LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXXVII, Issue 11847, 21 July 1893, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Preliminary steps have been taken for the formation of a Working 1 Men's Club at Pahiatua. The H.B. Herald says that Mr G. Ellis has publicly stated that he intends to contest the Hawke's Bay soat at the next election. The conference between the Harbour Board and the Waitotara County Council, in connection with the representation question takes place this morning. An unusually heavy frost was experienced at Masterton early on Wednesday morning. At 7 o'clock the thermometer registered 24 degrees Fahrenheit. Before Mr C. C. Kettle, R.M., yesterday, Stephen Neary was convicted of having used indecent language in a public place, and was ordered to come up for sentence when called upon. On our front page to-day we give an extract from Truth's Parliamentary correspondent, dealing mainly with Mr E. M. Smith, of New Plymouth. There are also items re the proposed retrenchment of civil servants in Queensland, and of Mr Kees before the Auckland constituents. ■ A young man named Harry McDonaldwho vas caught red-handed on Wednesday night in the act of burgling the National Hotel, Wellington, has been committed for trial. Another charge has been preferred against him of the theft of a cash box from the Ngaraunga Hotel. The attendance of all those taking part in the cantata "Ruth" is especially requested to-night, at the usual place and time. A full attendance is also required at the final rehearsal on Monday, as tbe concert is fixed for Wednesday evening, the programme for which will appear in our advertising columns later on. We have b9en requested to Btate that all those attending the Alexandra Cavalry's ball to-morrow evening must produce their tickets at the door.Jand also that no one who has been invited as a Volunteer will be admitted except in uniform. ■ Mr Justice Conolly's suburban residence, Remuera, Auckland, was entered on Wednesday afternoon. A small sum of money and some jewellery were taken from Miss Conolly's bedroom, and some plate from the dining room. The thief must have been disturbed, as the plate was found in a, sack behind a fence in the garden. A well-attended meeting was held in the old Borough Council Chambers last evening to consider the matter of the formation of a gymnasium in Wanganui. Mr Witt was voted to the chair, and after some discussion the following were appointed a Committee to draw up proposals and submit to a future meeting: — Messrs Young, Witt, Jones, Wright, and Clarke. We have with regret to record the death of Mrs M. Hewitt, wife of Mounted Constable Hugh Hewitt, of the Wanganui Station, after having suffered long and painfully from consumption. During her illness tb' 6' deceased lady has been attended by Drs Saunders and Innes, who nave slipwn unremitting attention and kindness. To the bertaaved husband and children we tender our sincere sympathy. An Auckland wire says : — ln a civil case in the Supreme Court, Alfred Charles Ward v. William Henry Smith, to recover £250 damages for alleged libel, the jury awarded £25 damages. Mr Justice Conolly entered up the judgment with costs on the lowest scale.' The plaintiff was formerly bandmaster of the Helping Hand Mission, and the libel consisted in the allegation that every musical instrument and cornet, the whole of which instruments were the property of Smith, who ran the mission, had been cut in the slides to damage them. The plaintiff explained that he cut the slides after careful study, in order to 'get the cornets to play in harmony with the old organ of the mission. A Wellington wire says :— The Premier, replying to the Mayor's telegram re the unemployed, says the present expenditme of public works being beyond the limit the Government proposed for the year, at a time, such as this and during the winter months local bodios and private enterprise should if possible come to the rescue. The Government are doing their level best, but cannot, and should not, be expected to do that which is immpossible. We would call the attentioa of the authorities to what is undoubtedly a source of danger to the public who use Bolton Row. On the grass by the side of the road there are two large heaps of broken bottles. It is bad enough in all conscience when people throw their ordinary rubbish into the public streets, but when it comes to depositing such lumber as broken glass the practice verges on the criminal. At any rate this matter should be seen to at once and the danger re., moved, as well as an effort made to discover who waa guilty of such, to say the least of it, thoughtless action, so that a little wisdom' may be taught them for their guidance in the future. We would draw the attention of our lady readers to thp fact that the usual monthly meeting of the Women's Franchise League will be held this evening at 8 o'clock, instead of in the afternoon as heretofore The meeting will take place in the upstairs room at tho Druids' Hal), instead of at the Fire Brigade Hall, where the League has hitherto met. A varied and interesting programme has been prepared and we understand the position taken up by the member for Wanganui will be made tho subject of discusaion. We are requested to state that the League extends a cordial invitation to all women interested in the progress of their sex. There, is on view in the window of Mr James Kerin just now a turnip of exceptionally large size. Its weight is 231 b, and it waa grown at Tarras by Mr John Macrae. Ib is worthy of note, perhaps, that this large turnip waa grown in a patch of ground turned up by one of Messrs Reid and Gray's digging ploughs, where companion turnips, if not of equal size at least of fairly large proportions, were raised. Alongside in tho same field, in the same kind of soil, and sowed with the same seed, but where tho ordinary plough was used, the; average size of the tubers was about a man's fiat only. Hore is proof positive of the good resulting from deep ploughing,— Cromwoll Argus. A deputation of some 30 residents of Sydenham waited upon Inspector Broham on Wednesday afternoon, in reference to the license? of the Crown, tho Southern Cross, and the Sandridge Hotels. They pointed out that legal notice had been served on the licensees, in terms of Mr Justice Denniston's recent judgment in case affecting those licensees. Ihe deputation asked Inspector Broham whether it was his intention to take action and enforce the law and have the hotels closed. Inspector Broham, in replying, said that a point had been raised, in connection with these licenses, as to whether or not his Honor's order, quashing the certificates issued by tho Committeo, had also quashed the licenses. This was a point which had to bo settled before lift coiild interfere, The Government also havo boon communicated with.

MrT. Nicholson, the vendor, announces i that ho has removed ike assigned estate of J. S. Munro to those more central premises lately occupied by Sir Me- r Skimming, and that the sale will be continued for the n<?xt four weeks. The " Dunedin Cookery Book Lessons" have had a very large sale. Mr Willis, the local agent, has just sent us a further ( work issued by the same author, entitled ( •' Improved Economic Cookery Book," and we can recommend the little work to | our lady readers. Being sold at one ( shilling, it is within the roach of all. An old settler writes us in great wrath ] and indignation at the suggestion — in i Pir K. Stout's speech in the debate on the i Financial Statement —of more pay to i Ministers, &c , &c. We are stout sup 1 porters of financial economy, and are not therefore disposed to debate our correspondent's statement, or to prevent him by speech or pen from administering his i just rebuke. At a meeting of the Dunedin School Commissioners on Tuesday last, the reply made in the House to Mr K M. Smith, ' that the cost of titles issued by the Commissioners amounts to from £5 to .£lO, was brought up. It was dooided to inform the Minister for Education that th« leases issued by the Otago Commissinners cost 10s 6d, exclusive of stamp dnty. The New Zealand Times says:— The Government hope to give the House an opportunity of discussing Colonel Fox's report when the more pressing business has been dealt with. The report itself cost ,£B7 10s. Before completing it, the Commandant had been in the colony for one year and two months, receiving in that time £781 13s 4d in salary, £318 12s 8d in travelling expenses, and £111 13s 4d house allowance. The terms of his agreement are:— Salary, £700 per annum ; quarters, £100 per annum ; £1 per day allowance when travelling; and an engagement for five years from Ist of January, 1892. We understand that two well-known residents of Marton for some time past have been going into the ways and meanß of lighting their town by electricity, and have now almost completed their irrangements. The gentlemen in question, Messrs Jos. Temperley and Jno. Zajonskowski, have gone exhaustively into the subject, and are fully confident that Marton can be lighted with electricity at a price cheaper than tradesmen now pay for their lights. In a short time they will be able to place their reasons for so believing before the public, when no doubt the pros and cons of the matter will be fully threshed out. — Mercury. The list of successful competitors at the recent pupil teachers' examination was read at the meeting of the Auckland Board of Education on Tuesday : — There were 256 candidates, comprising 54 male and 181 female. Of this number 7 were absent, 30 males and 89 females failed, and 23 males and 86 females passed. For the first year pupil teachers' examination 72 presented themselves, 5 were absent, 14 failed, and 53 passed. For the second year pupil teachers' examination 63 presented themselves, 3 were absent, 3 failed and 57 passed. The examiners reported that, as a whole, the work done l.y those who passed was satisfactory; also, that two, who were detected in unfair practices, were included amongst those who had not passed. At the Palmerston E.M. Court on Wednesday, Mr Brabant gave judgment in a case of importance to local bodies and contractors. John Carmody, contractor, claimed fcom the Fitzherbert Eoad Board £11 2s 6d for the construction of a bridge in place of culverts as shown in the specifications. It was admitted that the engineer to the Board had authorised the work and had given a certificate, but Mr Hawkins, for the defence, raised several law points. The grounds for the defence were that Mr Edge had no power to authorise extras not provided for in the specifications; that the Board had not aoquiesed in the construction of an extra bridge ; that the bridge was not worth the amount claimed. The E.M. said he must °ive judgment for the Board on all the point 3 raised; but in fairness the Boird should pay a reasonable amount for the work done. The plaintiff was nonsuited, each party to, pay its own costs. The Lyttelton Times says':— Mr Job Osborne, of Doyleston, whose contraot to gink an artesian well on the Maniototo Plains was recently accepted by the Public Works Department, has succeeded in driving a Jpipe to the required depth of six hundred and fifty-two feet by means of his deep well sinking apparatus. The bore was through very varied strata 1 . .In some cWs- the pipe passed through papa rock, quartz, sand, and in part of the formation were found beds of really good payable washdirt if the material were nearer the surface. A bed of coal was also passed through. The well was sunk at Eweburn, at the head of the Maniototo Plain, and the pipes used wore two inches and a half in diameter for the first five hundred feet, after which a smaller tube was used. The pipe was driven to the depth contracted for, but no water was struck and the work was stopped for further instructions. The young gentlemen who preside over the destinies of some of our junior football fifteens are certainly a little eratic at times, a failing piobably accentuated by over-enthusiasm. Now, we do not for a moment wish to be hard on any of these embryo " reps.," but we would like them t> understand that— whilst perfectly willing to publish their fixtures and teams and to forward their interests as much as possible— we do not liko being humbugged. That is to say, that we expect them to go to the trouble of making 1 definite and senhible arrangements before submitting them for publication. We published four teams yesterday, all to meet on the same ground and at the same time, and since then we have been asked to alter the time of one of the matches, while still later we were satisfied that no authority had been given for nny such alteration. Probably a Boyal Commission might be set up to assist those uncertain youtbs out of the chaos in which they have evidently fallen. It is a pity that some steps havo not been taken to re-form a Parliamentary Union in Wanganui. These associations not only form a very pleasant means of amusement, but also setve to keep up local interest in matters political. We had a good Union here not so many years' ago, and in 1889 we notice that the following gentlemen formed the Ministry : — Messrs Wilkinson, Premier and Colonial Secretary j Ayes, Colonial Treasurer j Eussell, Education and Justices Edwards, Native Affairs and Public Works; J, Johnston, Defence; Hollow, Post and Telegraph and Customs. The meetings of the now detunct Union were held in the Borough Council Chambers. On the opening of the session to which we refer, the Speech from the Throne was delivered by Mr George Hutchison, M.H.E., the Address-in Eoply was moved by Mr C. Owen, and seconded by Mr E. Morgan, whilst an amendment " That the following words be added to the original motion, and at the pamo time that Ministers inform His Excellency that they no longer retain the confidence of the House," was proposed by Mr E. N. Liffiton and seconded by Mr A. D. Willis, who, in the mock Hou?e, represented Waitemata. A Christchurch exchange says : — "From information receivedfrom Cheviot we learn that the survey of the block of 37,000 acres, which ib to be opened for settlement in October next, is so far advanced tint plans of the proposed scheme of settlement have been prepared for submission to the Ministry. It is hoped to have the land submitted and allotted for occupation by the time the leases of the block expire in October. Good progress is being made with the roadwork. ■About 80 men are employed on the road from Port Eobinson to the homestead. The formation of the road round the great bluff, which is 250 ft high, is the most difficult, as special men are required for working on the face of the cliff. Aboub 21 men are employed on the road from the homestead to Hurunui Bridge to connect with Waipara. Only a few contracts have been let so far, but the work is comparatively easy and tho cost light. It is hoped in the course of time to have the construction of the whole of ' this road under weigh. The men on tho roadworks appear to have got on remark- : ably well. They are satisfied with the work and with their surroundings. The air at Port Sobinson is mild and pleasant, even when it is freezing in the back . country. • The grass has grown well all j the winter and sheep on the hiph lands are doing well, but those on the low , levels have suffered from the wet.