LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVI, Issue 3192, 10 May 1871, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Pay your Rates. — Mr Rigg, the Clerk of tho City Council, may bo said to have monopolised the attention of the Court yosterday morning, when a string of defaulting ratepayers were brought to book. Such difficulty is experienced by tho Collector in gathering in rates that the Clerk has found, by experience, that the labor is sensibly lightened by having an occasional field day, in the way of issuing summonses. Yesterday was one of these, when a string of names as long as a requisition appearod on the civil sheet. The result was as usual : the Council pocketed their rates, and tho funds of the province were correspondingly improved. We aro informed that for a short timo after one of these heavy musters of defaulting ratepayers before his Worship, the duties of the Collector become a sinecure.

The Gourlay Family gave an exquisite entertainment last night, but we regret to say the houso was not so full as wo expected. Never did tho Hall ring with louder laughter Some of our staid citizens seemed fairly carried away, the drollery of tho last piece being perfectly irresistible. To-morrow night is euro to be a bumper house. All who have seen the performance describe it as the greatest triumph of this talented family. As it id the very last opportunity of enjoying so great a treat we expect every seat will be filled, and we are sure no one will go away unsatisSed.

Presbyterian Church, Willis Street.— Last evening a soiree was held in tho schoolroom in connection with the re-opening of tho church after its recent enlargement. Tea was announced for half-past six o'clock, and long before that timo the rooms were crowded in every part. Tho tea was provided by the ladies of the congregation, and, wo need hardly say, consisted of the usual delicacies, most bounteously provided. Insufficient accommodation for all who attended necessitated the tables being replenished a second time. After tea, tho compuny retired to the Church, which was also crowded. Mr Paterson presided, and in an appropriate speech introduced the business of the meeting. The following gentlemen addr-s-ipd ihe meeting viz, The reverenurf J. Gumming, .1 Aloir, T. Buddie, W. H. West, and Mr G. Gray. The choir sang some sacred pieces at, intervals with good taste and effect. The speeches were highly interesting, appropriate to tho occasion, and elicited frequent applause. Votes of thanks were given to the rev. gentlemen who had addressed tho meeting, and to the ladies for the liberal provision they had made lor tho tea; and to the choir, coupling the names ef Messrs Smith and Carver — tho former for playing the harmonium and the latter for leading the choir, all of which, wo need hardly say, were heartily responded to. The meeting was brought to a clo.'u about. 10 o'clock, when Mr Patorson pronounced the bonediction, and tho company separated. The addition th.it has beun made to the church will accomoritvtn some 72 persmis, and nearly the whole of tin* new sittings have beqn taken already. Wn ars pleased to hear that there is a prospect., when all the subscriptions aro paid, of the church being occupied free of dobt. Rifle Shootin&.— We bolievo that a match will come oil'nt the Adulaido Bulls on Saturday next between 7 Married against 7 Single members of the VV.A.V.

Pahautanui. — On Friday the locul corps gave a volunteer ball iv the school room, which was elaborately decorated for the occasion. Tho bull p;iesed oil 1 very successfully in ov^ry respect, the new volunteer uniforms being much urimU'cd.

Tub Pahautanui Oiiicketers appear to have gained some reputation, huving just, ve-cezx't-<i t simultaneously, two cli?»lleng«a from two Wclliiiijton clulm'lbr the Qucon'a birthday. Unfortunately, they hud previously i'nguged themsolvofl for a rifle mmtch on that, day, but they trust on some other occasion to have the honor of playing a Wellington eleven. Otaki. — The following is a day'B biiaini 4 88 at the Otuki Resident Magistrnte's Court, which is rathor irregular in Hs BittitiKP : —

William Dodds v Piiranilnn E>pa. O]»ii>«* £6 6s 4 Judgment lor defen'l.uit cohlh remitted. — William Dudda vivopate Whuianui.

Claim, £19 19s lOd. Judgment for amount, and costs 19s. — Moihi Enoka v F. Martin. Detinuo of a bullock. Judgment for plaintiff 1 for £6, or to return the bullock, costs 19s. — Peene Araraa v John Webber. Grass money, 12s. Judgmerit^confessed for amount, and costs 8i. — John L. Waistcoat v Rikihana and others. Damage to pig, £4. Judgment for £1, and coats 29s. — Edward Prince, for using threatening and abusive language to John Hurper, was dismissed with a caution, paying costs 10a. Fred. Martin v. Hirawana Te Humu, larceny of 151bs nails. Committed to Wellington Gaol, and imprisoned with hard labor for one calenda** month.

G-beviliLe's Telegram Company. — In the Australian telegrams published on Monday, there was a paragraph stating that Mr Dyer, formerly manager of Greville'a Telegram Company, Melbourne, had been appointed " Central Secretary" of the Wellington branch. We find from the Melbourne papers that the appointment which Mr Dyer has received ib that of Central Secretary of the Australian Mutual Provident Society, and not of the New Zealand branch of Grrevillo's Telegram Company. A CniNAMAN's Letter. — A Chinaman of Beualla has a grievance for tho redres9 of which he applies to the prees. It seems that a boy was caught robbing his garden, and when taken before the local Bench the magitrate dismissed him with a caution. On this the Chinaman writes to the "Ensign," as follows : — ■" one boy go into my Garden and destroy £3 Os Od worth of water mellons the magistrate say him him too young to punish tho Boy thirteen years and six months old me try to punish t,ho Boy for his Badness it cost me four pounds. — An Sam Bet."

The King- of Siau. — The Melbourne " Argus" learns by (he brig Syren, which arrived lately from Singapore, that extensive preparations were being made thero to receive His Majesty the King of Siara in a manner beiittiug his rank, and in accordance with the oriental notions of his exalted position. The present is the first instance in modern times of a Siamese monarch leaving his territory to visit outsiders, and it is said that His frlnjesty will visit Batavia as well. On board the brig are two very handaatuo specimens of the mongoose deei'3, quite little pets, and also a miniature pony. The mongoose deer wero taken on board at Anjcr.

Pioneers of Pkogeess.— Steamboats on theßosphorus and a Constantinople gas company wont a long way towards destroying tho romauco af Stamboul just as the P. and 0. and the donkey boys of Alexandria contribute to vulgarise tho pyramids and thread tho eye of Cleopatra's needle with Lancashire spun cotton. After all it may be tho boys of Constantinople who are fated to revolutionise the social life of old Byzantium. There has been the creation of nn entirely uew raco of industrials in the shape of newsboys, who scamper not only about Giaour-denizened Pera, but through old Stamboul, uttering their familiar whoops and offering for sale newspapers in Greek, Turkish, Arabic, Italian, French, German, and English. Fiftoern year 3 since, when the Crimean war raged, Constantinople could barely Bupport throe or four feeble organs in Turkish and French ; at present the Ottoman press literally teems with daily and weekly journals in at least a dozen languages. Is this to be regarded nsa hopeful or as an ominous sign ! Does it imply that the end of Mussulman rulo is near, or thut tho beginning of a now of reform and civilization for regenerated Turkey is at hand ! — " San Francisco News Letter."

The Suez Canal, says an exchange, has now been a twelvemonth working, and ifc is officially stated that the receipts average about £20,000 a month, or about £240,000 a year, The heud-quarters of the company being in Paris, the war and siege have prevented the usual official report being made, which should have given information regarding the net as well as the ri'obs revenue ; but the statement aa to the gross traffic affords some material for a retrospective glance at the anticipations of traffic and profit which were indulged in a twelvomonth since, and which we showed to bo exaggerated. Tho promoters of the enterprise, it will bo remembered, did not shrink from calculating on a traffio of two or three million tons of shipping per annum, and this immediately; and no doubt; if the canal had such a traffic it would pay very well. But the data of the calculations were imaginary : the annual tonnage of the existing carrying trade which tho canal would servo is at the outside about three million tons— this being a certain figuro ; and, aa the trade was not likely to change all at once, and tho canal offered no advantages to give a great and sudden stimulus to new trade, it was unreasonable to look forward to tho traffic so conDdontly reckoned on very soon.

A Eat Plague. — The following on the " rat plague" is from the " South Australian Register" . — " The army of rats appear to have spread over a largo portion ol tho north, and Mr Or. L. Dobney, writing to us from Mundowadana, on April 12, remarks that they ure in swarms, infesting every waterhole and spring. Tho creatures aro of the common brown variety, aboriginally termed roy-ar-roo, and by the blanks, who consider the visitation as a windfall, are regarded as a great dainty. Tho natives stato that they soldom visit that part of the country, the latest instance having been many years ago, and before the white settled in tho far north. On the last-remem-bered occasion they came from the east and north-cast, destroying all the feed, and after staying about six months left as suddenly as they arrived. In some places their tracks cover tho ground for miles. Our pi'esent informant remarks that they seem chiefly to attack the grass roots, and although he has been more than 10 years in the north, this is the first timo he has seen them."

Another Great Ocean Telegraph Cable. — The latest accounts from Heart's Content describe the weathor at that pi ice as of tho moat, tempestuous charaoter, and that oil attempts to grupplo with tho broken ends of tlio two cables had, up to that time, proved ineffectual, hut it was hoped that, should tho wi'nf her i)oooinn lens story, tho next endeavors fro raise both cable ends will bo attended with better fortune than the eiforts which have hitherto been made. We have already stated that a company which has been incorporated i; few years since— lß66— in Now York, for tho purpose of laying a cable from that part to a point on the French coast, which has since thrtt timo held its plans in abeyaneo, had at last determined to proceed with the work, but insl.ead of making Franco its terminus it will be laid direct to a Russian port, tho Government of the latter country having given great assistance, and conceded a good deal towards the furtherance of tho enterprise. Another cable ia, however, to bo laid— this time commencing from the western shore of America and across t he Pacific to tlio castorn count of Asia. The New York Chamber of Coinmoi'co lias taken'the matter vigorously in baud, and with every appearanco of carrying it, to a speedy completion. — " News Letter."

Count it Up. — A German correspondent, wit.li si view of apsistiiiK by practical illustration to obtain an idea of I In* enormous amount of war indemnity (£200,000,000), which Franco is required to pay, forwards tho following to the " Melbourne Argiiß " translated from ' the Adelaide Gorman newspaper:— " Take fi-l English sovereigns to lib weight, gives 1,395 tons 15cwt 2qr 261 b, and it would require 20 railway trains, each of 14 trucks, (containing 5 tons of gold for every firuek) to 'r.msport tin's muss of gold, which again would fill a roi-m of the following dimensions :— lßft ling, 16 ft wide, and 9£ft high. To form a roll of sovereigns, reckoning 16 sovet-eigiis to an inch, would require a length of 196 English miles and 1 5 Oft. A smart cashier, ordered to count this aum of sovereigns, working 12 hours on every week day, able to count 60 sovori'iKna per minute, would require 15 years and eight weeks to accomplish his work."

TheSikgrop Pahis. — "Tho more people I hear Milk." tavs i ho Paris correspondent of >!..■ ' i) .. '•■ l''urnp 1 )," "especially among : . t , :i i.oiv do I incline towards the , ; , -urn .luit jvnl starvation baa been ve*y

rare, if indeed it has ever ooourred at all. Almost the entire body of the lower class of laborers has been paid or nourished by the state throughout the siege ; none of them were ashamed of being fed at the public expense j most, indeed, were no doubt highly satisfied at being able to eat without working. They have often not had enough to satisfy their appetites — that is certain ; but still they all got sufficient to keep life well in them. It is in the two or three tiers above the lovrest rank that the trial has bean most felt ; among tho higher class of workmon's families, the employes of every kind, and the small rentiers. All these people hesitated to accept charity, and their material needs have certainly been increased by their unwillingness to beg, and their moral anguish. Still, even therepainful as the trial has been — it does not appear to me that there has been thus far any actual dying for want of the strict necessities of life"

Oystee Culture. — It is only about five weeks, says the " Geelong Advertiser," Bince Major Heath commenced the new industry of oyster culture in Corio Bay, and already satisfactory evidence of success has come to hand. The plan adopted has been to lay down small oysters of one or two years' growth, so that notj only may the 'tedious process of breeding commence, but that an earlier return for the outlay incurred may be securred by fattening and otherwise improving the half developed and commercially valueless oysters originally laid down. Csnsiderable care, however, is required, and the oysters are etonstanfcly taken up, to ascertain that nil the conditions of success are actively present. This has been done by Mrjor Hcatb with the most gratifying result. Samples wfire secured with spat unattached, and others which exhibited the most satisfactory evidence of the now growth. This last result wa9 a most encouraging instance, as experts have declared that the growth is far more rapid than on the shores of Great Britain.

Floating Saw Mills. — " A few leading gentlemen of Melbourne," and Echuca, are about says the " Bendigo Advertiser" to "form a company for the purpose of erecting floating steam saw mills for cutting the redgum on the Murray, The project is of such a practicable nature, and tho demand for this description of timber for railway sleepers, wharf-making, and mining purposos is so great, that, with unlimited supply to work on, the undertaking is sure to be a profitable and useful ono. The promoters have patonted their project in .this colony and New South Wales.

The Utiltty of the Sparrow. — Mr John Hogg, of Elsternwicb, writes to the "Auatra lasian" : — lf I remember rightly, tho Acclimatisation Society some time ago expressed a desire to receive information as to the usefulness or otherwise of the sparrow. The following facts I have clearly ascertained : — Among others was a peach tree close to my verandah, the leaves of which were shrivelled (curled up), having an insect inside. Out of this tree flights of sparrows would frequently ba started, and having my attention thus attracted I counted all the fruit nearly ripe, to ascertain if this was the object of thoir visits. In a day or two not a sparrow came near the tree, and, on examination, I found that not a single peach had been touched, and I could not detect an insect. Shortly after the leaves uncurled, and in lees than a fortnight the tree assumed a perfectly healthy appearance, and wears it to this day. I had no other fruit destroyed, except on one greengage tree and one red plum, but I feel certain these wore destroyed by some'bird indigenous to the colony (these trees were situated near the outside fence), for on similar trees close to the house, and where sparrows, twenty or thirty at a time, were frequently seen perched, not a single plum was eaten. This senseless outcry ngainst tho depredations of the sparrow, in most cases exaggerated, appears to me to arise from the fact that the mischief the sparrow doe 3is seen, but the good it does is not seen j in other words, wo see by how much the crop is diminished, but we do not sco by how much the crop is increased by its having destroyed the insects which would have destroyed a hundredfold more than it can. Sparrows feed thoir young entirely on insects, therefore as those increase these must decrease. It may, however, bo necessary shortly to thin their numbers, but I do not think the time ha 3 arrived yet ; however, as this oan be done easily and inexpensively (unlike the rabbit) no anxiety need be felt on this head.

Blenheim, by a Rambler. — The " Blenheim Evening Herald" publishes the following tipsy description of the chief city of the province of Marlborough. If wo are not mistaken, wo have seen the same staggering style (perhaps the same writer) in one of our own prints: — I came in the Falcon — I wish I hadn't, for I don't know how to get out, having spent all my money. — Blenheim is the capital of Marlborough : has a Superintendent, Inspector of Police, and two constables, who have nothing to do — tho same amount is done by the other government officials. It's a very healthy place — The only disease prevalent is quartz on the brain — Many are Buffering from this complaint, and many more are expected to suffer under its " crushing influence." —

Moneys very tight here — so have I been since I arrived here. — The principal amusements are " Yankee Grab," and bottled porter — There are three pnpers in the town : the "Herald" (or fighting editor), the'" News" and " Express" — They are all full of news, which might have been read somewhere somo weeks before — Climate of Blenheim, good. — Disposition of inhabitants : going in on the burst, and there remain. — None have yet burstod. — Somo are expected to.