LOCAL AND GENERAL

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume II, Issue 248, 17 January 1889, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Mr George Jones, of Waersagaa-hika, better known -as Farmer Jones—a title which he has fully earned and of which he may well be proud—wishes publicity given to his views on one or two points. The crop of barley in Poverty Bay this season he considers to be the best that has ever been grown in New Zealand—at any other place or at any other period. He has also a crop of corn of an extent of 70 acres, and this corn, he states, is equal to the best that has ever before been Been in Poverty Bay by any native of or visitor to the district. We only wish that all our settlers could speak in the same hopeful strain and we have pleasure in congratulating Mr Junes ofi his y f aspects.

The idea of holding the annual Fire Brigades Demonstration at Invercargill has been abandoned.

The Maori football team met Castleford (Yorkshire) club, aud were defeated by three goals to three tries.

The first meeting of creditors in Frederick Cassin’e bankrupt estate will be held at two to-morrow afternoon.

The secured liabilities in the estate of F. Cassia amount to £575 and the unsecured to £161.6 9s 6<l. The assets are estimated at £683.

The thoroughbred horse Derringer was sold by public auction at the racecourse yesterday, the price realised being £45. Mr W. Black w, i the buyer.

During the temporary absence of Mr Greenwood from Gisborne, Mr G. Johnstone has been appointed Deputy Registrar of the Supreme Court.

At e meeting of the Fire Brigade last night it was decided to continue practising for the annual Demonstration, at any rate until official notice had been received of its abandonment.

The Australia should arrive here this evening from the North. She proceeds South on Friday morning, the last launch leaving the wharf at 10 a.m. The Maitai leaves Napier to-night, arriving here early on the following morning. Last launch 8 a.m.

Owing to the Tainui not having arrived in Auckland yesterday the departure of the Waihora from that port has been postponed till Friday so as to enable her to receive transhipments, and consequently the Waihora will not arrive here till about midday on Saturday.

Louis, a son of Mr B. Sherriff, met with an accident while bathing in the Taruheru river on Tuesday. In diving he struck against a broken bottle, which inflicted an ugly wound. Some boys who were with him earned him to the Hospital, where he was attended to. The lad will bn laid up for a week or so, but is in no danger. At Waerenga a-bika on Tuesday evening a Maori man began to quarrel with a female of his own race, both parties being slightly under the influence of drink. From words they came to blows, and the quarrel resulted in the man dragging the woman off her horse and severely ill-using her. Messrs Graham, Pitt, and Bennett hold an important sale at Ormond to morrow. After the disposal of a lot of household furniture, etc., a sale of thoroughbred steak will take place, the well-known animals Kalo, Lady Florence, and Venus coming under the hammer. Several good hacks will also be submitted to auction. The Mutual Improvement Soc'etv last niijht resumed its 1889 session, after a short vacation during the summer months. The occasion was macle a special one, a concert being held, followed by a coffee supper. There were over sixty members and visitors present, and the entertainment passed off very successfully. The auspicious opening bids well for continued success in the future. The Presbyterian Sunday School picnic was held on Tuesday at Mr Hird’s grounds, at the upper end of the town. There was a large number of persons, both young and old, present in the morning, but the rain which descended about one o'clock .soon drove a great many homewards. About four o’clock a general start was made for home. Before leaving three cheers were given for Mr and Mrs Hird. Notwithstanding the rain those present spent a fairly enjoyable day.

The Rev. Mr Chapman, the new curate of Christ’s Church, on the occasion of his welcome at Wanganui, made some disparaging remarks against the Press. The Chronicle, in an article referring to Mr Chapman’s remarks, characterises the attack as silly and uncalled for, reminding ths rev. gentlemm that the Press is more influential than the pulpit, and adding that the attack is idle talk for a callow young divine of Mr Chapman’s calibre. The Chronicle advises him to cultivate the quality of modesty.

It has now become the fashion to telegraph to the colony a lot of rubbish about tbo-e blackguards who fatten on the foolishness of a certain class of people who exist in every community. This is the latest ‘ maniagram ’: “ Peter Jackson, the Australian pugilist, has made a match with McAuliffe, of San Fran, cisco, for. 2000 dollars. The Australian champion has decided to visit England with the object of meeting Jem Smith." If the whole pack of these bloodhounds were sunk to rise no more, in the blue depths of the Atlantic, the Press agent would have a very gratifying item of intelligence to telegraph out.

Our Melbourne correspondent writes: — What a chapter of accidents was published in the papers which made their appearance on the morning following Boxing Day 1 Eight cases of death by drowning recorded under one heading, a Are at the Alfred Hospital from which a number of the iftmates were only rescued with some difficulty, a premeditated murder at Camberwell where a man deliberately shot his wife dead, and fired at and wounded his brother-in-law, and whole columns taken up with accounts of des'true live conflagrations in the city, and devastating fires in the country. In many families the present Christmas will not be looked upon as at all a merry one.

As perhaps a further guide to tradesmen to assist them in detecting counterfeit notes should it be attempted to palm any off this week on unsuspecting people, we give a description of the forged notes that were recently circulated in Dunedin :—The forgeries have been effected through the agency of photography, and in eases where the signatures have been too dimly reproduced, they have been inked over with a pen. In the specimen shown us this operation has been very clumsily done, the forger having failed even to make out the signature, and having produced something entirely different to the original. The word “ one ” in the body of the note has been painted over apparently with oil paint, and this shows through the paper, a characteristic which is absent from the genuine notes. The paper which has been used is very thin, an attempt having been made to make the notes appear old by dirtying aud crumpling them.

On Tuesday evening last the Evening Star Minstrels gave a performance in Bruce’s Hall, Ormond, in aid of Mrs H. Parsons, and notwithstanding the incessant downpour of rain the attendance was far larger than was at flrrt anticipated, considering the innumerable drawbacks. The programme was the same as that given in town and which we have already criticised. The Company appeared in Ormond under a great disadvantage, the stage being far too small for such an entertainment, and the piano, which was lent for the occasion, being greatly out of tune owing to the carter, Mr Bidgood, having let it fall out of thejdray, but taking everything into consideration the performance passed off very welf. The jokes and the double shoe dance and song by Messrs Bruce and Barry were specially well received, as also was the tumbling of Mr Little. A good number remained for the dance, which was kept up till the early hours cf morning. The music was supplied by Messrs H, and D. Ross, who played the piano and violin respectively. The gatekeepers at the races gave rise to a very good joke at (heir own expense on Tuesday. The holder cf a privileged ticket, who wished to get out early in the day, but whose modesty—or pocket—prevented his indulging in the luxury of a special conveyance, had taken advantage of a friend’s kindness and occupied a seat on a lemonade cart. This conveyance was voted to be as good in its way as the most handsome cabriolet, though of course not quite so stylish. Arriving at the gates the privileged one presented hie ticket,

and was rather astonished to note the dubious expression on the countenance of the gatekeeper. The latter hesitated and thought he couldn't do it, and the privileged one looked on in still greater astonishment. The pause was becoming an awkward one, when a new thought seemed to instantly flash across the mind of the gatekeeper, and he asked in a nervous but hopeful tone if the owner of the cart was going to pay his own fare. The answer he received was a burst of laughter, for then it was plain that the gatekeeper had been cogitating whether he was compelled to admit lemonade cart, owner, privileged one and all on the strength of ths ticket 1 No wonder he paused, but the joke will stead against MrTuolty forffllb? Mitfi

While two boys wore sticking bills in Sydney they quarrelled, and in the scuffle one gave the other, named Lynch, a push, causing him to fall backwards into the street just as a van was approaching, the wheels of which passed over his head, killing him.

There is expected to be a big lawsuit over the barque Langstons, which took fire a short back, in Napier harbor. It is stated that the owners of the Weka demand £2OOO, for which amount a writ has been issued, for rendering the same amount of assistance as was given by the owners of the Ahuriri far £2O. The owners of the Weka are Messrs Richardson and Co , and the owners of the Ahuriri are Messrs Kinross and Co.

A serious disturbance occurred in Teheran, arising out of a railway accident. A man was fatally injured by jumping off a train in motion, and his friends attaoked the engine driver, who in self defence, fired a revolver, killing a man and severely wounding a woman. The disturbance then increased, and the crowd commenced to wreck the train and the station. Order was restored some time afterwards, but only by the adoption of rigorous measures.

A parent in Oamaru protests that his son, aged ten years, was beaten with a whip handle at the State school until “ from hie ankle to his thighs he was one mass of blackness.” The parent forwarded the particulars to the Otago Education Board, and after consideration “ the Board decided that there was no reason to inteifere in the matter.” The complaining parent alleges that one of the female teachers thrashed the boy first, and then the master finished the job. What the nature of the boy’s offence was has not transpired. The other day we referred to the hypocrisy of the Napier people in trying to foist ou to Gisborne the system of transhipment on Sunday, which is carried on by the Union Company. The whole thing is now laid bare by a suggestive paragraph which appears in the Telegraph :—" As showing the difference it makes to the town by the weekly steamers calling here on Saturday instead of on a Sunday, we can point to the appearancs of the streets. Large numbers of through passengers landed, and every one must have left a few shillings behind, if only in cab fares.”

A critic on a subject that has been much criticised writes :—Doctors may talk for ever about the injurious effects of tight lacing, but ladies will pay more attention to the fashion books than to all the warnings by the faculty. A lady who, both for health and comfort, had given up lacing, went to a leading dress maker to have a handsome gown made up. “No corset, madam ?" asked the artist in surprise. “No,” replied the lady. “ fhon you excuse me, madam,” said the artist, “ I could not make a gown that would do credit to either you or me.” Alas for the weakness of women I Rather than lose the services of the artist, the lady consented to forego her good intentions.—Children in state, schools are now given lessons on the laws of health. At a recent examination a class was asked by the inspector to state what bad effects followed from tight lacing. One child, wrote:—"lt gives a woman a disgraceful figure.” The book from which they were taught said “ ungraceful.’’

Quite recently, Dr. Mooney, a Roman Catholic clergyman, who was making a collection in the Millewa (Vic.) district for some church or college, paid a visit to one house in particular, where he expected a guinea towards the object of his mission. But the wary occupant having heard of his advent, quietly slipped out by the back door, telling his wife to keep his biding place—the underground dairy -a secret, His wife received the clergyman as best she could under the circumstanoes, but of course his visit was a fruitless one, as she was left without the coin. After a little conversation and disappointment, apparent on the one side, real on the other, the clergyman and his companion rose tu depart; but Dr Mooney is not an amateur at his business. He knew that where a woman was there also should be a man. He ashed to be obliged with a cup of cool miik and permission to see the underground dairy, which was the talk aud envy of the district. Here was a dilemma. Their plan would bo discovered, yet sha*had no alternative, aud led tho way for the priest and his friend. The discovery was soon made, and the refugee with a countenance more in sorrow than in anger came forth from his hiding place, begged to be forgiven, and cheerfully paid the demand made upon him.

In future, tho charge for lunch at the Masonic Hotel will be two shillings ; special arrangements may be made for regular patrons of the diuing room.—Advt.