LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wanganui Chronicle, 5 March 1901, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Lord Kimfculey is ill, and his condition is critical.

Liedertafel practice to-night at usual time and place.

The London County ■ elections resulted in a considerable, gain to the progressive party.

The annual general meeting of the Wan ganui Rifles takes place at the Drill Hall on Thursday night at 7.30.

The Fira Brigade desire to acknowledge the following donations to the.ir funds : — £1 Is each from Messrs Gatenby and Littlejoim, and £1 from Mr Cremer.

A man named Edward Bishop was yesterday sentence;! to 14 days' imprisonment for being found on the grounds oi the Presbyterian Church on Sunday night he having no lawful excurse for so being.

A record horse- sale was held ab'Feilding by Messrs Morshead and Giesen on Saturday, when 150 unbroken Maori horses were yarded. The sale attracted over >:!00 people. Every hoof was cleared, the top price being £9 2s 6d.

A quantity of fossil gum and blacks' naidoo stone have been found at Balrunald (New South Wales), at a depth of 200 feet. It is taken as an indication of the existence of a prehistoric race of blacks with the same food-producing implements as those used by the present race

Miss Warmington, who served as a. nurse at the front in South Africa, returned to Wanganui on Saturday afternoon. She was met at the station by the Mayor and a number of her friends, who were jileased to see heu looking very well.

Mr J. |MScLean, practical bootmaker, has an advertisement in another column. Mr McLean has been in business for many years, and all work is turned out in a workmanship manner. His address is in Prince of 'Wales Boardinghouse, Taupo Quay.

At the S.M. Court yesterday morning a man named Long was charged with deserting his wife, and leaving her without means of support. He was re leased, upon his depositing £100, and entering into a bond in terms communicated in a telegram received from the Inspector of Police at Christchurch.

The final winding up of i>!ip jrreat clearing auction side, of drapery, clothing, etc., at Mr Keesing's mart will lal;«? place to morrow. It is announced tl.a.i> every lit will be sold out to the hiyli-jsb biddi-r.

Mrs Townsend, widow of th? '.nie- Mr Joseph Townsend, wishes to rec r.-n her very sincere thanks to the many kind friends for the sympathy and kincl;>ess extended to her during her recent bereavement.

The sale of Mr Hern-win's household ji»rniture, and thn -iretty phaeton. and pony will take place to-day at 12 o'clock. The furniture is all in nice ordsr, and of good quality, and the phaeton ;uid j.-fny wiis-'h will be sold at 2 o'clock inarp, intve been

very much admired

We understand that the New Zealand University Senate, now in session in Auckland, has decided to re-grant examination privileges to Wanganui and several other centres. It will be remembered that the action of the Senate in depriving smaller centres of these privile—es was adversely commented upon in our columns. The present decision will cause great satisfaction to local students.

Mr J. G. Swan has.presented lihc Wanganui Rowing Club with a valuable set of trophies, entries for which will r:lose tonight at the Wanganui Club's Shad at f p.m. Strokes will meet at the abov-j Ijine and place for the x>urpose of picking lh(ir crews. First heats are to be rowtrl off on

Saturday, 9th March.

A few days ago an individual at Riverton who spoke disrespectfully of her late Majesty the (Jueen was roughly handled by a number of residents, part of the punishment meted out to him, it is alleged, included hanging for a few moments. After his exciting and painful experience the individual disappeared mysteriously, and has not since been heard of. His friends have become alarmed, :ind although the police have made- deligent search no trace of the man can be found. It is feared that he

may have committed suicide.—Exchange.

This is to be a great month i'ir Wanganui. The races as per usual will bring its thousands from the surrounding -.li»----iricts, following comes the banl contest which will till the town to cver-llowrg with an enthusiastic and delighted con course of people, but the event of the week for the fair sex will be Ge-xfj and Kersley's- autumn show and promcnx'ie, which takes place on Wednesday. The gas light promenade promises to excel by ar any effort that the progressive lirni has hitherto attempted. A deputation of Maoris representing the tribes South of Manawutu River waited on the Premier at Wellington on Saturday with a request that the new Acts affecting Native Lands passedl last session should not be made to apply to their lands. The Premier explained generally the effects c-f the legislation, and promised that the natives should be given the option of having their lands brought under the Acts or not. The reply was considered satisfactory. The deputation was introduced by Mr W. H. Field, M.H.R., and Ropati Te Ao, acted as spokesman. There were also present Hinikamu Te Hiko, Ropata Ranapiri, Tatana Hapi, Puketapu Mohi, Te Kotu, and others re|/resenting the Ngatiraukawa, Nqatitoa, Ngatiawa, and Muaopoko tribes. The deputation asked thai they should be allowed to entertain the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall during their approaching visit at some jdace up the coast, preferably at Horowhenua Lake. The Premier said the time at the disposal of their Royal Highnesses' would not be sufficient to allow of any such arrangement being made.

The members of the Garrison Band wen

agreeably surprised last evening, when Mr James Purnell, on behalf of Mrs Sims And other lady friends, presented the Band ivith a handsome flag for the band-room, with tho Band's initials nicely worked in large letters. In making the presentation, ..Mr Purnell expressed a, hope that the Band would secure first prize at the forthcoming Contest, as they had certainly worked hard and deserved to win. Conductor

Crichton, on behalf of the Band, thanked Mrs Sims and the other ladies who had so kindly donated the flag, which would certainly ad"d to the appearance of the room. Ho also thankc Mr Purneli for the interest iie had always taken in the Band and for his good wishes, and assured* him that

whatever position the Band was awarded it the Contest it would be received by them in a becoming manner. The Band ilso received another mark of the esteem in which it is held, as Mr H. Coulter has very kindly decorated the fanlight over !.he door of the band-room, the design jhosen being a herald in the centre with an appropriate design on -each side. Mr Coulter has shown considerable skill in 3xecuting the work, which has been a labour of love, and he certainly deserves

the thanks of the Band for his kindness

Chicago has a wide reputation for its cranks, but it seems that Vienna, has put in a strong challenge for priority in this questionable reaim. The recent Paris

Exhibition apparently acted as an incentive for much of that somewhat primitive imulatioai which finds its satisfaction in betting on ability to do something uniquely ridiculons against a fixed equivalent of money. It is an easy way of .making a. living, if not an altogether dignified one. Two Viennese residents were among the first to thus seek notoriety. One was a merchant and the other a restaurant keeper, and they made a wager for 5,000 crowns that they would reach the Paris Exhibition on ?oot within two months, trundling before them all the way a huge wine barrel, which although empty, weighed over 500 lbs. The barrel was decorated with the arms of Vienna and Paris, and was stamped with the date "1900." Eighteen miles a day was

the average covered by these humorists, and they cut matters pretty fine, only arriving at the Viennes gate at Paris a few hours before the stipulated time. Gratz, ■!, town in Styria, also produced a pair of humorists of a not dissimilar type. Like the Ark assortment, on this occasion, male ■md female were the distinct persuasions ->f the wiMrcrcrs. Their bet was to the effect that they would walk to Paris on one oair of leas. The obvious method was, of course, that they should alternately carry "ach other pick-a-back. The statement

Misit' tho gentleman did most of the cany;pg; is ,i tribute alike to his gallantry and hii enthusiasm. A Dutchman., Van <l,er Ttosch, for a. consideration undertook the :ourney on stilts, the condition beinir pf.ua.t ]io should not remove the stilts at all en vmite. He won casilv, bnt, his princi^-il difficulty was in sleeping. After trying the "p<;linin<r posture once or twice, with its

'HflicuUies of reirnininy: an upright position, he selected the i-oofs of houses, haysfcarks, trees, md other " s >riglit. sinv.iorts ■>.* buses for slumber. Tliese were fiiuly «alisfnotoi-v, pxcepfc in the <\ise when aht' I-"tt-ncked the feet, of his stilts with an axe. in i>ursuil. of firpwoorl, an experiment =il;;rniinir indeed. Most nf tliese wairerers seem lo have won -thpir bots, tlio. O nly re-

corded exception baina' that of a T,ipo- e m;:n. who undertook to be rrundM Pnris-v.-jirri,, j n ~, tro-cart by hi.<? wife. The "bnrracfc" en route proved so stronjr that the aeiitlpni'ii re'inquiubed his task on the second day.