LOCAL AND IGENERAL.

Wanganui Chronicle, 15 March 1901, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Governor left Auckland for Rotorita yesterday morning ; thence he goes to Tauranga and Paeroii, on route to Wellinjrton, via New Plymouth. He visits the.Mokau.

John Edwin Hughes, of Wpnganui, labourer, was yesterday adjudged a bankrupt. A meeting of creditors will be held at the D.O.A.'s office en Monday next, at 3.30 p.m.

!The Minister for Public Works has given instructions to put in hand, at once the extension of.thb Midland Raihvr.y from Motu piko to Tiidmor, a ?iix miles' section, undei tho-co-operative .system.

Mr Justice Coopci- granted decrees nisi at Wellington yesterday morning in tht cases of Thomas Gadsby v. Mary Gadsby, Thomas Collier v. Collier, G. ■ Grouhland .'. Grouhland and Higgins, W. E. Robertson v. S. Robertson—all husband's petitions. ■•■"■-.■ » Tho effects of the drought/ in Queensland ;:how that nine stations in the Gregory district last year carried a hundred thousand cattle, a hundred and thirty-two', thousand .sheep, and two thousand horses. Now there arc only nine thousand cattle and forty-eight thous-uul fii'ejpp.. .. .. ■ ;

In reference to the Premier's statement that We*tport coal cost only ten shillings per ton at the Westport wharf, the Nelsor. Mail is informed on good authority that (he price of screened coal is nearer one pound than ten shillings at the Westport wharf.

Tlie Manawatu Standard relates that Mi A. J. Cobb,'twenty years ago,'had, as a boy, fived a large kidney bean into his loft ear, and as it had become embedded in the organ, he, was quite deaf in that ear. A few days ago he felt something coming out of his ear, and, with some trouble, brought forward tlie missing bean. Mr Cobb is quite delighted to find that his hearing is row completely restored.

A Christcharch telegram says that the reply of the Trades and Labour Council to the Employers' Association, re the hitter's suggestion that a Conciliation Committee to settle disputes should be appointed consisting of delegates from both bodies, has uome before the Association in a letter. While prepared to favourably consider tht matter, it could not sec that, any such committee could have jurisdiction in industrial <i;sputes, the Association, now feeling that tho full meaning of iheir proposal has not been understood, haa decided to ask the Council to reconsider its decision.

An estimate received by the Hon J. G. Ward through the Agent-Goneial nliows that the cost of material for the now eabie from La Pcrouse to Wakapuaka will be £200,000, delivered and laid under a jjuarRntee, and it will be better and of a larger type than tho present New Zealand-Austra-lian cable. Mr Ward points out that even i-t the Eastern Extension Company's statement, the working expenses, interest on cost, and working expenses would amount to only £12,453 per year, whilst the revenue from tha Eastern Extension Company's present .\ible for 1899-1900 would be £18,574. • . :

Mr William Bruce, of Guyton Street, informs us that he has taken the agency foj the celebrated and favourite Columbia bi? cycles, also for the Hartford and Vedette makes. Mr Bruce, we understand, intends to give tho wheeling public the opportunity of purchasing these well-known makes at prices within the reach of ail. Mr Ernest Perrett, who has had c'onsidorable "bike" experience, his charg-o of this department,; and will be pleased to give all information to those who are thinking of investing in tin latest up-to-d-i;o wheels—whether free wheebs, chainless, or others. > ■".

A Sydney cable, received yesterday, says •that Mr Sprcckles had an 'interview with" Mr Barton in reference to the Oceanic -'Steamship Company. Mr Barton states that no definite proposal- lias been made, but a further interview has been arranged. The Sydney Morning Herald, dealing with tho question of the proposed subsidy to Sprecklos, says if the steamship tratiic between our ports and 'Frisco is large enough to bo a matter of any particular concern to us, it is i-fiu'g* jen-pugh to- pay Spreckles without a subsidy, it a/Jds that it must not be forgotten" t^at the American Company eiiteru jntp djvec,fc competition with I ourselveK,. while i<i t3ip {Jnio/i pompuny i we have an Australian enterprise' possessing considerable claims upon us. -

During the month of May there came to the hospital at Maritzburg from the front (says a correspondent ol! the Sketch) t'rivato Knight, of the Army Service Corps, suffering from enteric fever. He subsequently became very ill, with eomp.lieations. He was given up bjr tlie doctor*, with the exception yf Dr Nasuinto', the Purtuguese medico, who li?ld out faint | hopes if his patient could be induced to tak« nourishment. On the evening of May 2?>r<.l luqio was almost abandoned, and < during that night h« Mas s\p the. jioint of death. After midnight the doctor JW>d the nursing sister wci'e endeavouring to induce him to awallow sonic wine, but without succcijs, when the sister remembered that it toj Her Majesty* birthday. She bent over the sufferer, to whom the world, and life itself, had become ;is nothing, and s-witl: "Ki»i«j;hr, it i« the Queen's birtl-day! Will you drink -her health '!" The poor head just nuned on the pillow, and he said, so that the doctor »nd sister could hear quite plainly : "The Queen, God blesa her,'' and <lrank' the winy the sister at once held to his lips. The doctor said : "This has saved his life," and from that moment Knight began to mend. It was weeks before lie was aW# tit s^ UP 'n ke(l an<* have a smoke, but he is ni>w fyiu^ in England, strong and well Frcm tho day M'Jjeu lie cylled himself back from the grave to drink h«s Sovereign's health ho was fenowji in the wurd us "the Queen's J»a«,"

It is generality agreed now- among shipping men that the ship 43cacon Rock, sixty days out from Port Pirie to this port, has foundered or been dismantled.

Tho p.s. Aotea, left for Pipiriki at 1 o'cloifc yesterday afternoon with n large cargo, and a number of passengers. She returns to-day, and will leave or Pipiriki again'on Saturday morning.

A large number of. entries have been received for the Feilding Horse Sale, which fro kes place on Saturday next. The- sale will ba conducted by the well-known auctioneers Messrs Morshead and Giesen.

Volunteers who are competitors for the Government medals r to be fired for to-mor-row afternoon are notified that they must parade at ihc Putiki range in uniform.

To-day at 11 o'clock Mr J. H. Kcesing will soil at his Mart Mr E. D. Smith's consignment of drapery, boys' clothing, etc. The whole will bo sold without reserve.

Tho members of the Wanganui Lieder

kranz have decided to hold their first concort on Thursday, March 28th. The practices have bean going splendidly, and there is every promise of a successful concert. Ihe programme will appear in a few days.

The following crews have been picked for tho Fitzherbert Fours, to be rowed on tho 23rd inst.:— Williams (stroke), Dymock, Beaven and Ward ; Franklin (stroke), Kerr, Robertshaw and Till; Blackmore (stroke), Delves, Johns und Gibbons; Fra,ser (stroke), Spurdle, Gordon and Wright.

An important sale of land in the Turakintv district is to be held on Wednesday, 27th inst., by Messrs F. R. Jackson and Co. (acting in conjunction with the New ■ Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co). I The property consists of over 298 acres, and is securely fenced, divided into several paddocks, and is. all in English, grasses, wiith tbJ'J exception of about 80 acres of natural bush. Full particulars will be found in another column. Messrs Crichton and Newman w'.sh to announce that their half-yearly swie will close on Saturday next, and that in addition to the lines that are specially reduced, every article in their' large and well-as-sorted stock is brought under the percentage reduction system, no that anyone requiring boots, shoes, or slippers should make a point of visiting the firm before the sale, dloees. A syndicate has been formed for a floating Monte Carlo, to.be moored off the English coast somewhere just beyond the threemile limit. Negotiations are pending for an obsolete Atlantic 'liner, which would b« turned into a miniature casino, at v. total cost, including the first outlay for the hulk, of £50,000. The idea is to provide a haunt for gamblers within easy reach of London, but beyond the reach of the betting laws of the realm; and, of course, capital for running the tables would have to be provided to the additional tune r>? some hundred thousand pounds. It is 'irderstood that the Brighton coast is

thought of;

Saysj the Bulletin : —The recent' discovery of a. lady's gold watch at the mouth of Loch Ard George (Vie.) recalls the wreck of-the Loch Aid in June, '78, the only survivor being Miss Carniichael, a girl of 19, and Tom Pcarce, a midshipman, who drifted into the gorge on spars after seven or eight hours' battling with' the waves. Pearce restored his companion by rubbing her with brandy, which had been washed ivshoro,- and having placed in a cave, he climbed the cliff and obtained assistance. A purse of sovereigns was afterwards presented to him in the Melbourne Town Hall. Miss Carmichael,: who lost both her parents in the disaster, returned to Ireland, and a 'year•"later Tom Pearce, wrecked again, was washed up almost at her doorstep. Just as people-were asking.where this.romance was going to end', the lady married another man, and is now the mother of rosy children. The watch referred to was corroded into "a solid block like a round pebble, and the hands on the face pointed to 20 minutes after the time at which the vessel struck.

In sentencing two youths found guilty of theft at the Auckland criminal sittings, the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout) said !t was sad to se; young men -commencing a criminal career at 16 years of ago. Such cases seemed to call for action on the part

f philanthropic people in the community o devise some scheme for the reform of iuveuile criminals . Imprisonment did not seem to do nny good. His; Honor hoped the prisoners would recognise that they would be happier men if they did not break :ho law. They would find it did not pay to bs a gaol-bird. The Grown Prosecutor remarked that there was plenty of work for these young men if they liked to take it md earn an honest living. His Honor said they needed more than work; they weeded guidance and discipline. It was a pity they °ould not bo placed on a man-o-war. From the cases which had come before him in various parts of New Zealand it was per."ectly plain that there are.youths growing ip without discipline. He did not know '.vhat their outlook was. They would be continuously in gaol unless someone gave them a helping hand and led them to reform.

"Major Mite," the Lilliputain comedian, who toured New Zealand and the other

.•clonies many years ago, died on December 28th, at the New York Hospital, from nlargement of the liver and intestinal con:umption; He was a product of Dunedin, having been born at Green Island in 1876. His real name was William E. Jackson, his grown-up height was only 32 inches, md his nomal weight was 26 pounds. He began his stage career at the age of eleven years, and was so small at that time that hi could conceal himself in a silk hat of the average size without difficulty. He played for a few years in'■•'NW 'Zealand i.nd Australia, and theh went to England, where he appeared before the Prince of Wales and other members of the Royal Family. After a tour of Great Britain and Continental Europe, he went to South Africa with a company, of which he was the "star," In Johannesburg he was presented by "Barney!' Barnato with the next to the largest diamond that had been taken *rom the Kimberley mines.

Some interesting evidence was given by Mr Tom Pollard in the case in which the Stanford Dramatic Company claim £150 from the Union Company for neglecting to forward their luggage. Mr Pollard stated that the custom in tiieat-ricail companies was to charge freight and passages against the season's receipts, and preliminary expenses against tho first week. Actors and actresses were not paid for a performance which was postponed, unless they had "made up" before the postponement was announced. Special arrangements'might, of course, be made.- It was usually agreed that "stars" should be paid per year, for forty weeks of six working nights. He did not know of anything that would bo charged especially to the first night. With regard to lugaage, each actor or actress looked after vis or her own personal luggage. Wardrobe, properties and sceifery; were treated together. The stage dresses ur.uatly belonged to the managemnt, bwi might, in the company in question, belong to the individuals using them.! Tlie Union Company allowed witness to take two tons of luggage for each member of his company. The remainder he paid for. He sometimes had sixty members of tho cbnipany and 200 tons of baggage, and would then pay for eighty tens. A full house in Wellington, at his own charges, would be worth £180.

At a meeting of the Board of Governors of the Agricultural College yesterday, the committee of inquiry reported .that the ; management was unsatisfactory, and presented a long report of evidence taken. The~committeo stated that it had arrived at., the conclusion that tlie best bourse to'adopt was to separate from the office of director the department of agriculture, to ic-castthe present arrangement, and to appoint to the oftice of director a gentleman who may be considered to. have special qualifications for the government of an institution of the kind, and who would devote a large part- of his time to the work of bringing before the public the advantages the College offers with zeal and activity. A letter was read from the director, Mi' Jt Bayne, stating that he had done his best for the College and that it had advanced "uuciej.' his management. He denied that thei discipline was lax,, and the sucecos of the (students iii examinations negatived the idea that the discipline was defective. Tlie substantial cause, of complaint was obviously the diminution in the number of students, and.for this he considered that he was in no way to blame. Ho had made suggestions, the carrying out id' which would have secured a very lnaterial increase in the numbers attending. The war in South Africa had taken away many who would have been students. He tendered hia resignation, 'which was accepted.