LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wanganui Chronicle, 31 January 1902, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Reading matter under the heading "Captain Cook" and "Sporting" will be found on reference to our front page this morn

The Dunedin Harbour Board has raised Secretary Raws/on's salary to £800. A constable is being despatched from Sydney to identify the Cingalese arrested ad -Auckland. Young, Maynard, and Courtie are representing Victoria, in the swimming .championships at Wanganui. The Arcadia, from London, has arrived at Fremantle. Passengers for New Zealand : Messrs Jones, Stenson, and Lucas. News has been received in Sydney by mail of the death of Captain Simpson, formerly of the Star of Australia. The Shaw Savill Company's new steamer Atlienio made a successful trial trip at Belfast, Two similar vessels are being built. Those members of the WaiM^hpi Highland Rifles and Band who liOT^not yet leceived their shell jackets can procure them to-night ait the corcigany orderly room in the Drill Hall, at 7.30 o'clock. An Auckland wire says that James McCluskey was accidentally drowned on the Success dredge yesterday morning through the boat getting swamped. The manager had a narrow escape. In the Auckland Supreme Court, John Savage, who confessed to two attempts to set fire to the Empire Hotel at Hawera on January 12, was sentenced to four years on each case, sentences to be concurrent. The Tyser Line steamer Star of New Zealand sailed from this port for London, via Wellington, with the following Wanganui cargo—467l carcases mutton, 6^45 carqases lamb, 324 orates legs, 267 crates shoulders, 137 crates loins, 408 legs, 1381 quarters beef, 14 boxes kidneys, 264 bales wool, 163 casks talllow, 22 cask* pelts, 1 case merchandise, and 4 cases sundries. Some time ago Lord Ranfuriy was asked by the Government to consent to serve a second period of office as Governor. His Excellency agreed to accept the extension of the term of his office by one year, and the Secretary of State for the Colonies has signified his Majesty's approval of the commission tinder the extended period, which will expire in April, 1904. At the Police Court yesterday morning, Charles Williams, of Raetihi, was charged with giving liquor to a Maori woman, not being the wife of a European. Mr Treadwell, for the defence, admitted that the accused gave the woman liquor, but contended that the woman was the wife of defendant according to Maori custom. After hearing evidence, the Magistrate (Mr C. C. Kettle) said he would take time to consider hia decision.

An accident which might have been attended with loss of life occurred at the Makohine Viaduct on Wednesday. One of the "struts," weighing 5j tons, was being hoisted into position when the shackle broke find the mass of iron fell, smashing through the scaffolding, and embedded itself in the ground nearly three hundred feet below. Several workmen had just passed underneath, and one, hearing the shouts of the men, leaped on an adjoining scaffolding just as the immense body of iron came crashing throuch the platform on which he was engaged.

A law has been recently passed to France to empower French diplomatic agents or consuls to celebrate marriages abroad between a French subject and a foreigner. The new law has special interest in its relation to Australasia, and' is expected to contribute to prevent the frequent cases of women who are not French who have contracted marriage with a Frenchman, according to English law alone—in a church or private house, or before a registrar—and find that the union is not valid in France, anil that it confers no legal rights and may be repudiated not only by the husband, but 'also by his family. It will now be sufficient for the form of civil marriage to be gone through before a consul. The c.viUitries in which the new law is applie».l>lo require to be designated by a decree of tho President of tho Republic. At an extraordinary general meeting of tho Maori Queen Gold Dredging Company, Ltd., held on the 29th insfc., the following resolution was passed as an extraordinary resolution—"That it has been proved to the satisfaction of this meeting that the company eaniutt, by reason of its liabilities, continue its business, and that it is advisable to wind up the same, and accordingly that the company be wound up voluntarily." Mr Tyerman was appointed liquidator. It was decided to form a new company with a capital of £2000, of 2000 £1 shares, to bo offered t.t> the original shareholders pro rat a. This will be sufficient to clear all liabilities and make some necessary improvements in the dredge to enable her to work the claim more .satisfactorily. The claim has been proved to be a valuable one, a.s more than £1300 worth of gold has been won out of less than I 5 acres of ground, \ and with increased lifting power she should, with the small capital, soon be a good dividend payer.

KESKN'f&OSNT. Niituro resents being outraged, and is swift to retaliate. When, through indiscretion, hurry or ignorance, you offend against nature by over-loading the stomach, that common but dangerous complaint known as Constipation comes on. The first symptoms of something having gone wroii'i are to be seen in enntions of the si:in—perhaps in Pimplea or Boils. Constipation means that the bowels are being clogged with putrid matter, and unless die impediment is removed, other troubles quickly follow. Trnpey's May Apple is a red am and i'ffuutivo remedy for all cumpLiiits) of (he stomach, liver, and kidneys. ,it aids nature gently and pleasantly ;it cures, j I and you stay cured. Soli by all Chem- j ists and Storekeepers, at 2s 6d per bottle. \

The latest addition to the Telephone Exchange is Mouton and Coates, general carriers, etc., Taupo Quay, No. 325.

A cricket match Hairdressers v. Drapers was played on Cook's Gardens yesterday afternoon, and resulted in a, win for the former.

James Ke'ly, an inmate of the Jubilee Home, died at that institution yesterday, at the age of 62 yea-is. Deceased was well known in the district, and at one time was a hotel-keeper at Tmakina.

There was a good attendance at the lecture given last night in the Piimitive Methodist Church by the Rev. T. B. R. WoolloxaLl on "From Stage to Pu'.pit." The lecture was of a very racy nature, and the audience, which was a good one, frequently expressed its appreciation of the highly interesting narrative.

We need scarcely remind intending speculators that tenders for the purchase of the Smithfield property close to-day with Messrs Treadwell and Mcßeth. Arrangements can be made, if desired, for a large proportion of the purchase money for 5 or 7 .years at 4 per"cent. The land is fertile, and being situate so close to town, offers an excellent chance for a profitable investment.

The open-air concert to be given by the Gariison Band on Sunday afternoon promises to be a. very enjoyable one. By request, the "Kyrie" and "Gloria," from Mozart's "Twelfth Mass" will be rendered, and no doubt much appreciated, as it is a very fine piece of music. It i.s the Band's intention to play the two test selections at some future concert prior to going to; the New Plymouth contest. ■ As it means an expenditure of fully £90 to pay the Band's expenses to the contest, a collation, will be taken up towards the contest c xpenses.

The annual general me.'.lng of the Wanganui Amateur Regatta Association takes place this evening in tli? Union Boat House. All members of the local clubs and subscribers to the last regatta held in Wanganui are members of the Association, and are qualified to attend the meeting. We trust that there will be a record muster of rowing enthusiasts present, so that the regatta may be got under way without delay.

A rather curious report on mosquitos has just been received from the SurgeonGeneral's Office in Washington, U.S.A. It seems that mosquitos are attracted in very different degree t>y different colours. Boxes were painted in divers hues and their attractiveness carefully noted. Blue camrfirst with) 108 insects" the next were brown and dark red, white only attracted' two, and yellow appeared to repel the mosquitos altogether. As a consequence, the regulation army shirt of navy blue is to be withdrawn * from the malarial districts where mosquitos abound, and white will be issued instead.

Mr. Leslie Stuart, the well known composer, who ha.s been touring through the United States with the "Florodora" Compitny, was obliged at a certain town m Arizona to accompany the opera, himself on the piaiioi, the local orchestra being entirely incompetent (says the London "Daily Mai>.") In the interval he told an interviewer that the music had been spoiled by the incapacity of the pianist, and the paper next da3 r discoursed at length on the folly oi' the economy of traveiling withl cheap pianists, and suggested that 'when "Florodora" reached Texas it would be necessary to pin the old legend, "Don't shoot me; I am doing my best," on the pianist's back.

Says the "Standard" —The latest "sacking" of co-operatives by the Government has been from the Blenheim-Seddon railway works, in the Hon. Mr C. Mills' own electorate, where all the men, numbering 30, have received notice of dismissal. A short while ago the Ministerial head descended on Blenheim, and the Premier asserted that the district had been sadly neglected in the past-, bub amends would be made for that by pushing on the railway works. Of course this statement was applauded to the echo, and the "party" were driven about and made much of". The fact that the works have been entirely suspended owing to Government being unable to employ only 30 men would indicate pretty plainly that there is a shortage of money in the treasury chest, notwithstanding the statements to the contrary.

In the little town of Rowanville (writes the Paris correspondent of a London paper) a. woman named Carat was sentenced to four months' imprisonment for a trivial offence. H>r husband bribed an ignorant Breton peasant girl' to take his wife's place in prison, promising to pay her £2 :■• month. The girl accepted the .strange offer, and for a fortnight practised writing tl*^aine of Carat, so as to play tlie part p^^K'. She duly surrendered to the prnHptuthorities at Nauterve and suffered sixteen weeks' imprisonment, but when theaglwei'e over she found that the woman Cafro had an outstanding sentence of six months for a prior offence yet to serve. The peasant girl thereupon revealed th 3 plot, and said that she had only received 16s. of her pre-arranged salary. She was promptly released, and the police are now looking for Carat and his wife, who have mysteriously disappeared.

An exhibition of rough riding—exceedingly rough—was given by an Eighth Contingent trooper at Te Aro on Friday evening, says the "Post." It appears that Captainßatlett's horse, a beautiful charger, had been entrusted the trooper to ride to camp. No sooner was the 'man mounteJ than the animal took flight and bolted down Dixon .street, v/ith the trooper bouncing from saddle to neck and back to saddle and hindquarters, all the while hulding on by the spurs, more than by anything else. At- the intersection of Taranaki street fear prompted him to fall oii" --a feat that he accomplished without injury. Had he then let go the reins all would have been well j but he held on, and thereby sent the poor beast crashing into an express whicln was being loaded with furniture. A sewing machine was in the back of the vehicle, and a protruding piece of iron wa.s forced into the runaway's body, making a horrible gash and smashing the breast bone.

Enormous quantities of fruit have been sent into Auckland by growers in that district during the past few weeks, the result being that producers are not obtaining payable prices. It is computed (says the "Star") that the output from orchards in the vicinity of Auckland for the five days January 13th to 18th, inclusive, amounted to 23,384 cases. In addition to this, during the same period, 5223 bunches of bananas arrived from Fiji; 60 cases fruit from Sydney, and 583 cases of oranges from >Sa;n Francisco. Our Wellington correspondent telegraphed last night as follows *. "There is quite a plethora of fruit in the Wellington market thi.s season. Immense supplies are still coming to hand from the Wellington district and from Nelson. Auckland and Hawke's Bay also supply large quantities. From Auckland alone there are four steamers a week arriving;' each bringing in 1500 cases of fruit. The. growers are having- a bad time just nov-. owing to the low prices, but tfio fall in prices on the other hand has led to enonn? olis demand."

I Some yegrs ago, when the story reached Western Europe of the sect Tiraspol, in Russia, who buried their relatives alive, an outcry of horror arose. Now, says the Berlin correspondent of the "Daily News,'' wo have two hours' journey from: Berlin a ease- which is hardly less astounding. At the village of Datten, near Forst; the Lausitz, there is a, sect 'calling themselves Brethren of the Lord, who .regard the Second Coming of Christ as immediately impending. The chief of the sect is a peasant named Kaschke, who, with his wife, his daughter, one'of his sons, and some other persons, altogether numbering' about twenty souls, aro in the habit of practising fanatical rites. Last week the clock in Iheir house stopped, and this was regarded as a sign that the Last Day was ""impending. From that timei—that is to say, for a week —the peasant, his family, and three other married women fasted. Suddenly, in the evening, a fearful tumult was hoard proceeding from the dark parlour. Out of curiosity, a crowd of persons of both sexes hurried in the direction of the house. By the light of a lantern, they saw the daughter, the son, and another girl, completely nude, holding each other, and dancing in. the village stree.t in front of the yard. They were singing hymns arid shouting and leaping with joy. The peasant himself and four women were dancing about in thu house in the same state. The burgomaster entered the yard, with the intention of putting a stop to the orgie, but he was driven off with clubs, and the whole party then started to iro through the village as they were. When the indignant villagers energetically protested, they replied, "We are flying upwards, we wear trailing robes of clouds and mist." These lunatics now attacked the villagers, and tried to drag them into the farmyard. "You. also, must be angels," they cried. Finally, the burgomaster got together a number of men in front of the house, and when the fanatics again attempted to leave they were received! with a :lel i re of icy water, which had been held in lowliness in buckets. The whole party was n last bound and taken off to the lunatic asylum.