LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XVI, Issue 6429, 29 December 1899, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

There will be no publication of the , WiiEABAPA Daily Times on Monday ; next (Now Year's Day). i Six members of the Wellington i Harbour Board go out of office in Feb- > mary next by effluxion of time. An expert is to be Bent to examine the Clarcmont district, Canterbury, in respect to the reported discovery there of the Hessian fly. The results of the November examinations of tho New Zealand University will not bo declared until tho Senate meets at the end of February. Particulars of an additional train service between l'almerston North and Takapau, to commence on January 2nd, appear in another column. Tho Premier and Mrs Seddon and' family left for Greymoutk on Wednesday. Mr Seddou intends to be back in Wellington next week. The Commissioner of Crowu Lands and tho membors of the Land Board are at present in Mmerstou North in coni nection with tho salo of the Te Matua : and Ohakca' estates. ' The quanity of grain being delivered i along the port line, remarks the Timm i Heruld, is ovidence that there is still a > large amount of last seasou'i crop to bo I handled. I A thief entered a residence in Sussexstreet, Masterton, last evening and stole the contents of a lady's purse. Tkooccu- ' pants of the house saw the individual ! make his way out, but did not identify him.

Kuku Karaitaina and a few othor natives have just returned from a sharkfishing expedition on tho coast at the back of Maryborough. They bring with them no less than seven tons of shark flesh.

The profit mado out oE the ltolief Slakes at the Manawatu Club's Meeting on Boxing Day was £72 lis, which, togothcr with the contributions m the boxes placed on the course, will bo handed over to tbo Kelief Fund. Thefunoral of the late Mr W. H, De Lisle took placo at Maaterton yesterday afternoon, aud was very largely attended. TheEev.P. C. Wjndham Earce read the service at the graye, P.M. Bro. C. A. Pownall, conducting the Masonic rites. Some very beautiful floral offerings were placed on the coffin,

Alabour dispute arose on board the b,s, MatatuaatTimarulastwcek. Thelocal paper states that in order to get through thowork of loading the steamer quickly, the stevedores brought some Oamaru men up to Timaru. The local men, howeyer, objected to this, claiming tkt Timaru men should do all the work. After discussing the matter it was decided to fall in with the ideas of the men, and the Oamaru lumpers were accordingly sent home by the next train.

At a meeting of the committee and supporters of tho South African War KeliefFuuds hold in Auckland, the following resolutions were passed unanimously ;-" That this, meeting is of opinion that a larger number of mon should ho sent to South Africa than is contemplated by the Government; that tho Mayor of Christchurch bo informed ! that the citizons of Auckland will gladly support any such recommendation from the rest of the colony to the Government ■, that a special appeal bo made to the publie for funds to send horses to South Africa, there to be placed at the dispwal of the Imperial military authorities, tho cost of transport to be borne by the colony; that the Mayor be requested to call a public meeting at as early a date as possible for the purpose of endeavoring to increase tho interest of the citizens in the present war fund; that at such public meeting selections of patriolio music be given, short speeches be made, and ft collection taken up." .

A second offender for drunkenness was convicted and discharged by Mr P. Duptd at the Masterton Magistrates Oourt tbii morning. A Greytown correspondent wiros .:- Mr Wilkinson, the victim of the bicycle acoident has regained consciousness after 48 hours, Yoatcrdaymonwore busy all day in tlio Masterton Park cutting the grass on tlio running track and otherwiso making preparations for the Calodoniiiu sports to bo holdon Now Year's Day. Admiral Dewey's favourite watch it made of stool from the sunken battleship Maino, Captain Sigsbeo.'who commanded the ill-fatod war-vessol at the samo time as she was blown up, carries a similar timepiece

Although there are every evening > few oyolints training on tlio Masterton | Park Oval track, they arc nol nearly so numerous as on similar previous occasions, Most riders in the dressing room find tlio handicapping for Now Year's Day sports is pretty well the only thomo of conversation.

Another of the scurrilous placards which have lately been found posted in various public places in Masterton, was last night removed from the front of the Masterton Town Hall by the police. Some clue to the perpetrator has been obtained, and it is quite probable that severe punishment will bo inflicted.

It hits been reported to the police that a saddle has been lost. The horse on which the saddle was has returned with its bridlo on, and Sergt. o'Mnllcy will bo pleased to commuiiicalc with the person who now has possession of tlio

A tont has been erected at tho Junetiop of the Carterton and Gladstone roadß atKuripuni, in which it is intended to bold Gospel meetings on Saturday afternoon at three o'clock and on Sunday oyening at seven o'clock. The meetings arc being arranged by the Plymouth Brethren.

An excellent photograph of Gcorgo Bradford, one of tho New Zealand Contingent who was wounded at tho battlo at Arundel in South Africa, and who is now a prisoner in the hands of Boers, is on exhibition in Mr ,T. Harrop's shop window, in Queen-street.

The Gore Standard says :•-" Wo understand tnat an effort is about to be made to upset the recent licensing poll in the Clutha district. It appears that

prohibition was only carried by five voles, and it is asserted that more than

that number of votos can be struck ofE the roll owing to irregularities. The matter is now in the hands of the legal fraternity, and no effort will be snared to retain the publichouso at Pukerau and tho wholesale licenses at Tapanui.

The timber industry, writes tho Holart Mercury, has been fairly busy in the South this jear, Exclusive of cargoes of hard-wood taken direct from the channel to inter-colonial destinations, upwards of. 5,000,000 ft have boon shipped at Hobart, not including cart shafts, staves, palings, etc. Of this quantity, 1,629,790 ft. were sent to South Africa, and 470,000 ft. to England, The remainder was lent to New Zealand, SouthAustralia.Melbourne and Sydney.

One of the best-known hostcscss in London once invited two friends oEMr T,

P. O'Connor's to a fashionable fuuetion. They were mother and son—refined intellectual, delightful people, but they wcro strangers to London, and, except the Irish M. P., they knew no one in the vast gathering in tho spacious rooms. The hostess, after tho London fashion, had to let them shift for themselves, "First," said tho lady, "I treated my son as if ho wero my husband; then as if we were strangers; and ultimately I could keep up the pretence no longer, and we ran away." Could such a thing have happened, inquires 'M.A.P,,' in a drawing room in either New York or Paris?

"Is life insurance sinful?" is a question that has been grayely discussed by the ministers of the American German Lutheran Church, and answered in tho affirmative by eighty of them. They havesolemnly decided that life insurance is sinful and ought to be avoided by the faithful and devout. Tho depraved individual who believes that he is providing for wife and children by insuring his life little imagines that he is breaking at least three of the Ten Commandments. "Lifo insurance," this Conference have decided, "is against the First Commandment because it takes a man's trust oft God and places it on the insarance company." Again:" Life insurance is against the Eighth Commandment, because the beneficiary gets something not paid for, therefore stolen," Finally, " life insurance violates the Tenth Commandment because the investor covets something not his own."

By the Cape mail, which arrived on Wednesday, Mr W. of Wellington received a letter from his brother Mr E. J. Murdoch, formerly of the Wellington Police Force, who is now a prisoner of the Boers in the Free Statos gaol at Bloemfontein. Mr Murdoch, who went through the Matabcle campaign, was a member of the Kimberley Town Guard when the war broke out, and with othor members of this force went out scoutinft (on bicycles) on the Free State border. When about seven miles from Kimberley the party','which included some of tho Cape Police, were captured by a large body of Boots, who not between them and Jliniberley. The prisoners were sent to Bloomfoiitoin, the capital of the Free State, _and aro now in prison. The letter is dated Bloemfontein, November 13th and bears only ono post-mark, "Wenterstad, Nov. Kith," The writer docs not state how ho is treated in prison, nor how he proposes to get the letter through to Capetown. E. J. Murdoch was stationed for some time in Masterton.-

Two rooms in Queon-street, Masterton, ace advertised to let, A reward is offered lor the return ot a

cheque, lost in Masterton by Mr W. Shaw. Under the management ot Mrs Timms, the Te Nui boarding house is now a vorj eouifortable stopping place, and good accommodation can be obtained. Exccllenl paddooking for horses is also, provided, Oat London Artist ks now arrived, and we are prepared to execute ordora for all kinds oi Stained-glass Windows and Leaded-light Work suitable for ohurohes public buildings, and private residences. We will be glad to submit desißns and prices. Smith diSsinu, Cuba and Victoria' streets, Wollinfiton.—Advt.

THE ANOLO-NEW ZEMAND CVCIiK 00, We havo to announce that we have appointed Ma J, 0, Ewinoioh, as our agent for the district of Masterton, (or our widelyknown and popular Bioyoles the" AngloSraou'j," "HoMßEß,"and "Osmond." Mr Ewington will be glad to show his old customers and tho public generally samples of these maohines, when thoy will find that there are few othor machines in the market to equal them, and none to surpass (licni,-

—Apvr. The show rooms at Hooper's are now stocked with tho pick of the world's fashions, oharming English and French millinery, pretty blouses, tailor-made ooßtumes of the latest out, smart jackets, eto. Hoopers' are also showiug a magnificent lot of now goods in all the newest colours and materials, kid face cloths, alpacas, piques, muslins, lawns, prints, drills, shepherd's ohecks, etc, eto. I Their advertisement appears in another column and will repay perusal—Advt.