LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVI, Issue 3239, 30 June 1871, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Opening 02 Parliament.— We understand that Parliament, will be called together for the despatch, of business on the fourteenth of August noxt. Pbovincial Council.— A very short Bitting yesterday served to dispose of the meagre amount of biisinesß on the order paper ; and to-day will sec everything wound up. A few items still require to go through a sort of formal stage ; and in order that these may ho disposed of by the usual hour at which the Council have been nccustomod to meet, they will meet to-day nt 2 o'clock ; and it is expected that everything will have been gono through in about an hour, when his Honor will prorogue the Council. Collectors.— Mr J. Mulhern lias been appointed rate collector for the KaroriMakara district; and Mr Alex. Findlcy for the Western Rungitikei school district. Waiwetu. — The following persons has hoen elected a board of Wardens for the ensuing year, for the Middle Waiwetu Road District : Messrs James A'Courtr; Edward Pierce, Charles Death, senr., Henry Knight, Petor Smith, Charles W. Brown, chairman. Geeytown School District.— The ratepayers of the above district havo elected the following persons ns a committee : — Rev. A. Knoll, Dr J. Smith, Messrs Moles, T. Walker, J. E. I. Boyos, J. Baillio, M. Hirschherg, R. Lucas, M.'Caselberg, J. A. Petherick, A. K. Arnott (Chairman). Mr Lucas was appointed collector, and Mr Hirschberg treasurer. Me David Blyth has been elected Chairman of the Kaitoki Road District. Paiiautanui.— The following persons have been elected wardens of the Pahautanui Small Farm Road District :— Messrs E. Bolton, B. Draper, D. Cook, S. Flighty, D. Galloway, Chairman. California. Passenger Trade.— The passengor arrivals at San Francisco by ocean routes for April numbered 7-11, of which 207 were from Panama, 284 from China and Japan, 82 from Australia, and 44 from the Hawaiian Islands. The departures by water for the same month were 916, including 484 to Panama, 234 to British Columbia, and 113 to China and Japan. The number of through passengers arriving hero by railroad for April was 3,149, while the number so departing was 2,034. The Education Question in Nelson. — It is rumored, says the '• Nelson Examiner," upon wo know not what authority, that in the choico of the next School Committee and Central Board of Education, a quiet but determined attempt is to be made to return men who will give as much as possible of a religious turn to the public school teaching, by introducing the use of the Bible as a school-book. Wellington Philosophical Society.— A meeting of the members of this society will bo held to-morrow evening, at eight o'clock, in the Colonial Museum. Canterbury Meat Preserving Company. — As the preservation of meat is becoming a question of great importance to Wellington stock producers, wo place beforo our readers the following information brought out at the meeting of the Canterbury Meat Export Company, on Thursday last :— Taking the yield of meat and tallow from tho sheep mentioned in the company's report, as received from Mr Gray, we find that tho sheep averaged 561bs 7oz at the factory, and yielded 211bs of tinned meat, and 191 b 6oz of tallow. Wo believo that most of the meat sent homo hitherto has yielded from 6d to 7d per lb, but the price has, of course, been greatly assisted by the exceptional demand for the article through the Franco- Prussian war. Wo therefore propose, for the purpose of our calculation, to fix a price at which there is no doubt an almost unlimited demand would be opened up for tho article, say 5d per lb. Thus 211bs tinned meat at sd, gives 8s 9d ; 191bs 6oz tallow, at 43s per cwfc gives 7s 5d ; tho .sln'n gives, cay, Is Id ; in all, 17s 3d. The following charges have to bo deducted :— Charge at factory for boiling, and casks, and expenses of putting on board ship, Is 9*d ; cost of tinning at 2|d per lb, 4s 4£d j sale expenses in Englaud, including freight insurance, &o, on meat, Is 9d ; do do on tallow, Is 2d 5 in all, 9d Id— leaving a balance of 83 2d. It will be seen that we have quoted the very low price of Is Id for the value of the skin, and that the return, after paying all- expenses, and providing for a fall iv tho value of preserved meat in England to 5d per lb, will be 8s 2d for sheep that will average 561 bs 7oz at the factory. Wo believo that the return would bo proportionate for sheep of lighter weight, providod always that they are in fit condition to preserve. Tho Company have now had the advantage of the experience of a very able expert from Melbourne, whoso advice will doubtless enable them ta work not only on a much safer but cheaper basis in future. We should imagine that, under theßO circumstances, the additional capital required by tho company will bo found on the terms proposed at tho meeting, viz., that of giving to persons subscribing for any of the remaining shades a return on tho shares of a per centage to bo agreed upon before any division of profits takes place with the old shareholders. A suggestion put forward by a shareholder is, wo think, well worthy of the consideration of the directors — that sheep should be taken in payment of shares ; this having tho double advantage of simultaneously providing capital and profitable employment. It was* stated at the meeting that the work has been carried on for the last few months with the trifling loss of lees than throe per cent, on tho amount of meat preserved. A Gigantic Scheme.— By the last muil from Melbourne, a gentleman in this city received the prospectus of a scheme that has been projected in Melbourne, for establishing a connection by canal betweon tho northern and western portions of Victoria. It is to bo callod tho Grand Victorian North-western cannl, and the projectors say they are ready to form a company for carrying it out, if the Victorian Government will promise them a subsidy in land proportioned to tho magnitude and importance of tho undertaking. Tho canal, with all branches would run through the districts of Rodney, Bendigo, Gladstone, Kar-Kara, Boning and Knrarook, and its entire length would be 500 miles j it is projected to have a fall of nino inches per mile, to be sixty feet wide, and ten feet deep. Tho projectors ask tho Government to give thorn a lease for 999 years of the land through which tho canal would bo formed, together with everj altornato squaro milo of country on each side of tho lino, or else a grant or fee simple of tho same quantities of land. The projectors estimate .that tho land retained by Government would increase in valuo from £1 per acre to £0 or £6 through the increased facilities for settlement given by water carriage, and also by a systom of irrigation, which tho company propose to establish. It being thoir intention to orect about 130 onginos at different places for pumping water for land irrigation. The estimated expenditure of tho company is £3,000,000, and it is stated that the wholo of the money hns been promised in the Molbourno market. — "Dunodin Star." Oath Taking. — Tho Dunedin " Star" says : — A legislative attempt is to bo made during tho ensuing ses?ion of Parliament to abolish tho taking of oaths by plaintiffs, prosecutors, and witnesses in our courts of law. A Nelson member is to tako action in tho matter. Gold Mining in Nelson.— A Collingwood correspondent of tho " Mail" says that tho prospects of tho district have improved of lato. Very rich stono .was found in tho Perseverance Csmpany's ground, report stating it to be as much as an ounce to tho dish. A leaso has been taken out by ft private company in Nelson to dredge part of the Aorero river. ,

American Permissivism. — The " New York Herald" says :■— The Board of Excise of Hempstead, Long Island, have resolved to grant but four liquor licenses. There aro about forty dealers. The Board is of the opinion that it has the right to act as it pleaseß, and expresses its determination to force the unlicensed dealers to suspend. Tho Excise Board of Greenporfc has refused to grant any licenses. It has- decided to aid the temperance folks in crushing out the liquor traffic. An appeal to the courts is to be taken in both cases. TnosE Eccentric English !— Tho "Figaro" statos that an English gentleman, recently deceased, left a legacy to his nephew conditionally that ho visited his tomb oneo a year and wept over it. Unfortunately our eccentric countryman was given to travelling, and during one of his journrys diod in New Caledonia, au island in tho South Pacific Ocean. The unfortunate young man has, therefore, to make an annual pilgrimage to that remote land beforo ho can obtain tho legacy ! Use tor Flax Sticks — A correspondent of tho "Press" states that the common flax stick, pared down to a flat smooth surface, nnswors well the purpose of an impromptu razor strop. Sea Encroachment.— The " West Coast Tillies" says : — The sea continues to encroach at Westport. Between Freeman and Palmerston streets, and waves have cut a face of fully three feet into a very much ol3or formation of soil than has hitherto been disturbed by the sea in the vicinity of Westport. Hoofs and stumps of trees arc now laid bare, evidencing the lengthened period that must havo elapsed since a similar encroachment had taken place. Death in the Pulpit.— The Eev Benjamin Eaton, first and only rector of Trinity's pis-' copal Church, Galveston, America, was stricken with death. while standing in tho pulpit, April 2. The Galveston " News" thus describes the affecting scene : — ' He ascended the pulpit. Announcing his text, ' There is yet room,' all trembling beneath tho weight of his last message, ho referred to one after another of the friends of his youth and tho communicants of his church that hud gone before. Then, as if tho thin veil that hides the spiritual from mortal vision had been rent, and his eye could see such scenes as none could see and live, his fine descriptive powers bent themselves to their task. He paintod Death entering the church door, passing up the broad aisle, laying his bony hand to tho right and to the left, breathing his cold, clammy breath on the cheek of beauty, and wafting tho silver, hairs of ago— now touching tho father, then the son, thon tho mother, then the daughter. As tho spectre, so plain to his entranced vision, advanced to tho chancel door, and as ho saw that his time had come, his words struggled for ufcterenco. He faltered — his weakening limbs staggered. , A gentleman who advanced to his assistance wns wafted back. For ten minutes ho spoke — his words only audible to those next to him. ' Tho excitement of the audience was fearful. The silence of death was only broken by the words he strove to speak. Throe timc3 he struggled to continue, saying : ' I am very sick but I must say.' Again he staggered ; he fell into the hands of Mr C. R. Hughes, as lie raised his hands to pronounce tho ascription. Like Moses, that other servant of God, he was too weak to hold up his hands, which was done by Mr Hughes, as ho said his last pulpit words, ' To God the Father.' The hand of death Iny on his shoulder, was too heavy — for himself, for his friends. His tongue refused to speak ; his hand dropped. He was carried to his rectory, where he died." Chess.— The "Dunedin Star" says:— Wo are glad to find that growing interest appears to be taken in chess. It is expected that the Dunedin Club will number fifty members in a very short time j there is scarcely a night on which they meet, that additions are not made. Should this number bo reached the club will bo the strongest in New Zealand, probably scientifically a3 well as numerically. What are Two Hundred Millions Sterling ? — A gentleman residing in Sydnoy has translated tho following from a late German paper : — This sum is easily spoken, but few peoplo have a faint idea of its vast proportions. Tho following will give somo faint notion of it. If we reckon 54 sovereigns to a pound weight, then is tho weight of this war indemnity 1395 tons 15 cwt, and it would require twenty railway trains of fourteen trucks each to transport it ; in this way each truck would carry five tons. This mass of gold would fill a room 18 feet long, 16 feet wide, and 9 feofc 6 inches high. If this quantity of sovereigns could be put' into a roll, as is the custom in many merchant's houses at home, tho roll would, if wo take sixtoon sovereigns to tho inch, measure 197 English miles and 1500 feet j but if wo put them flat, one close to tho other, it would cover more than 405 acres, and if one man were put to tho test of counting them, working twelve hours in the day, and counting 60 in the minute, it would take him 15 years and 8 weeks." The New Capital of Fashion. — Tho " Pall Mall Gazette" 3ays that the Parisian ladies intend to show their sense of their country's misfortunes by adopting for the future an extreme sobriety of costume, and adds : As this is an eccentricity of fashion into which theiv most devoted imitators in other countries can hardly bo expected to follow thorn, another "defeat of worth" may bo anticipated, and the great Parisian milliner will cease to give the law to Europe. Under these circumstances, it will become necessary ] to establish the capital of fashion in some other city, and the names of several places havo already been mentioned as tho future seat of government for female costume. Tho claims of the Portuguese territory of Goaseem to us worthy of great consideration, and should the Governor succeed in affecting certain roforms which he seeks to introduce, the dre3s of tho native inhabitants of that colony will form an admirable model for the imitation of ! English ladies. An order has been recontly issued directing that "natives found' in public either unclad or dressed in clothes too transparent or flimsy to answer tho purposes of delicacy shall bo punished." If this edict produces the desired effect, London milliners should loose no time in putting themselves in communication with somo leading native firm in Goa. The Doolittles.— According to t-lio Dunsian "Times" "no public body over said so much and did go little as fcho late Mining Commission." Black Swans. — Hundreds of black swans are now to be seen on tho lagoons near Tiraaru. Where they abound, however, wild ducks aro not to be seen, The Lakd of Ophib. — Tho inhabitants of Blacks, or Ophir as it is now callod, are in:lignanl because they havo " no court, no clevk, no nothing j" and ono of them, writing to the "Dunstan Times," asks :— " Is the Provincial Government of Otago in a state of paralysis or insanity ?" The Dunedin Working Men's Advocate. — Mr Maclaren, tho working men's advocate, aa wo believe ho stylos himself, requests tho " Otago Daily Times " to draw tho uttention of tho Government to tho fact that many working men — fivo hundred, according to his statement— aro out of work. We give tho statement for what it is worth, without in any way vouching for its correctness, and solely lest there may be somo colouring of truth in it. Our readers will doubtless appraise it at its proper value. Wild Ducks. — Wild ducks aro said to be unusually scarce in tho Waikouaiti district this season. Valuable Stock, — Tho " Southland News" Blatos that a valuable addition to tho live stock of tho province has beon inado by Captain Raymond, of Avondale, who, in returning recently from a visit to Australia, brought over ninety Rambouillot rams from tho Messrs Dograves' iioek — the best in this part of tho world — together with a puro Shotland pony and two Angora goalß. News for GREyjrotmi. — A considerable amount of destitution ia reported to exist in Groymouth,

! Kaitangata (Otago). — A considerable j number of men in the Kaitangata district are reported to be out of work, owing to the flaxmills having stopped for the winter. Calling- a Spade a Spade.— The Eev. J. Cosh , Wesleyan minister, in a sermon lately delivertd by him at Auckland, stated that there were persons thero who borrowed money or neglected or delayed paying their tradesman's bills in ordor to speculate in scrip. Such persons -the the rev. gentleman declared to be " little better than common thieves." West Coast Reportebs.— Aleoture on"The Geological Structure of New Zealand, with special referonce to Westland," wa3 delivered by Dr Hector at Hokitika, a few days ago, but the report of it givon by the " West Coast Times" is perfectly unintelligible. The following is one of the few passages of which sense has been made :— " The depth of water in the various bays or sounds on the West Coast of this Island is very great. I have taken a great interest in this Coast, haying some time since spent many months in visiting tho various sounds, and during the late unfortunnto voyage of the Clio I found in many places a depth of from 140 to 180 fathoms, and in Mil ford Sound on one occasion when a mar> was holding on by a boat-hook at one end of the boat, at tho other end I could nofc find bottom at 4000 feet." Extension of Bobeowing Powers of the City Council. — The Ohristchurch City Council has passed tho following resolution : — " That this Council is of opinion that it is advisable to obtain an amendment of part No. 16 of tho Municipal Corporations Act relative to borrowing money, and to apply to the General Assembly for an act empowering the Council to borrow money for permanent works extending over a period nofc exceeeding j fift.y years." Piibasants.— The crop of a pheasant killed at Cabbage IVee Swamp was left at tho N. Z. " Herald" office by a gentleman with the following memorandum : — " This should surely plead for their protection." An examination of the crop showed to us nearly two hundred caterpillars of various kinds, over a dozen pupte of moths, two' or three worms and slugs, and some young trefoil leaves. Not a single grain of any description of seed was to be found. Of course wo need not comment on this. Apples. — A Tokomairico paper anticipates that in a year or two apples will be as cheap as potatoes in the southern districts of the province,