LOCAL AND GENERAL

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume II, Issue 304, 28 May 1889, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

A meeting of the Borough Council takes place to-night. An adjourned meeting of the Harbor Board takes place to morrow night, when the subject of letting the breakwater pirr by contract will again come up, but nothing further can be done than the discussion of the specifioatiors and for some member ta give notice of motion. We are informed that the compulsory clauses of the Education Act are almost a dead letter so far as many children in the upper end of the town are concerned. There are three members of the School Committee resident in that portion of the district, and enquiries rq'Sht vary easily be made into the matter. Mueh regret has been caused at Waerengaahika and other parts of the district by the death of Mrs O’Sullivan, who succumbed ph Sunday to an attack of Inflammation of the bowels, from which she had suffered during last week. Her mortal remains were yesterday transferred to the grave; the funeral service Wfis conducted by the Bev. Father Hayes, end thera was a large following of mourners, including many females.

For the information of those correspondents who sometimes send us letters, without enclosing their real names, as a guarantee of goad faith, ws may again stats that opr rule is not to publish such letters, We find it necessary to refer to this rule again, because writers not complying with it may be disappointed whan they know their letters have been consigned to the fire place. A young man from tho country, the eon of prominent settlor at Patutahl, had rather an unpleasant experience on Saturday. In company wish another young man he had gone down to'inspect the breakwater, and while standing on the edge of the pier gazing pt the Hercules he took a step ‘baokwardo in order to get a better view. The consequence was that he was precipitated into the sea. Fortunately he top a fir°bd swimmer, find striking out soon reached a ladder, escaping with a goad ducking and a few scratches on his chin where it had come in contact with the concrete work.

The Wellington Press learns that there is nothing in the written confession of Haira te Pers, now in the bands of the Government, that would tend to exculpate him from complicity in the Pook murders, for whloh he has Suffered the death penalty. The imputations in the confession involving the guilt ci others in the committal of the crime are being enquired into by the ppi |oa authorities, and, if substantialei!, further proceedings will bs taken, and another chapter of the hcrrible affair ba entered upon, Ponding theta enquiries is not considered politic to make known tho full details of Hatra's so called |4fito|a|Btt|

A report on some splendid maize crops in this district is unavoidably excluded from this morning’s issue.

At the Mutual Improvement Society last night an essay on “ Lawyers as Advocates ” was road by Mr B. N. Jones. There was no bid for the properties in the estate of Kinross and Co., which were offered

for sale by auction in Napier yesterday. The steam-collier Duckenfielk, bound from Newcastle to Sydney, was driven ashore at Broken Bay on Friday night. One of the crew was drowned. The vessel went to pieces in a few minutes.

Our Sydney correspondent writes stating that Mr W. Weaver was still in that city prior to tho departure of the last mail for Gisborne. Our correspondent adds Mr Weaver .ooked exceedingly well and that the climate there appeared quite congenial to his const!ution.

A shipment of pheasants has been made by Messrs. Sole Bros., New Plymouth, to Sydney, where they are expected to realise one guinea per brace, that being the price in the Sydney market. Of course the shippers run risk in placing the birds in good condition.

The Times, the paper that so foully libelled Mr Parnell, has again had to eat humble pie for its disgusting attacks on Sir Morell McKenzie, who by the way is not branded with the “ crime ” of having been born an Irishman. The Times has humbly apologised to Sir Morell.

A mob of 3085 splendid fat sheep passed through town on Sunday morning last, on their way to the Spit Freezing Works. The sheep were in charge of Mr J, Watt, and came from Mr J. D. Ormond’s Paramatta station.

Mr Goodall, whose salary as Harbor Engineer at Napier, has been reduced to £5OO, was formerly in receipt of £lOOO, so the reduction amounts to half the salary. It is improbable he will stay on alter November next.

Ths New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company (Limited) have received the following telegram from their London office, dated 24th instant:—Tallow.—The market is firm; quotations have advanced £2 per ton since last report. New Zealand Hemp.—Arrivals heavy ; market weak ; medium quality has fallen £2 10s per ton since last report, This will make present price £3l 10s.

The annual meeting of the Federation League has jurt been held in London, and during ths course of the meeting, Lords Rossbery, Carnarvon and Beresford and others entertained themselves and audience with a lot of “ sublime nonsense." Lord Beresford thought the colonies were of more importance to England than England was to the colonies. We do like to hear our grannies talk | the colonials know too much to believe what Lord Charles says, and it is just as well they do—England is, taking a mercenary view, too good a friend ta us to be out off with a shilling. Without her at our back a few Chinese gunboats, armed with their stinkpots, could send us all to Kingdom come. At the same time we can manage without the Kensington ring, A fourth meeting of A. N, White's creditors was held on Thursday, when the debtor again failed to appear, He sent a letter stating that he had given Mr Buddle, solicitor, a full explanation of matters, but when the creditors appealed to Mr Buddle they were astonished to find that he had not received any explanation, aud that he was not acting for White. It was pointed out that Judge Gillies was absent, and that no steps could be taken to compel the bankrupt to attend the meeting. In the course of an animated discussion extraordinary allegations were made as to White’s conduct before entering the Bankruptcy Court, and at length it was decided that if Mr Cooper, one of the creditors, or any client of his, should take criminal proceedings against White for obtaining money under false pretence or otherwise, the money in the hands of the Official Assignee would be appropriated toward recouping the prosecutor of any expense incurred, The success of Mr D, McLeod in floating off the brigantine Clansman, (recently stranded on the Wakanae beach), is certainly deserving of further mention than has been made of it, as it proves that in any such emergency we have men in the place wbo are quite competent to undertake such works. It was proposed to bring a contractor from Auckland to see if he could manage to get tho vessel off, when Mr McLeod undertook to do it for a stated sum, and local men got the benefit of being employed on the job. Those who know Mr McLeod, were assured that he would be able to manage the work as well as any outsider, and in that belief they were not mistaken ; at the same time it may be stated that the work is very creditable to him. Mr McLeod, as a contractor, has a record of successfully carrying out whatever contract he undertakes, and the floating off of the Clansman adds another item to his credit. Had the thing been taken up at first by a practical man there might not have been much difficulty about it, but as things were, it became a very different sort of job.

A bonus of £lOO has been offered by the South Australian Government for the best invention for clearing land of stumps and stones. The machine has to meet the following conditions :—l. To be capable of gathering from the surface all loose stones or stumps from Ito 561 b in weight. 2. To be constructed so as to be capable of clearing, at pne operation, a width of not less than 4ft Gin. 3. To be drawn by horses, draught not to exceed the capacity of three ordinary animals 4. The appliance to be either attachable to an ordinary tip dray, or to have a tip receptacle, capable of holding not less than 20cwt attached. 5. The maohine must be strongly made, and the coat of its construction to the farmer must not exceed £35 (thirty five pounds). 6. Lightness of draught, combined with strength, durability, and cost, will be taken Into account. 6. Applications should be made to the Commissioner for Crown lands, Adelaide, who will appoint judges, consisting of practical men, to make trials and award the bonus.

The circular referred to by qs lately as having been forwarded to thesayfiral Resident Magistrates in ths colony, withdrawing a former circular relative to certain suggested regulations for working and controlling totalisators, contains inter alia, the following ” The circular was issued under the mistaken belief that certain recoommendations which had been made had been approved of by the Colonial Secretary. Mr Hislop had it ip contemplation to prepare regulations for the guidance of applicants, and ho was desirous of obtaining the opinion pl Ifagistrates upon certain reooomendations which had been made to him. He would therelore be glad to receive lyour views as to whether the frequent use of the totalisator is productive of harm, and whether you think it ought to be restrained as indicated in paragraphs marked 1 to 6 in the circular, or otherwise. The Colonial Secretary recognises that the responsibility rests with him to retuse or accede to applipatipljii, bfit he wishes to avail himself of your knowledge' in determining upon a general rule.!' It is wonderful how many persons—and not a few of tham| otherwise intelligent—appear to tract Courts of Law as instruments nf torture, aud not as they are, or ought to be, dispensers of justice. This remark is called forth by a letter from a Gisborne cor respondent which appears in the last number of the Bankruptcy Gazette, in which the writer seeks to draw from the fact that part), outers of oases confessed in the R.M, Court are not reported in ths local newspapers, the oonoliision that the general public are prejudicially affected,' We fail to she what interest the public have in the fact that Tom owes Jack money and that Jack in order to facilitate its recovery issues a summons, which he pays for out of hie' own pocket, and that thereupon Tom like an honest man admits his liability. Jack wants to make bis debtor pay, and not to expose his ditetorlness. Even the correspondent we refer to seems to have a glimmering that his views are open to objection, and writes of “ innocent individuate who, through (tress of circumstances, may suffer" (the italics are our own), but he thinks they might bear with their misfortunes in order that “ hardened ” debtors might be exposed, to what good end he does not say. , It Is not sußgeated tbgt the papers do not do their duty in those ‘’cases that eoms helots I the Ootift Io the ordinary manner, ' |