General News.

Western Star, Issue 295, 3 May 1879, Page 6

General News.

Tiie local Volunteer -Company has taken a a fresh 1 lease Of ! life. Probably this may ba attributed to the esprit dc corps infused into the

company by the late demonstration at Invercargill, or is owing to the greater interest taken in the company''by-the officers. v Riverton is not alone in respect of the improvement in the company since ■ the demonstration. • From Christchurch to Riverton' the. Volunteer movement lias received a' great impetus* showing clearly the value ■ of sueh demonstrations. On Monday evening last there was a muster of 42 rank and file, and two additional members were proposed. The total strengtlv of the ■ Company (the oldest one in Southland)-is now seventy* ;and under the giiid■ance of the new commissioned officers, it will no ■ doubt regain its reputation as one of the cra'-k companies in Southland. After the company ba 1' been put through several movements by ColorSergeant Achesoh, which • were credits bly performed, the election of a Srst lieutecant, vice Lieutenant Robinson resigned, was proceeded with. There were two-’candidates—Messrs S. Ov Instone and S. S. Myers, the latter being elected. For the Office of sub-lieutenant (vice SubLieutenant' Henderson, who is leaving the dis- ■ trict), Color-Sergeant' AchesOn was elected. Apart from Color-Sergeant Achesoh being by right of seniority entitled to the office, the honor is well earned, as 'he has always taken a deep interest in the Company. A Finance Committee, as follows, was appointed :—Sergeants Horr and • Pankhurat, Vols. Hancock, Irwin and M'Kay.. It was also resolved to get up an entertainment iii aid of the uniform fund, and a Committee, consisting of Lieutenant Myers, Sergeant Horr, Corporal Lyon, Vols. J. and B. Hancock, MurL doch,' Abefnethy, M'Kay and Irwin, was appointed to make the necessary arrangements. The election of two additional sergeants and two Corporals was postponed till nert week. • , Taking advantage of the presence in Riverton last week of the Hon. j. T. Fisher, Postmaster Generalj'tho Mayor brought under Ids notice the •! necessity for an ’addition to the post and telegrapirpffice. and mentioned that the Inspector had some time ago recommended that such, should be done. Mr Fisher visited the post office, and the limited accopao.dation,. provided tor,the ■transaction,of the?business of depart* •> Bwut*. Mf.Fijdtef thanked Mr Darnel ioi* bribg-

-ing the-mat ter under his notice, and promised !o. effeot the necessary ; additions shortly. Mr Daniel mention© I the reason .why no tender, bad been lodged for telegnph posts, for extension of the'line to Otuuiau. 1 lie., difficulty of olaeiug the pos'sat the places required was so great as »o deter anyone from tendering; but as the railway line would shortly be 'inished, tha>- drawback would be done away with. Mr Fisiier said be very much regretted that no tender ha-1 lodged for the necessary posts, but he would issue fresh tenders as soon as th*- line was suffi eiently a Ivanc-.-d to a Unit of the posts being transported by rail to the places named in the sperificaiems. An extraor dnary slory comes from New Hampshire. It in licat.es a relation between employer and »>tnpl*iyel which is, we are sorry to. say, as rare us it. is grarifying. On a recent visi. of George C. Fisk of Springfield, to his “ Bright-' wood” paper-mill at Hmsiale, N.H., be was pre semed with a Imminent signed by every hand in h-s employment, saying that as lie had never cut down "their wages they proposed voluntarily to make a cut of lit per centum. This took the proprietor - completely by surprise, he never having thought of the thing. He thanked them for their offer, and told them that he knew of no case like this on record, as -their action was prompted by no hint of a reduction of wages or cutting short the amount of work. He now acknowledged that ne could have hired help at twenty-five cents a day cheaper than what he pail, but not such first-class hands as those in his employment. The N u “To k Worlds’- estimate of the shi meat of American wheat to Europe during six months previous to March Ist, .and of the amount.,yet retained, are interesting. Taking its estimates as -approaching correctness,* they give us cause almost to wonder at the gr at strides thiscountry has made in competing with other nations in supplying bread for the hungry of Europe. Its estimates are that we have, in six months previous toMarch, shipped to Europe 75.000. 000. bushels, reducing flour to the bushel-mea-u re; and that we have ye 45.000. bushels for export, uf the amount shipped, 32,000,000 went to (he Continent, and 20,000,000 to England. Reports are that the 'promises for' the coming crop are not very flattering. , Acc amts from Great R .iiain and Western Europe are called indiffernt; while the progress of the plague excites ala rm, and if it progresses westward to any considerable extept.,it must inevita >ly cut off from European mirkets much of the supply usually received from Russia. Tt seems, from ali these circumstanc s, that American wheat will not wa it lor u market. ■ ’-vU! '>\ ■ 'i .-

According to telegrams from New T >rfc (says the “ Pall Mall Gazette*” of January 6th) the United States Government have at last decided upon taking a very important step with regard to Chinese immigration. It is stated they propose to request the Chinese'Government to modify the Burlinghame Treaty in order to restrict the incoming of their subjects to the Pacific Slope. In practice this itnmigra ion', has beep greatly 'restricted already, --wing to the fear pm the part of the Chinamen as to what might happen to them on their arrival: Bui the step now taken is none the less grave op that account. The fc-pritory-of the United States has,hitherto he m open to all imraigrants who did not' impose a chafg*, for maintenance on the communii y. Now. it is proposed to make an exception against Chinamen alone. The agitators of San Francisco and the miningcampshave thus earned the day ; and 'henceforth Chinese cheap labor will probably he shut out from the Wedem States. 'For; as the Chinese Government has no wish, to see its subjects emigrate,., the .demand!from ■Washington will most likely he conceded, and its requirements enforced, at least, so far as it may be in t ie power df the authorities at-Pekin to enforce, it.

A murder, which is supposed: to have arisen out of dispute about the possession of laud is. reported from Cronkey J (>ortih, about eight miles from Omagh,'"county Tyrone.; A woman named, M'Cullocb, whose husband die tlB months ago* took possession of the farm on his death; An elder brother of the deceased, continued to live in the house, and,asserted that, he bad an equal right to the farm.'; disputes occurred frequently, and on Sunday morning as the parish priest and the local doctor were passing, th>y were stop-, ped on the road, by a child of Mrs ,M Cullocb, who stated that.,,her-mother was dying. They proceeded to the place, and found tho woman lying insensible, with her head sraaslied. She died shortly afterwards wittiout haying’ uttered,, a wprd. jPatrick M‘oullpcb,. the .was arrested.- . ->i .X

Prince Louis NapoVon sails from Southampton on the 24th/April, <>n board the Union Company’s s. s; Danube for Natal. The Prince strenuously petition-ed-for a commission to. serve with, the English force, in Zutuland, but fading to overcome the unavoidable objections io the proposal, be has resolved to : go out as a volunteer, and to attach' himself iii that capacity to the column that is most likely to see the sharpest fighting. In a letter to M Eouber, in which he explains his motives for thi? stejvthe Prineo; says i For the la'st eight years'l have beep the guest pf! England.’ i My,

hasheeue-mplet-d in -an English mili—l tary school, and I have str>ngthe ed my ! tiesnf friendship with the English arm* by taking part in its annual manoeuvres. The yv >r at r the Cape having assumed a mu. e serious eharact-r, I have wished, to follow the campaign. I co dd n" £; remain aloof, and n t - hare the dangers and ta' igues of the troops whom 1 have so many fi lends. Moreover, the time *peut in witnessing the sirng .le of civilisation agxinst barbaria ism will hot be Wisted.’

Madame Grevy, the wife of the new Pres dent o ' he Krncb Repiib ic, is a homelv, simple worn n, who ha* b-eii not a littl frigh en d at her husbauVs elevation, and th" necessity for becoming h.“i selt” a great lad). Recently, says a contemporary, she drove up in a fiacre to the door of Li'en iere, the famous d essin dter of the Rue Taitbout, and dragging out with her a great bundle containing an old velvet dress, entered the sacred precincts of high millinery. She was re ceived wi h much coide-c hsioii, and was told to wait, inasmuch as the great milliner was then engaged w th a customer —no other in fact, than an act ress of the Comedie Prancaise. M dame Grevy sat down humbly with her bundle in her ,arms' un il t ie, great artist otiose to in t.. p - view her, whe i she xplained that she wished to have her dress done up and improved. “ Oh,” said the great one, “ we don’t do up dresses here ; sometimes for our owu customers we do such a thin,' to oblige them; hut wo do not know Madame.” “I am .Vlad irne Grevy,” was the reply, “ and I thoughtM could have tins dress arranged for the receptions at the .Eiyaee.” Thereupon the whole establishment fell,Vat her fe -t.and implored pard ni, and it is probable .th it the velvet dress will still rejoice ih? beans of Ambasa idors.

In the. hearing of a civil .’case in t*>e Adelaide local court.recently, the, defendant handed to the'-presiding magistrate a unique protest against the ordi ary form of, swearing witnesses. The ib'low ng, says, the “S. A. Kegiater,’’ is a. If era I' copy-of the p otestr“ Sir, —-Such •». book won’t’sui me. T vim not’g ing to tiave, ‘ genuine kit w ledge ’ insu'ted through me. Let grossly insulting minds' sw at by such a consqtnate glo (iteration of : fal'Choods as a moral teaching; such as this Book proves in ■‘genuine; .knp'syiedge.. Swearing by such a book proves a farce. I have come here to tell the truth, and no one will dare to force me to do so by swearing on a heap of ideas as a teaehn'g of truth Rafted by mental disease thousands of years ago 'ny a barbarious but half-civilised people. Thei.wrong ideas. a>e well b >rne on by having no place in ; positive kuOivledge.—Yours. a defender of truth, M. vVeidenbach.” This rema'kable protcst haying been readj M. vyeiden-i bach was . llowed to make the psu.il formal declaration, and theu he gave his evidenced ?'•] ['• ■