LOCAL AND GENERAL

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume III, Issue 349, 10 September 1889, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

On ont fourth page there is a column and a halt cr reading matter. An ordinary meeting of the Harbor Board takes place to-night. At the Mutual Improvement Society last night the periodical lesson in elocution was given, the President acting as instructor. The sculling match Searle v. O’Coanor, for the championship of the world, was to have been rowed yesterday, and the result ought to be known to-day.

Private communications received from Mr J. H. Stubbs state that he is getting on very satisfactorily erith his boring contract at ths •Burnside Freezing Works, Dunedin. Messrs Dunlop and Whinray, candidates for the continuance of their seats in the Borough Council, address the burgesses, through our advertising columns. The election takes place on Thursday next. The now famous Riverside Road (North Gisborne) is again in trouble, and on Saturday night Mr Phipps came to grief while driving hie horse round with a cart load of timber. Ha had a most difficult job of it, attended with some danger to life and limb, and before he had accomplished his work it may be imagined that ha was not in a mood that would make him a fit subject for communion with the saints. The road leading to the footbridge has also been damaged again, the rush of water in the drain having caused another portion of the road to be washed away.

Mr Levi, the well-known oculist optician, of Napier, arrived in Gisborne by Sunday’s steamer, and he may now be consulted at the Masonic Hotel. As Mr Levi’s stay can only be a limited one, those who need that gentleman’s services should not delay in attending to the matter. As the summer season is now setting in no one should neglect taking proper care of their eyesight, and those who suffer from weakness of the eyes should see that they are given the required protection. Gisborne is booming along now, and the wonder is that there are still to be found pessimists who croak about hard times. In fact we are getting on so well that we can afford to import tons upon tons of produce. When that occurs in a strictly agricultural district it is surely a certain indication that the district is intoxicated with its own prosperity. If anyone requires proof of this we would recommend him to read the items that appear in the import column of this morning’s Standabb. Oats, potatoes, flour, oatmeal, seeds!—isn’t it beautiful? We wonder how it would do to send a shipment of coal to Newcastle.

We do not know what reason the Hospital Trustees have to give for the holding of the meetings up- at the Hospital, It surely oannot bo convenient to themselves, and ia certainly not done in the interests of the subscribers, Meetings of this nature should always be accessible to the public, and when such is not the case there is an indication that an improvement might be made. We under* eland that the Trustees can always obtain the use of the Courthouse for their meetings, and eutely there is not always a friction in the inner working of the Hospital which requires the personal intervention of tbe Trustees, An ordinary meeting of the Trustees takes place to-morrow night, in a little room somewhere in the Hospital building, and any subscriber who wishes personally to ascertain what is going on must hire aoab or take a long walk, then ask for.admission at a moat unreason, able hour, having the consciousness that he may be the means of disturbing the slumbers of some unfortunate sufferer, The Trustees having braved all thia before may not hesitate in doing so again, but when we remember that on some nights the rain pours down and generally makes things disagreeable, it might be thought that even the heart of a Trustee would be touched.

During Divine service in the Church of England on Sunday night, the organ, for reasons best known to itself, began to emit a prolonged groan—a cros? between a subdued foghorn and a steam whistle—and continued to do so throughout the reading at the First Lesson. The strenuous efforts of the organ to drown the reading excited the risible faculties of the congregation, and, whan in response to a futile attempt to stay tbe organ’s course an angry groan of remonstrance waa the result, a great many fairly tittered, and it was only when the organist plunged into the Magnificat that the angry instrument was appeased, During service in the Wsslsyaft Church there was also a remarkable occurrence, but of quite a different natqra to that experienced in the other place of worahlp. The Rev. J. Ward’s discourse took up the subject oi Peter’s denial of Jesus, qnd the attention of the congregation was rivetted upon the preqehar when he was dwelling upon this leaaott. _ The rev, gentleman gave a powerful description of the scene as depicted in the Bible, and before lie had got to the point whar» Peter had thrice denied he was a disciple of Jesus, a cock was heard to crow front a poultry yard near by, and aeon after two more crows were heard But then the effent was spoilt, for all the roosters within hearing seemad ta have fijksn the first crows as a signa! tor s general chorus, and a very effective illustration degenerated into the ridiculous, for there was-a general discord which would have sent a iperlyle dif» pacted-j

Another petrified mauhis been found near Orange. This is getting too common. One of the plates of the wrecked steamer Centennial was found telescoped in the bow o’ the Kur.ahooka. At the Supremo Court this morning the charge against Patrick Ryan, of larceny as a bailee of a horse, will be heard. This evening Mr Warren gives a lectura at tho Sc. Andrew’s Literary Society, on the subject of the Nicaragua Canal. Mr H. E. Johnston has received a consignment of Warrnambool seed potatoes, to which the attention of our farmers is directed. Air Craill, of Patutahi, notifies that he is prepared to deliver in Gisborne tltoki firewood at the rate of 25s per cord. Mount Bischoff Tin Mining Co. has just declared their 149th dividend. The total amount paid in dividends is over £1,000,009, or about half of the value of the ore raised. At Gunnehah, New South Wales, a union shearer named Ryan was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment for detaining two non-union men ia a union camp. Notice of appeal was given.

In our advertising columns this morning there appears the programme of an attractive entertainment: which is to be given by amateurs, in tie Theatre Royal on Thursday evening.

The civil cases set down f-jr hearing at the Supreme Court are expected to coma on this afternoon. The first two on the list are— P. Barker v. Mere Hardy and others, and J. Clark v. G. Masthe-.vsou,

Sir James Prendergast, Chief Justice, arrived in Gisborne on Sunday, and the Supreme Court was opened in McFarlane’s Hail yesterday morning. There is not a great deal of interest taken in the proceed ings, the calendar happily being a light one.

The average Consumption ex whisky in the Poverty Bay district for one year is, by an expert, set down at 9,609 gallons, It is unnecessary to go into further particulars, but some of out smart school boys may amusa thetaselves in reckoning up how much the daily average would ba, and also the value of the stuff a« sixpences “nobbier.” The last o£ the disputes in the clothing trade has been satisfactorily settled. Ths question of apprentices was discussed in Dunedin last week, and it was resolved that one bo allowed for every five operatives. The term of apprenticeship ia to ba two years to ooat making, one year to vest making, and one year to trouser making.

A slander action brought by Francis Gunn, of the Recreation Hotel, Melbourne, to recover £lOOO damages from J. W. Pierce, cxM.P. for West Melbourne, for having called him a liar, and a counter action for the ssins amount brought by Pierce against Gunn has been concluded, In each case the Chief Justice gave a verdict for defendant. His Honor thought tho eases should not have been brought before the Court. The offences complained of arose out of electioneering and great freedom should be aiiowedj during elections, so that the privileges of citizens should not be interfered with.

The London Daily News observes in reference to the marriage engagement of the Prince of Wales’ eldest daughter to the Earl of Fife, that it ia better for the Princess to marry a native subject than a foreign object.

Ah assistant master is wanted tor the Ts Ante Native College, Hawke’s Bay; salary £lOO. An advertisement inviting applicants was inserted in an Auckland paper, and a Napier paper indignantly resents the district being belittled in that way. It thinks there are ia Hawke’s Bay plenty of teachers compeient and willing to earn £lOO a year, especially as a knowledge of the Maori language is not a qualifioation.

It has been reported in town that there ie now in course of formation a syndicate having for its object the running of several Gisborne hotels. This is an age of syndicates, and it would not be surprising to hear that a number of alcoholic disciples hud combined to run a whisky mill on their own account. If the latter were to adhere strictly to the credit system a large support would undoubtedly be assured.

We have to acknowledge the receipt from the New Zealand Shipping Company, of a return showing the cargoes that were shipped from New Zealand during the wool and grain season of 1888-89. Gisborne does not show up well on the list, because til’.re is no account of the quantity of produce that has been shipped via other ports.

A Melbourne telegram of August 28 states:— A warrant has bean issued for the arrest of John Jones, until recently a clerk in the Empire Building Society, on a charge of embezzling £l5OO. When the manager was away in Sydney Jones got the Directors to sign an open blank cheque for petty expenses. He then filled the cheque up for £l5OO, got it cashed and left by the R.M.S. Garonne for England, previously obtaining a draft on a Loudon bank for £lOOO. Jones will be arrested at Colombo.

Mr John Thomson, the Gisborne Harbor Engineer, is still recuperating in Wellington, though if is open to question whether those training wall plans are not responsible for occasional attacks of the nightmare. He expects to return by next Sunday’s steamer, but it will be a surprise to us if he manages to do this. Wily not send a deputation of the Harbor Board down to stir things up? The Engineer only draws about £l6 a week, and twice that will make£32. Add that on to the £3,700 scheme and we have a total of £3,732 (besides travelling expenses). Thea when a few more additions are made there will soon be a respectable total. It hasn’t yet grown much mors than three times the original estimate of cost, and by the time it is done with—if the Government Engineer allows it to go on—the ratepayers will want to know how things are progressing. Still the pier goes on smoothly, and Mr Bieheno seems to be piloting the thing through just as well as ever. The machinery looks in splendid order, and tbe blocks are being laid down with an eye to tbe beautiful—but that spit 11 We have received the third number of “3ealandia,” the New Zealand magazine, and wo nro glad to say that it shows a marked improvement upon the first two numbers. In most works of this nature tho first number is generally the result of a supreme effort upon tbe part of the management, and for a time the succeeding numbers have a filling off in quality; but such is oertainly not the case with tbe Zealandia. In every respect the magazine shows a great improvement. The frontispiece which we strongly objected to has been replaced by a neat piece of typographical work, and the matter contained in the magazine makes it well worth the price. As a New Zealand production we again wish it every success, and believe that, beyond the ordinary Interest of a magazine, it may do much good work in cultivating a taste for the better class of literature. In the next number there will appear un article on' the Woman's Suffrage question, from the pen of a well known Gisborne lady, “H, M. Bourke,” This artioia will be aatloipatefl with muoh interest, for we know that the subject will be well dealt with, though as to the writers' views we for the nrssent remain in a state of uncertainty. Air Drummond, the Gisborne for Zealandia, informs v,a that in the district there are already about one hundred subscribers to the work,

People who go over to the harbor works should, if they bring canine pots with them, take cure that the animals do not get into mischief. On Sunday afternoon, from near where the small orane ie allowed to stand, a representative of this journal saw a mob of four dags hunting the sheep and lambs. The dogs had just succeeded in penning up some of the sheep, preparatory to a feast, when they were frightened off by the shouts of a gentleman on the viaduct. If anyone wore to give information against the owners of the dogs those persons would not be likely to escape with a penalty of tees than £lO> St. Andrew's Literary Association.-— L-oture to-night (Tuesday) on ths Nicaragua Canal, by Mr J, Warren, All invited; oollecliion,—Advt.

The Sefton (Canterbury) Dairy Company want a manager, and tenders for the position arc invited until September 21. In a Melbourne sheep trespassing case of Ricketson v. Bouohier the plaintiff, who claimed £lOOO, was awarded one shilling, but was ordered to pay al) costs I Since the phylloxera has so ravaged France, Turkey is looming up as a wineproducing country. Some of the southern provinces are said to be excellent as winegrowing districts both for climate and soil.

England has over one million dollail invested in the manufacture of idols for heathen countries, and yet the churches of that country are continually calling for more money and more missionaries to suppress idolitry. A meeting of the su’e.oommlttee for the purpose of securing tbe representation of the district at the New Zealand Exhibition, was held last night. The details were generally considered, and business transacted, and it was considered certain that with the support of the citizens and settlers a really good representation could be made at tho Exhibition.

At a dinner party given to the Emperor and Empress of Germany lately, the hos’ess, Ci-untess of Waldersee, formerly Mies Mary Lee of New York, performed the difficult feat of walking backward the whole length of a high staircase, managing her train with great dexterity.

Johnstone Robinson, against whom the Grand Jury refused to bring in a true bill, was arrested at tho Wairoa, and was in prison for about a month prior to tho sitting of the Supreme Court. We under stand that evidence was then forthcoming which completely cleared the accused of the serious charge of larceny as a bailee. Tbe defence was conducted by Mr Chrisp (Messrs Finn and Chrisp), and we are informed that tho solicitors have been instructed to institute an action for damages against Mr J. Tutoken, who laid the information.

The rare and interesting tight of a Chinaman in tears was observed at a Sydney Court recently, when Chi Ong was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment for keeping a disorderly house. Before the sentence was passed Chi pleaded that he had been 33 years in the colony, and bad been “ welly honest allee timee.” “ Tell him,” said Judge Dooker to the interpreter, “ that I am sorry to hear that after being 35 years in the colony he should be keepings disorderly house, Tell him also that ho is sentenced to six months.” Then Chi sat down in a corner of the dock and dropped sundry tears on a dirty piece of rag.

An unusal incident happened in the Wellington Supreme Court last week. The libel case Bell v. Jeliieoe had some minutes before been called on, and the jury already empannelled were choosing their foreman, They fixed upon Mr Alfred G. Johnson, who is wellknown in Wellington, to take that position, and as he moved to take bis seat at the head of the front desk there was an unmietakeable sound ot applause proceeding apparently from the region ot the legal tables, His Honor heard the sounds, and as soon ns Mr Johnson had taken his seat commented upon it, He said he heard some sounds that were unusual from that seat, and intimated directly that he would instruct his officers to eject the offender from the Chamber if detected, Mr Jelliooe, who appeared in Couxt without the orthodox wig and gown, hereupon stood up and said it was a solicitor’s clerk that had created the applause, and Mr Jellicoe indicated where the person ba referred to was seated. “It was Mr Edwards' clerk, your Honor,” said Mr Jellicoe, “ I saw him I ” Mr Edwards here rose in a manner suggestive of Wrath and indignation, and required of Mr Jellicoe to indicate the gentleman. MrJelliooe: “It was Mr Sayere, your Honor,” "What?” said His Honor. “Mr Sayers” repeated Mr Jellicoe. “Well,” said His Honor, “He bad better leave.” Mi Sayers at this juncture rose and indignantly denied that he bad been guilty of tbe act mentioned ; “ Mr Jellicoe ie not telling the truth, your Honor,” said he, “ I never made the sounds at all,” Mr Jellicoe again asserted that it was Mr Sayers, but all parties resumed their seats, and the matter dropped.