PUBLIC BODIES' CORRESPONDENCE

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10119, 22 August 1900, Page 2

PUBLIC BODIES' CORRESPONDENCE

In his remark on the letter addressed tn the Education Board by the Wang.v nui IMuoaiional Institute, tho chairman of the Board (Mr G. S. Bridge) rait! that "ho had quoted from this letter the otlur day," and ho might bays added that his quotation waa pubhahod at length in those columns. Jt now appears that that letter had not. at that t me, even been laid on tln> Board's table, and we should like t-> know what precdent'the chairman h.- ! for making use of corrcspondenco in thin manner. It appears to us that Mr Bridgo hab an impression that tlr wholo property of tho Board, not to mention tho Board's employes, is hn exclusive property— an impression in which he seems rather to bo encourage-i by tho other members. We feel sure that, had Mr Bridge been a private member of any public body whose chairninn took it upon him to deal wit': "unrerehed" correspondence in tlic manner in which Mr Bridge himself dealt with this letter, he would have beon the first to .condemn the action Vet no one bermtid to think that tin. most improper use of an item of corrp*pondence was at all out of plac V> luh on this Bubject, we may sa™ that the construction which the chairman sought to read into the Institute* letter seems to us to be quito a ivronp one, and that Mr Spurdle expressed the real meaning of tho teachers i i thrir letter to the Board. The letter contains no arguments, either for o~ ifcunst Iho District High Schon! scheme, and we cannot conceive of any one makinc uso of it for that purpose, unless ho was so bitterly opposed to the scheme and so "stuck" for an a-rgt,-mont that anything would do, no matter how irrelevant it might be.

A quantity of interesting reading matter will be found on our first page. Tho Taranaki representative football tetnn will arrive by the express train on Friday. The New Zealand Rugby Union will appoint the referee for the match. Captain Edwin telegraphs: — West to south-west and south gales; glass rise, sea considerable; tides good; indieat.ona of rain and colder weather, strong ebb tides in tho Straits. Mr J. H. Keesing will hold at hi« mart on Wednesday next Mr Benofield's annual sale of nursery stock. The catalogue ia to be a very large and varied one, full particulars of which will appaar in a futuro issue. Members of tho representative football team are reminded of the practice at Jackson's yards this evening at 7.30. Players havo not been attending these practices as they should, and unless they desire to court defeat at the hands of Taranaki on Saturday, thej should bo present. Unless the members of tho team roll up better Hie Selection Committee contemplate malting some changes in the team. General Kelly-Kenny has a cousin in Neiv Zoaland, Mr Kenny, of Westport. In the course of a letter received recontly by Mr Kenny, the General writes — "Your poople from New Zealand aro very fine soldiers, and have often proved it, particularly in the early part of the war abont Colesberg.' He aads that he hopes tho time will come soon when ha can claim a rest, to live on hia property amongst his own people in Clare.

King Leopold has - "Ointed Majoi Lotbnire Administrator of a portion oi the Congo Stat« B«wrr« for State exploitation.

We call attention to on advertisement of section 861, and house, in Bell Street, tenders for which close to-mor-row at noon at Messrs Burnett and Gor don's, Wic&steed Place.

Twenty-five years ago, five young men, of Milton, wanted to insure their lives. Four were accopted; one rejected. The latter is alive; tno others are gone whero insuranco agents cease from troubling.

In addition to very large entries of tho usual kind, Mr J. H. Kees ng advertises for Saturday's sale an immensr quantity of seasonable drnpery. whicl ■nil be sold without reserve The sale of drapery will commence at 12 o'clock

Members of tho Cosmopolitan Club, who may wish to obtain copiea of the souvenir, issued in booklet form, to commemorate the opening of the now promises, can do so on application to the custodian.

A Brißbano cablegram states that R Government geologist hiss discovered coal-bearing country between the Me Koii7iu and Dawson Rivers in the Rockhampton district, embracing five thousand square miles. The coal it valuable for marine purposes, but if useless for gas.

Donald Dmnie, the veteran ex-cham-pion athlete, was presented at Abor decn recently with a purse of sove reigns and a chaiunioii bolt from hii Scottish admirers. The belt «ost .£SO and is composed of silver -Intes bearing mo 1 ilhons representing in rel of the different unnidics of athletics.

During the from Queeiistown to New Yoik the crew of tho Cymric battled for 36 hours with an nlarming fire in tho forehold. The men suffered from suffocation, the effects of thf fumes of clilorino gas. The hold waf flooded and the vessel sustained no damage.

Ono of our youthful printers lias hit on a happy way to settle the China-Boei uars. On tho black-board, which we ust to announce to the public tho moat osciting items o! tho wars, he scribbleo under cover of tho darkness of the night- —"The Empress of China liat n'arried Krngor, the dirty Boer."-- . Manawatu Standard.

In connection witht the recent Maori eauoo disaster on the Motu River, the Auckland Star's Opotiki correspondent v rites to say that not more than six people should have been in the canoe, whereas there wero 16 children and 2 adults, all of whom wero drowned. A few woeks ago tho Eov. G. Maunsell was nearly carried out to sea while crossing in the canoe.

Tim Rathe Lam! Court, which hat been sitting in Wanganui lor the pus' six months, was adjourned sine die owing to tho illness of Judge Wnrd Mr T. C. Jones, the clork and inter prctcr, lins beon instructed to proceei to Gisborno to act in the same capa city there. It is probable the Courl will resume its sitting ln Wanganu. in tho course of two or three months.

On Thursday, Auirust 30th, a sale ol work will be opened by His Worship tho Mayor in the Prim'tive Methodisi Church. The sale will bo continucc on the Thursday and Friday evenings and promises to be a success, if th< enthusiasm displayed by the ladies maA be taken as a. criterion. The proceed! ot the sale will bo devoted to tho re (Suction of the debt upon the churcl property.

Thero aro two Chinos— the China ol the Manchu Mandarinate and the China of tho Chineso people, and these arc entirely different worlds. Tho latter is the real China, which has existed these inuny thousand years and will continue to eiist long alter tho Manchu night ninre, which at present TJominatos it, has passed into tho limbo of things that iv ere. Tho Emprcea represents that Manchu nightmare. — Saturday Review. . It may be remembered (says the Wai tara Mail) that when Madamo Heller gavo an entertainment hero some months ago she was asked if Major (then Captain) Davies would returi safely from tho war. Tho lady said whilo in her hypnotic state, that the captain would como out of tho fighting unscathed, but would bo injured in an accident in nhich a horse was concerned. Wo now hoar of the officer being thrown from his horso.and somewhat hurt. It is a strange coincidence, to say tho least of it.

A curious discovery has been mad« ivt Dameudorf, in Sclilesivir>-. Some work men, while digging neat, found a well preserved corpso in the peat. Tin corpse, with red hair, and uandale oi tho feet, was clothed in coarse woollei material. Dr Splietli, of Kiel, wh ■.vns at once informed of the discovciy estimated tlio ace of the body at abou I.'jLX) years old. A few years ago seve lal coino weie also found near tli sajno place, winch wore believed by ex peitM to belong to the hrtt cenhiric after Christ.

A doctor who lias been with tho Boon says:—' A Boer with a bullet in hin h.'s but one w sh— to get it cut oiii there and then, on tho fighting lini or wheiever tho nearest ambuliinco ninv ba. lie believes all bullets are poi soucd, a belief which may ariso fron tin uncomfortable knowledge of vei riigris on some of his own cartridges Ho does not want chloroform, but) le(tho surgeon "just carve away." II insists, however, on being- given th. bullet or b t of shell that is extracted of which ho is as proud aa a Tomim 13 of tho V.C."

Another trophy for Baden-Powell i' on exhibition in Auckland. This is ; ■\cry handsome pold-monnted walking stick, subscribed for by the people ol Cambridge as a tribute to Major-Gene val Badpn-Powell for his defence o' Mafcking, tuid it is to be fonvo.rded t< mm shortly. Tho present is a heavily mounted stick of pnriri, the gold bandbeinp beautifully chased work, rcpre sonting fern leaves. In the contro o one of the bands of >Id is n re^rcsen tation of a kiwi, surmounted by tin words, .^o, ake, ake" (for ever aiu ever), and the other bears the inscrir> tion: "Presented to Alajor-Goneral Bn den-Powell by the citizens of Cam bridge, Waiknto, New Zealand, in com memoration of the noble and success ful defence oi Mafeking, relieved 18tl May, 1900."

Most of our present troubles ii South Africa are duo to the doterinina tion to thrust the Dutch population 1 through the door that led outside tliEmpire. In 1853 the Orange Free State waa not at all anxious to bo ex eluded. Its people, at anyrate the wise and more influential of them, recoß nisod tho advantages of remaining 1171 dor the sovereignty of the Crown There would liavo been no Boer R" publics if the wishes of the better an probably tho larger, portion of tli' Dutch settlers had been consulted. Thei actually sent a petition to tho Colonia l Office protesting apainst the proposer' grant of independence. Their wishe r wero d'sregarded. The Secretary oi State declared that it was contrar 1 to the policy of Hor^Majesty's Govern mont to enlarge the circle of our Km perial responsibilities. The emigrant farmers wore forced to take up thr heavy burden of nationhood apainsi their will, and with a full sense tha' it waa detrimental to them. — Nine tPenth.

One anecdote told by Lieutenant General Baden-Powell to the New Zca landers whom ho met in his marci from Mafeking to Pretoria is wort! recording (says a London, correspond cut at tho front): — "It was about thr 120 th day of tho siege, a Sunday. anc 7 tilings as usual were slack — very slacV indexed. No shells were pumping into us, and Sunday was rcsuected as a Sunday, so far as hostilities were con cerncd. But something' had to be done io relieve the monotony, and as cricket matches were the order of the seventh day, it was decided to play the noblr ijaino of cricket. General Schocman who is somewhat of a wag; as Boerp go, forwarded me ft note requesting thr pleasure of our company at a panic of cricket — Briton versus Boer. The Fed oral leader had to be answered in tho same vein as that adopted by him, ant' I replied to his note with the following memo:— -'Cricket match: Briton v. Boer — Mafeking, first innings, 120, no( out. Would recommend a change of bowling.' I would have liked to sec Schoeman'a face when the reply wae submitted to him.. It must have been a study."

It will be noticed by preliminary adertiaemsnt th»t the thoroughbred stallion EpauWt (Medallion — Dudu) \e to stand this season in Wanganui. The tramway poll at Wellington yesterday resulted in an overwhelming majority in favour of a loan of ,£20,000. tha figures being 1039 for and 68 against.

The police havo reason to believe (cays the Feilding Star) that seveial illicit distilleries are in nctiw opeialion in the ranges between Wchii'ijtor and Pttimerston North.

Miss Ella Johnson, hoiisema d at flrennan's Hotel, Opunake, was out walking with a comrade, when the pair frll over a cliff fully GO feet in height tlisg Johnson sustained a severe wouik' on the head and internal injuries. Her companion escaped unhurt.

Tarauaki papers report that dairy factories are preparing f or ab g season and during tho incoming srason things ■/ill fairly boom in the milking line. Each succeeding season finds the volume of milk increasing,, and the dose ol tli.> busy tune shortly to bcg ; n will find last season's figures badly beaten. A contemporary gives an admirable recipe for effectively placing tho greasy bank notes now in uso out of drculat on. The plan is to simply poke a holo through every dirty note tbat comes along. The result being that when the notes get back to the bank they are hold, and replaced by new ones. The recipo is worthy of a trial.

A successful raid by the police was made on a, Chinese gaming-house at Bcdforn, Sydney, on a recent Sunday. The attack waa a complclo surprise. Gambling wob found to be in full wing, and <£6 was on tho table when Hip officers entered. The banker and croupier and thirteen other Chinese *ere arrcste'l. and found to ha-\e over tl6 in tlie^r possession.

Cilonel Robin, in the course of a IctrT to his father, says: — "We hope tjin' the war will soon be over, and bring i.e.ico to tl>ii splendid couatry. There it a beautiful climate hero, and though it !■» fearfully tolcl jit nigbr the grnss and -attic «r« splendid and the farms bciiul fill It ih .1 jj<v>d plncc to enmc ti vnd no one can blame any of the lat'^ for r t'\ying. The place is so big, am" there is plenty of scope."

A few days ago, in the Orange Kice Stiitc, iiear Wynburg, where our troops ti 1 hcflitiiif;, an early prvpptidicular il'alt was) lißcoyerDd. about LjO feet deep, and workings from the bottom >f tlii-i shaft extend several hundred fi»cl. Old-fashioned spears and buttle■Vß, with primitive tools, curiously inJcribod stones, and skeletons of men >f f,'i£.ii>t'c fli/o, have been found, but tli ore ii no legend or tradition among Ihe natives concerning the mine, ur tho "innl, race who worked it.

A man named E. Bottle -was shot through tho head <nl tho Dinboola Buits ."hilo nctiiiil as marker. John Cooksley was filing Ins last R'not at 700 yardfa, Tvhfn bis companion Cordnpr was hor.ifiotl to see Bottle apocar, and immediately drop m front of the target. Iho members wont hnmediiitely to ins iFfrisla'ice, and found the marker shot tluougii the head. He died next day. Cottlo waa a nmrricd man. His son is in S mth Africa with the Bushmen's Contingent, and bis nephew (Bugler Diiltli') is vf'th tho Sscpnd Contingent.

The Post states that a wild dog, said to bo a specimen of the original nathc log of tlio Tararua ranges, was captured some days ago by. Mr H. It. Cornford. of Ashburst, and has been forwarded to Mr A. Gillcspic, of tho Shepherd Anns Hotel. The animal itrongly resented capture in the first place, Ijut tho chains and muzzle of *aptiwty have considerably cowed it. ltd coat if black and white, and it resembles n mixture of collie and foxterrior. It is proposed to send the dog lo Mr Grove's kennels at Karori, and if it does not take kindly to further "nptivity it will probably bo added to Mr Gillcspic's museum of curiosities.

A novel uso for postage stamps has 'ren found in South Africa. During tho time Buluwayo was cut off from lther portions of Africa silver became vpr- scarce in that city, and poatpge stamps wero brought into use, the 4am p being placed on a small card, >n tho reverse side of which v.as "rint■d tlic following. — 'The Civil Commissioner, Buluwayo, — Please pay in cash '.o the person producing this card the 'aco vaiiio of tho stamp .affixed thereto. presented on or after the Ist of Lujrust, 1900. This cord must bo proluced for redemption not later than lv> Ist of Octobor, 1900.— H. Marshall lob, secretary."

Tho Kdinburfjh correspondent of the Otiisjo Daily Times wntcF. — A boat ftas upset in (Uo Gourock Bay on the Kh ol June by awkwardness on the i. art of iti inmates while changing heir scats. Two of the throe men that vcrc m it wire drowned, hut the third vas saved by the gallant conduct of Mr Andrew Sharp, who is described as v young tnshier from New Zealand, .vlio ,'r (-pending; ■» holiday in Scotland. Mr Sharp leaped from the steamor Me? \lr miens, mid succeeded in holding up ait drowning man until they were both nicked up, by which time he was iuniiclf quHf rxhaußted. I am glnd to be iHe to ad'l that the Royal Hiumnc Society has awarded Mr Sharp its broii7r> medal in recognition of liis ouiHgeous act.

In tho course of a highly compliment»ry notico of Mr Wilson's lecture on "The Humorous Side of Journalism," the New Zealand Timos says: — The lechiror bogan by describing a typical -ditor interrupted in the throes of writing a loader. He then gavo laughable nstances of the petty annoyances and difficulties which editors, sub-editors, md nowspaper mon generally, wero sub,ccted to — the wretched writing of coiicapondents with which they" had to grapple, tho bores of all kinds who ivere continually calling upon them, md the atrotioug blunders which compositors made in their copy. Tho spring poet, the man who wanted hia name kept out of the the paper, the irascible :>ld lady with a grievance, the theatrical igcnt in q^ueet of "a puff local," tho secretary ot the society who brought in in inch advertisement and a column ocal, tho new-chum masher with his steamer stories,, the tipsy roisterer, the iiorsey man, and a dozen other invaders ■>t tho editorial sanctum were graphically depicted, both on the screen and by the lecturer, and roars of laughter vnd rounds of applause continually estlfied to the pleasure experienced by jhe nndienco. Mr Wilson's descriptions >£ tho various phases of journalistic life were all characterised by a vein of humour, which, though sometimes approaching the caustic, was ever s. pleasant cloak to the slight exaggerations wmetimes indulged in."

Prophets have not, on the whole, sound their peerings into the future tery successful of late. Many of their predictions have indeed broken down iglominiously. Old Moore, however, reuarks a London paper of last month's date, has proved an exception, for in iiia almanack for July he anticipates the China troubles. He also promises ■\ heafc wave from America this month, and it will riot be an unwelcome visitor after tho prolonged spell of rain and ■old. For succeeding months the outlook, according- to the old seer, will tot bo of the brightest. August is to oring a disastrous collision in Scotland. "Several people will be severely injured, and not a few killed." There tollows a prediction of strange ambiguity: "The nation will have great auso to mourn." What fearful catastrophe does this portend for the month m which most people aro making holiday' September, he says, will witness % recrudesence of hostilities between I America and Spain, whil© in October a i "widespread strike" is anticipated there. This labeur struggle is to be L accompanied by wanton destruction of property and loss of life. "The police will come in contact with the mob, and it will take a large force to quell the disturbance." The air will be filled with tho groans of the dying and mournings for the dead in December, and the Christinas festivities are to be overshadowed by the gloom of a heavy irortality. Influenza is to be more pre- , valent than ever with its wrecking cf- ' fects upon the constitutions of its victims. So the old man predicts. And while it would not do to take him too sevjoiisly, still it must be remembsred that Old Moore lias proved that somelimes he is right.