to retire, not noticing the other bouquet, a beautiful bunch of camellias. The accompanist picked up the flowers and presented them to him with a most ceremonious bow. 'Quick' as thought tho recipient handed the leek to the accompanist, and accepted the camellias. Then the face of the latter was. a study, and the applause which greeted him was even greater than that which had gone before. The first entertainment in aid of the Public Museumwill be held in the Oddfellows' Halite-morrow week, Mr Pinches having. very kindly placed the Hall at the d sposal of the Entertainments Committee fr.ee of all cost. The entertainment will be quite a : novelty in Wanganui. The performers, with the exception of one old favourite, will be quite new to a local audience. The first part will be generously provided by Mi Huddlestone, who ' will' give an houre' chat upon the ' glaciers of the Southern Alps, illustrated 'by views thrown on a screen 12 feet square, by the aid of oxy -hydrogen light, under the care of Mr Battle. The second part will consist of comical sketches provided by Mr and Mrs Harrison, of Auckland, together with .an original character song, called " The Happy Hau Hau Maori," sung by the composer, Mr T. G. Nicholas. Our old friend, Mr Eapley, has kindly offered to fill in the other item. The charge for admission is placed at million prices — 2s and Is, so that ad can help in the good cause ■ . At the meeting of the Poultry Association Committee last night tho results of the pigeon-flying competition were worked out and the competitors wcro placed in following order : — l3t, W, Butler, 52min 7 3-sth sec ; 2nd, Bartjett, 54min 30sec ; 3rd, Hannington, 56min 4 2-sth eeo ; 4th, W. Butler, 66min 18sec ; sth, Woolley, 76min ? 2 4-sth sec ; 6th, W. Butler, 76min 18see. E. Butler's (Aramohn) bird did not arrive. The birds were flown from Qawora at intervals of 10 minutes, so that each one should be tested on its own merits, without the possibility of one bird delaying another. The system adopted worked admirably, and the times recorded were most onconraging to the owDers of the birds and satisfactory to the Association. Proceeding with other business, the Art Union Committee recommended that further time should be allowed for the eale of art union rickets, and the time was accordingly extended to mid day to-morrow. All desirous of obtaining these tickets, which admit to the show as well as give a chance for the many prizes offered, should therefore inquire for them at once. They can be obtained from any raon.Doc of the Committee After some further routine business the meeting concluded. The annual meeting of the Wanganui Horticultural Society was held last night. The following officers were appointed :-=• President, Dr. Earloj viee -President, Mr H. L. Nichelas j Committee — Messrs Beneficld, K. A. Campbell, Hylton Sinclair, Cannons, Greenwood, Anderson, Ayes, Burnett and Barnicoat. It was decided to ask Mr Ayes to act as Secretary and Mr Sinclair as Treasurer, and a sum of £10 was vot3d to recompense them for their services. A vote of thanks was accorded to Mr Burnett for his services to the Society. The question of a Ladies' Committee having been introduced, it was resolved to ask the following ladies to act :— Mesdames • White, Barnicoat, John Anderson, Iveson, Harper, and Misses Iralay nnd Alexander. It was resolved that it be a recommendation to the Committee that an Art Union be held to assist the funds of the Society. The balance of a few shillings m hand to tho credit of the Chrysanthemum Club it was agreed should be paid over to the Society's funds. Mr Burnett then moved that rule No. 3. which provided that five members of tho Committee should form a quorum, shou'd be altered so as to make three a quorum for conducting the business of the Society. The motion wns carried unanimously. The meeting then adjourned.

Mr Ballance has made up his mind that he must come into conflict with the Legislative Council in some way or other — if not over Women's Franchise', then over the Land Bill, if not over the Land Bill then over the — no, not over the new tnxea, tlifiy cannot interfere 'with tax Bills — hut somehow or other there is sure to be a conflict. One of our correspondents writes . — A few days ago four young men, three of them being visitors to a well-known resident of Beaconsfleld, put a quantity of dynamite in the oven toijlry, and sat round the fire waiting the drying thereof. After a time one .of them went outside, and no sooner : was the cUJotf-opened than (whether caused by the draught froir the door blowing a spark into the oven, or from some other reason at present unaccounted for) a terrific explosion took place, which blew out the chimney, an oven, part of the roof of the house, and the windows, while some portion of the wreckage penetrated into a cupboard. A piece of wood struck one of the gentle-, men on tho chest, not severely, however, bayond which they all escaped unhurt, I fancy they will read up dynamite bufore running such a fearful -risk ' again AdTpcate. - ; At the Taranaki-street, Wesleyan Church, Wellington, on Sunday night, a petition was largely signed for presentation to the House of Representatives praying that the totalisator be not licensed, as its use led to the encouragement of gambling, and has helped to keep up racing studs at the expense of tradesmen and others. The Rev. J. J. Lewis also spoke at some • length on tho Wesleyan Trust Amendment Bill, which he said was of vital importance to tho connection of this colony. The Bill, he said, was only anticipating what had been proposed in former meetings of the Conference. It was proposed 15 years ago at a meeting in Wellington to abolish the time limit. He combatted the assertion that the laity had not been consulted on the matter. -In answer to a question put by Mr Lewis, 600 hands were held up approving of the Bill. The usual fortnightly meeting of the Wanganui Musical and Literary Society was held in the Trinity Schoolroom last night. The attendance was the largest of the session. The meeting was in the hands of tho lady members, by whom, all arrangements for the evening had been made. Mrs'Lennard.oocupied the chair. The ladies provided a pleasant surprise by. introducing refreshments, which were served out during the interval in the programme and very much appreciated by the company present. With the exception of in essay by Miss Spurdle, which was read by Miss Bassett, the entertainment was entirely musical. Miss Spurdle's essay wa3 on a somewhat original line, the subiect being the reading of character as revealed by. dress. Below we give tho full programme : — Pianoforte duet. Misses Chalklin and Sharpe; song, Miss Laird; song, Miss Ella Bell) pianoforte solo, Miss Aamodt; essay, Miss Spnrdle, read by Miss Bassett ; pianoforte dnet, Misses M.andF. Ba6sett. Interval.^ Pianoforte solo, MissHandley ; song, Mias Eobarts j 'Bong, Mrs F. Jones; song, Miss Miller "(encore) ; Jvocal duet. Misses Laird and. Blair; pianoforte duet, Misses Bassett and Cresswell. i A meeting of the newly elected Trustees of the Public Museum was held in Messrs Freeman R. Jackson and Co.'s rooms last evening. Present— Messrs Carson (Chair-, man), Stewart, Nixon, Andrews, Drew, Turner, Sputdle. Marshall, Atkins Barnicoat, and Freeman R. Jackson. An apology for absence was received from Mr D. Blair. A letter was read from Mr Empaon, o£ the Collegiate School, enclosing a cheque for £7 10s (proceeds of two lectures by Messrs Drew and Haddlestono) in aid of the Museum fund. A cheque for £2 2s was received (per manager of the Chbonicms) from Mr W. Russell, Goat Valley. Mr Drew reported that he had received letters from the heads of the principals of our leading educational institutions, approvilg of the proposal to give science lectures in connection with the Museum. He also had received a promise from % competent gentleman to deliver lectures on agricultural chemistry. Mr Nixon reported that he had insured the Museum exhibits for the amount of the purchase money. The Chairmrn reported that circulars had been printed and would be issued to a large numberof settlers and townspeople who had not as yet contributed to the fund. Mr George Sheriff attended and stated that he had arranged for an entertainment in the Oddfellows' Hall on the 17th instant. The entertainment would consist of variety dketchea' by ladies and gentlemen new to the ■■Wanganui stage, and by lime, light views of the West Coast glaciers. A lengthy discussion then took place on the Museum Endowment Bill now before' Parliament; the site of the Museum ; and the articles of incorporation and by-laws. It was decided that the whole of the Trustees should form themselves into a canvassing committee to continue at work until the requisite amount is raised to warrant commencing building.operations. The Committee then adjourned for a fortnight » „_. A Press wire from Wellington says that at the invitation of the Hon.- Mr Seddon, Minister of Defence, Lady Glasgow, Miss Hallowos, Hon. Mr Boyle,- Mr Clayton (from Government House), and a number of members and their wives paid a vijit to the forts near the Heads and to the station at Shelley Bay on Saturday. Among those present were Mrs Ballance, Mrs W. P. Beeves, Mrs Ward, the Hona. Seddon and Ward, Lioutenant^olpnel Newall (officer commanding the district), and Lieutenant Colonel Hume, The arrangements were carried out under the direction of Lieutenant Colonel Fox. Tho party, were conveyed across the harbour in the Government launch, and took yip a position on the hill behind Fort Ballanco (which was under command of Lieutenant Colonel Fox),. and were thus enabled to view the firing from both forts, the battery on Point Kau being also engaged in firing nnder the supervision of Major Messenger. Tho two batteries fired alternately, and some capital shots were registered. The 8-inch and 6 inch disappearing guns and the Nordenfeldt gun were fired several times at a small target in the middle of the entrance, ihe two latter being charged with shrapnell shell for the last shot. juieutenant Colonel Fox expressed himself very well satisfied with the firing at Shelley Bay; Captain Falconer, of tbo Torpßdo Corps, had everything in readiness for submarine explosions, which were the most interesting of the day's proceedings. A large whaloboat rigged as a brigantine was moored across a line oop. p four mines inside the bay. The Countess r f Glasgow, who was on shore connected the battery, and an immense volume of water rose to a groat height, but tho boat was not completely shattered; she having boen towed broadside on to the mines instead of over them. A contact mine wns also fired, this time with complete success. The weather was flue, and the water as smooth as could be desired. For some two or three months the Melbourne detectives have been in possession of information that largo quantities of tobacno were being disposed of in the city, which was either smuggled or illicitly manufactured. Detective O'Bonnell at last met a man named Thomas Pape. who was offering piecesof tobacco half-a-pound in -weijjht shaped like an Indiau corn cob, and tightly wrapped round with Bpun yarn, for sale at one shilling each. As the duty on tobacco is 3s per pound, and as the ordinary selling price is about 5s per pound, O'ponnell wanted to know more about the matter. Pane informed him that he obtained the tobacco from a man named William Charles Portt,r, who ■resided at Victoria Cottage, Queen street. Papo was taken to the Tetective Office and detained, and a search made of Porter's place, who at first denied that he had tobacco They found various stages of manufacture, and a quantity of both imported and colonial leaf, about thirty of the half-pound pieces previously described, a quantity of rum and molasses for damping the tobacco, and various articles used in its manufacture. Also a quantity of spun yarn for wrapping round the half-pound pieces of tobacco. The detectives seized the whole of the tobacco and other articles found in the house, and removed them to the Detective Office. About 2001bs weight of tobacco in all were seized. Strange to say, Porter had a license for selling tobacco, but he had not any license for manufacturing the tobacco. Porter and Pape will be proceeded against by summons for defrauding the customs by illegally manufacturing tobacco. The penalty is fixed in cases of this kind at £100, and it is reported that one of the men is an old resideut of Auckland.