LOCAL AND GENERAL

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume III, Issue 453, 13 May 1890, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Mr H. M. Porter, agent for the Liverpool London, and Globe Insurance Company, handed Mr James Talbot on Saturday a cheque for £l7O, amount of loss sustained by him by fire only the previous week. At ths Trust Commissioner’s Court yesterday morning a certificate was granted to a deed of transfer from Pera Pere to Fanny Rose Porter, of Tula-o-te Kahu, and also to a deed of lease from Honi Thompson to C. Anderson, of Karaim No. 3, A native with the aristocratic name of Maaka Eru Rangi Waihoa, was charged at ihe P-. M. Court yesterday with having forged a cheque, and the case was remanded until next Tuesday. The charge was made on the information of W. Devery, of Whatatutu. Mr C. C. Lucas, who always takes great interest in and devotej much time to the work of local bodies, has been gazetted one of the trustees of the Makaraka Cemetery, a vacancy hiving occurred through Lieut.-Colonel Porter resigning his position as trustee. Mr Christis Murray informs Mr Akroyd that he wil not be able to traverse this district, because on the one hand tha weather is against any such idea, and there is the further reason that Mr Murray is now busily engaged in wii iug a drama that is to be produced at an early date.

The current number of the ever-welcome Typo is to hand. Besides the usual quantity of interesting matter there is iu the April number a special feature. A beautiful ph itoengraving is given of one who may bs termed the pioneer of printing in New Zealand-the Rev. W. Colenso, F R.S., F.L.S. An account of ihe gentleman’s life is also given. Acceptances for the Fiying Hindioap, Handicap Hurdes, and Birihday Handicap in connecion with the Qjee.i’s Birihday Race Meeting, are due tc-m’orrow evening at ths Masonic Hotel. Tne secretary states that ho has been instructed to remind those interested that each acceptance must be accompanied with the necessary amount payable. Mr H. Naphtali, of Napier, has besn appointed the represmta'ive in Hawke’s Biy, Wairarapa, and Poverty Bay of the wellknown firns cf D. Benjamin and Co.; Michaelis, Hallenstein, and Farquhar, and theDresien Piancfarte Company. MrNaphtali will probably pay a vi it to Gisboone in a few weeks' time, 1 ,‘s

A return football match was played bn Saturday a£ ernoon between Pakehas and Maoris. The latter were quite cvermatohed, although Mr Trotter playal a hard game tor their side. Robinson, Marshall, and Crawford obtained tiiis for the Pakchas, and Langford did sems excellent kicking, making a couple of pretty goals. The result was Pakehaa 14 points to nil. Mr Corrie Johnston arrived un Sunday afternoon and preached at the City Rink in the evening. There wisa go >d attendance, considering tbs weather, Mr Johnston spoke under the disadvantage of one who had only a few hours previously landed from an unpleasant sea voyage, but he created a good impression of his ability as an evangelist. Arrangements have been made for services to be held during the week, in Whiuray’s Hall.

Before ths football match oa Saturday, some natives Came in to inform us that their team was not the strongest they could produce, as some of the players wore up tbe coast. They therefore handed us the follow ing list of a team which thiy wi?h to represent Waerenga-s-hika in a match next Saturday against the pakehas : Kani Pere, Mini Kerekera Mosna Pere, Manu, Tuhoe, Hemi, Weka, Tn, Mohi, Hata, Kna, Tara Puhi, Taruarangi, Pera, and Mata Nuku. The New Zealand Loan and Mercan‘i'e Agenoy Co., Limited, have received the following cablegram from their London Huuse, dated 10:h inst. Woo).—The sales closed firmly to-day at an average decline of 7i pet cent on last sale’s closing rates except crossbreds and lambs. Competition has declined Ji per lb for superior greasy merino. Greasy market easier. Tbe total quantity sold during ths past sales is 282,000, bales, of. which 145,000 bales have been taken for the Continent and 7000 bales for America. It is estimated that 99,000 bales have baen held over for future disposal. Tallow.—Market unchanged. Frozen meats.—Market qaiei. Wellington mutton is worth 4Jd per lb; New Zealand beef, forequarters, are worth 3JI, bindquarters are worth 41 per lb. Omer quotations unchanged. The ever-grefin Wellington individual known as “The Whifflir” writes to the Press:— Sir,—Would you kindly inform me what it costs to stand as a member fir the House of R 'presentatives ? I intend standing for Wellington again at the forthcoming election. My views are somewhat cosmopolitan in their nature, but they are I think not unadaptable to an inf ant colony. Tbe editor replies : — “ Your letter has been referred to the Government Whip, with the following result—' The cost of attaining the position you refer to is : An all round sacrifioe of principle; the loss of any previous reputation gained by being an honest, fearless and intelligent man ; the destruction of one’s self-respect, also the exemplifying in oneself of the old saws that ‘evil communities corrupt good manners’ and that *it is impossible to touch pitch wiihout being defiled.’ We are glad to hear you are coming forward, as, in our opinion, nothing could ba more in keeping with the present political condition of the country.”

During the discussion in connection with the Napier Harbor Board scandal, Mr Harding said the members could have little doubt that the Board had been systematically and for a long time robbed. Curiom to relate no rhembsr seemed to think of prosecuting Mr Grainger, and it was only by a majority of one that hi was dismissed iostead of being allowed to resign. Ha had the impudence to accuse Mr Carr of animus against him, but the Engineer concludes bis report with a touch cf the most bit'er irony. He probably had no euch ictenti >n, but the circumstances admit it to bs read in no other way. He says ; — “ I must say that I certainly do not aoou e Mr Grainger of wilfully and systematically fsbifying tha accounts, as he states. I should be very sorry to accuse a gentleman of such well known high moral and religious charaoter cf doing anything of Ihe sort, but I do say tint Mr Grainger is not flited to watch and check ths contractor.”

A moating of creditors in D. Courtney’s bankrupt estate was set down for yesterday afternoon, before Mr Croft, Deputy Official Assignee, but Mr Watson w is the only creditor who attended. Debtor said he had lost £lo on 68 cords of firewood Ije had out on B. Williams’ land, and £2O in law expenses over it; also £l7 or £lB on firewood cut on native laud. He had not been remitted any money from A»uokand or elsewhere. He believed his wife had received money from her sister i i Auckland—he di 1 not know if it was to pay the Hospital Trustees wi'h. His wife had property of her own. During Ihe last year ha had nei list given her money nor property—he found the money for keeping the family. He had borrowed money from his wife’s m-’ther. He had bought at auction the lease of the Knhai Bush Reserve for about 21 years, for which he gave his own name, but he had not taken up ths lease. H t lived on the land, the cottage being tbe property of his wife, who paid 30s per acre rent for the land, He had filed through pre tsars cf creditors. He had □o proposal to make. Two gentlemen well known in Gisborne took advantage of the arrangement of the arrival and departure of the steamers on Sunday, to have a run up to Gisborne, arriving in the morning b.v the Southern boat and Ih n going back in tlje evening by the Tarawera, One was Mr 0. Wilson, formerly editor of the Gisdohne Stxn»abo, but who is nnw iha editor and clever “Touchstone” of the Napier Evening New?, which under his editorship has rapidly advanced in spite of grrat difficulties, and is always a bright and readable paper. The other gentleman was s|tr Creswell, whose studies for the law were prostituted in Gjsborne, He has now established a very successful business in Napier, and one can hardly pick up a Napier paper without seeing Mr Creswell’s name mentioned, generally on the winning fide of whatever case ha is engaged in. They could hardly have had a worse day for visiting Gisborne, tbe weather being miserable and affecting everything else, but tha visitors looked hearty enough and wore kept busy saluting a multitude of old friends, a number of whom wont down the breakwater pier to see them off. Mr PuMst, fivent ci iht Napier branch of th* Union Company; also cams up for a trip*

The erstwhile Gisborne horse Cynical has been scratched for all engagements at the Sydney Turf Club's Birthday meeting on the 24th an 31st inst.

Mr Christie Murray lectures on Thursday night on the subject “ Looking at War.” As ihe weather has prevented many people having the opportunity of hearing Mr Murray he has been induced to give the third lecture. This decision will be a matter of satisfaction to country people.

Thi Napier News strikes straight and hard While hundreds of thousands of pounds are annually dragged out of the pockets of the British taxpayers to maintain in luxury the idle descendants of royal bastards, and to support the holders of court sinecures, surely money can be found to render more comfortable the declining years of the gallant Balaclava men.”

To the Editor : Sir,—Has any person the right to take possession of a river for private purposes? A gentleman announces till fact that he is floating manuka firewood down the Waimata River, and cautions anyone against carrying away the same (the firewood, not the river). Is a person entitled to monopolise a river in this fashion ? [lf there is no obstruction to navigation there surely can be no objeeiion to the river being made use of. It would depend a good deal on circumstances whether anyone finding and taking possession of such wood would be liable to punishment. —Ed]

The Star's London correspondent writes :— Special efforts are about to be made to push the circulation of the Review of Reviews in Australia and New Zealand. To this end an agent of Mr Stead's will shortly travel around. The trenchant article in the current issue of the Review on The Times will, ’tie said, lead to a rupture between Ste.d and his partner, Tit Bit Newiies. The latter naturally doos not approve thereof.—Whilst his erstwhile rival, David Christie Murray is travelling about the Antipodes miking friends and (several people at home hope) money, Mr Henry Lucy (the William Amelia of ‘ The Way of the World') is dining with Lord Randolph Church'll ‘ to meet the Prince of Wales,’and becoming a man of light and leading in political circles. Mr Labouohe.o, in Tru'h, thus expresses himself on the subject of compulsory education.: —I sincerely trust that when we get' Free Education’ we shall find ourselves able to do without compulsion. Theoretically, no doubt, compulsion is justified, but as tbe theory is actually worked by the unreasonable, narrowminded, meddling noodles who handle it, comparison has become an almost intolerable evil. My belief is, that with ' Free Education ' we should be able, perhaps not at first, but in a vary few years, to get along without compulsion, Ths parents are almost universally quite wideawake to tha advantage of. having their children taught, What is objected to is the present inflexible, cast iron system which makes no allowance for the wants, necessities, and temporary ailments of poor and straggling families. If there were no compulsion (education baing free, I, of coarse, assume), there might, perhaps, be some little irregularity of attendance; but, practically speaking, the children would attend often enough to learn all they have any need to know—viz,, the three R’s, In the maantime, and while compulsion lasts, it ought to be tha fixed rule that no ‘ excellent visitor ’ or ' meritorious official * shall be allowed to worry any parent who is willing that his children shall attend school for half the day. The real truth is, half a day is enough for any child,

A writer in a Sydney paper thus describes one of the New Z inland delegatee to the Federation C inference :—Captain Rnssell has represented Hawke’s Biy for years, and is known in his pastoral piradise by the sobriquet of "E'ephmt Bill.” At one election the “ long ’un ’’ was beaten by three votes by an old Napier storekeeper, who laid up treasures on earth by selling rum to Maoris. When the result of that poll, became known there was weeping and wailing and the sinnd as of strong men in .strong drink on the Herataunga Plains, Captain Russell is a popular man, although he parts his hair in the middle, sports an eyeglass, and says “ haw ” in a confoundedly irritating manner. His losing the election alluded to above (was attributed to his persistence in wearing “home” clothes, the Maorilanders being Protectionists in sentiment and averse to colonial swells arraying themselves in British broadcloth when good colonial tweed was procurable. He's a great man at “ practical ” education, and every year gives a sewingmachine (to be competed for in the Hawke’s Biy public schools) to the girl who can cut and make the best plain nightgown “ without frill,” and another to the girl who wrestles with the greatest amount of success in re seating a well-worn pair of pants, It’s a sight for the .gods to witness “Elephant Bill ” inspecting the exhibits through his confounded eyeglasses and saying “Haw!” Still he's a real good sort. In an interview with a representative of the N.Z. Herald, Dr McGregorjstated in regard to the Auckland asylum scandal: —“ In my official capacity, I have been more than once reminded by the late Mr Justice Gillies that I am personally responsible for keeping persons in the Asylum who ought not to be there, and for the consequences to the proper inmates. Should the keeping of such persons be prejudicial to the general health of the establishment, I would be exposed to censure or even legal process for not doing my duty, and the time has come when it is necessary to insist upon those who are properly responsible for the safe keeping of these old men doing their duty. I have written to the Charitable Aid Board repeatedly, asking that they would help me in relieving the extreme pressure of that overcrowding in the Asylum, but they did nothing. I asked them to admit some of these old men into the Costley Rsfuge. I proposed forty, but was willing to mike a commencement with these six old men. I received no reply. Tnere was ample time to reply to my letter. It is said I might have waited longer for a reply, but the truth is that I had been in correspondence on this subject, and had no hops of anything being d me. I had done everything I could to impress upon the Board the necessity of making some provision for such old ana imbecile persons. The strong report of Messrs. Cooper and Ewlngton brought matters to a crisis. After receiving that report it was impassible to overlook the fact that the proper authorities had brought the state of the Asylum officially under my notice in terms which could not be overlooked. There are many particulars in thia matter which can only be stated in my memorandum to the Minister. The above is, generally, the actual position. I am sorry that the Cliaritab'e Aid Board should have thought me discourteous. I had no intention of being ao, but I consider the matter one of great urgency. They had a week to reply if they had chosen to do ao. Any arrangement that they might have propcs d would have received the greatest attention. They did not manifest any disposition to make an arrangement. lam responsible, no doubt, to the Government; they are responsible to the public.”