LOCAL AND GENERAL

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume II, Issue 176, 31 July 1888, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

A meeting of the Fira Brigade takes plane this evening. In less than four weeks a firm of Wellington auotioneera sold property oi an aggregate value of £17,784. At Holy Trinity Church on Sunday the prayers of the congregation were requested for Mrs South, who is seriously ill in Auckland. A telegram received yesterday stated that Mrs South’s condition is hopeful. The Napier R.M. gave judgment for sixpence the other day. The whole amount due to the plaintiff had been paid except sixpence and the costs, and the Bench gave judgment for the amount after hearing the case.

In his report on the Gisborne Hospital, Dr McGregor states" I found that the trustees had awakened to a sense of their duty in the matter 1 of the drainage and other things which required attention at my last visit; and the condition of the institution, as regards the comfort of the patients and the attention of the doctor and nurses, left nothing to be desired,” In connection with his own business, Dr Innes has made an innovation which is greatly appreciated by pedestrians. He has had a lamp fixed up at his corner, and on dark nights the light is very serviceable, being plainly visible at the Roebuck Road end. In daylight the lamp is an ornament, and is of local manufacture, the construction being divided between Mr J. W. Smith and Messrs Brown and Smaill, A correspondent sends us the following extract from a late English paper, the clipping being intended as a reply to what was said the other evening by Major Lovelook“ At Sevenoaks yesterday a female captain and eleven male members of the Salvation Army were sent to gaol for seven days in default of paying a fine of 2s 6d for obstructing a thoroughfare.” It may be added that Major Lovelock made one exception.

Commenting on our article a few weeks back on “ The Silent Member,” a Wellington correspondent writes that he considers it was very appropriate, and continues; —“ I have been to the House several times lately, and it is positively painful to listen to some of the members. If the constituents which elected some of these windbags saw them struggling through in the House, instead of reading the corrected, printed copy published in Hansard, I do not think they would be quite so gratified."

At the Supreme Court, Christchurch, His Honor Mr Justice Ward gave a decision in an appeal case which is of considerable importance to sheep owners. His Honor held that a dog caught worrying or chasing sheep could only be destroyed during the commission of the act, to make the action of the person shooting it justifiable within the meaning of sections 13 and 17 of the Dog Registration Act. Otherwise, His Honor considered, there was no limit to the time at which it might subsequently be destroyed. To the Editor of the Standard Sir,—Now that the prize-fighters have left Gisborne I consider it an opportune time, without the risk of even hurting their feelings, to point to the effect which these affairs have had in every single case—that of bringing every kind of sport into contempt. I did not see them all, but everyone of them seems to have been unanimously condemned as a swindle, and with good foundation too, evidently. In one instance there was a bare faced fraud, by the 11 champion " paying a different person to that advertised, to go on the stage and ba pummelled; in another case the loser openly acknowledged that he had received half the gate money, while in the first instance the same fight was advertised as being for a large stake; and in the last instance under notice, well I need say nothing of that. But are the Gisborne people not a soft lot when they stand this kind of thing so often 1 They are put down as rogues, scoundrels, and all the rest of it, but it seems always possible for them to be duped by a much lower set.—Yours, &0., Buff.

Speaking on the Gisborne Harbor Bill Dr Newman said The power to spend this money was given by the House, with the consent of the ratepayers, to build a harbor—to construct a breakwater; but instead of that it had gone mainly in the construction of a training-wall in one of the most sluggish and most muddy rivers that the colony possessed. There could be no question that the people of the district had been “ diddled " out of this amount. It had been clearly laid down during the debate that the district could not afford to pay the rate ; and, unless the House was prepared to give double rating power over the whole area, especially in view of the ridiculous way in which some of the money had been invested, there could be no doubt that the Board would presently be in the position of having to repudiate. There was nothing to show that the district would be in a position to pay £12,000 a year. He hoped that the Bill would go to its second reading, but that then it would be dealt with so as to stop the works altogether. He had formed his opinions from this report alone, but he had had private letters from people in the district, and had had conversations with people recently living in the district, which convinced him that the whole thing was a great mistake, and that to spend another £30,000 or £40,000, in addition to the £60,000 already spent, would be sheer waste of money s uch m the House ought not to approve.

Mr Randall Johnston’s residence, in Wellington, was sold last week for £l2OO. A lad of 16 named Fitzsimmons broke his leg at Otahuhu while playing football. The fortnightly meeting of the Harbor Board takes place to-night. The sea was too rough for the landing of the cargo by Sunday’s boat. Our Governor, says a contemporary, “is a fine specimen of the gubernatorial species.” An antique resident of Coromandel, about 70 or SO, has just married a fresh young girl in her early teens. The timber trade in Marlborough is exceptionally brisk just now. Several new sawmills are to be erected at once. . The Christchurch city authorities are taking steps to prohibit boxing matches being held m the buildings licensed for public entertainments.

It is understood that Mr Townley has kindly consented to give the proceeds of the opening night of the new rink for the benefit of the Cadets Clothing Fund. The friends of Constable McGill will be glad to learn that he is rapidly recovering from his accident. He was out walking yesterday, with the aid'ofjcrutehes. At a meeting of the Waimata Road Board on Saturday, Messrs Kenway (Chairman). Barker, and McPhail being present, a rate of jd in the pound was struck. There was a good attendance at the Wes’ levan Mutual Improvement Society last night. After the ordinary business had been transacted the first meeting of the elocution class took place, and instruction in articulation was given by the President. A Sydney telegram says:—lt is'Jthought that a serious labor crisis is impending. The Maritime Conference has decided to support the Newcastle miners against the masters, and it is reported on good authority that a general call out of seamen on the coastal vessels is contemplated. At Auckland a milkman named Champion who was. forbidden by a writ of injunction to sell within a certain district in terms of an agreement with a former employer, having disregarded the order, was brought before Mr Justice Gillies, and sentenced to fourteen days’ imprisonment for contempt of Court, The Wairoa people are much exercised over the intention of the Bank of New Zealand authorities tn close un its branch establishment in that place. The Wairoa folk do not know when, they might to be well off, nor how happy it would be if there were no fourths of the month to look grim over. That the country imperatively demands retrenchment in preference to taxation is unquestioned ; that the House of Representatives does not is just as clear. In nothing has the pub’io voice spoken in terms so distinct ; but, with an insolent and contemptuous disregard of it. the great majority of the members of the House of Representatives have shut down on retrenchment.—N. Z. uQV&ldi

A young man named Silk, machinist in the Catholic Times office, Wellington, met with a painful accident the other day. He was lifting a large forme (four pages of type), when, owing to weakness in one of his wrists, he was unable t» hold it. and the forme fell, breaking his right leg. The unfortunate man was taken to his home, and medical attendance being procured, the injured limb was set.—Exchange. Pending instructions from headquarters, the police have taken no further action with regard to the Salvation Army, and the officers of the latter have consented to desist in the meantime. Major Lovelook left for Auckland by the boat on Sunday. In pursuance of the ordinary course Captain Wright and the Lieutenant will shortly be transferred to other quarters. The latter leaves almost immediately, while the former will probably remain for a few weeks.

Mr A. Levi, an optician practising in Napier, intends paying Gisborne a visit next week, and can be consulted at the Masonic Hotel.froni next Monday. He intends bringing with him a selected assortment of optical glasses, and clients can have their sight properly tested.. There being no special optician in the district, those who are troubled, by the most delicate of all the organs may avert much misery by having them attended to at once. Mr Levi, makes a specialty of certain glasses waich are noted in the advertisement. A case arising from the Gladstone Road contract was heard at the R.M. Court yesterday. Robert Knox sued Samuel Stevenson and James Wallace for £25 4s for carting metal from Barker’s quarry. The plaintiff stated that he was engaged by the defendants to cart the metal at 16s per day per dray. This agreement, however, was denied by the defendants, who deposed that the contract provided that the metal should be delivered at 4s per yard. Judgment was given for the plaintiff at the rate of 4s per yard. .During the last year, according to a return laid on the table of the House, a sum of £16,980 13s 8d was paid to civil servants for loss of office; £1336 4s lOd in the way of gratuities; £248 6s 8d as compensation for injuries received. The largest individual amounts are the £615 8s 2d paid to the Assistant Land Registrar in Dunedin, £550 10s to the Registrar of the Native Land Court in Gisborne, £426 14s 7d to the Immigration Officer in Dunedin, £420 and £4lO respectively to the Draughtsman and Engineer in Wellington.

The football match which was played on Saturday afternoon, between the Fire Brigade and a combined team, is believed to have been the first of its kind played in New Zealand. The rain prevented a large attendance of spectators, but those who did go up were treated to an interesting match. It is anticipated that the Captain of the Brigade will be a dangerous candidate for the “ reps ” next year. If a fine day can be specially set apart for the return match, a good revenue towards the Brigade's funds ought to be secured from the gates. General surprise and regret were felt by Gisborne people when it became known that Mr T. Adams had decided on quitting our shores and establishing himself in America, whither the family are shortly to proceed. Mr Adams is one of those who have been the longest period in business in Gisborne, and he and the family have earned for themselves the esteem of old residents and more recent arrivals. From a social point of view their departure will be even more regretted, but everyone will wish Mr Adams and family success in their new sphere of operations. The new business is in San Diego, a place of about 17,000 inhabitants, situated 800 miles from San Francisco,

Cape advices recently received at Plymouth give horrible details of the execution of four Basutos in the Orange Free State. The sheriff's nominee performed his work 80 expeditiously that when the district surgeon examined the body of the last victim, and intimated, after the man had been hanging six minutes, that he could feel no more pulsation, the hangman immediately out the rope, and the body fell on the ground. When it was taken to the burial place, and was about to be thrown into a hole with the others, people noticed with horror that the unfortunate man was not dead. The body was taken back to the place of execution and again hung up. When the body had been hanging upwards of ten minutes for the second time, the executioner hung on to the legs of the man to be certain that life was extinct.

A curious scene occurred in Christchurch lately. Two bull terriers were engaged in settling a difference with great vigor, and a crowd of men and lads looking on at the fight, when Mr Charles Arnold (Hans the Boatman), returning from the Theatre Royal with his dog Lion, was attracted to the scene by the crowd and the snarls of the two combatants. Mr Arnold on seeing the position of affairs instantly gave the word to Lion, " Stop them fighting, boy.” The dog, whose docility and intelligence have been much noticed, immediately came to the front, and with his head tossed the two smaller beasts flying in the opposite directions, and stood on guard to prevent a recommencement of hostilities, The spectators greeted this act Of the giant peace-maker with a hearty round of applause, and looked Somewhat ashamed at being taught such [a lesson in kindness by a dog.