LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Standard, Volume IV, Issue 24, 27 December 1883, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

There is a millionaire plumber m Pittsburgh, a portion of whose name is Chester. His Buccesa is mainly owing to the fact that he lives right up to those stirring lines m Sir Waltt-r Scott's ! Marmion :' • Cliarge, ChesierJ Charge !' : Mr O'Donovan, the special correspondent of the,. Daily News, who has pro» WBiy been fi killed with Hicks Pacha's ai;lny m the Soudan, ranked only second to Mr Forbes as a war correspondent. His ' Hide to Merv,' which appeared last ear, ia excellent reading, full of incident

graphically described, and (riving m a modest way an impression of the man as dauntly brave) and almost revelling m hardships, Like hia confrere Mr MacG.ihaD, ha has fallen a victim to his dangerous profession. Mr Forbes chose from every point of view the cannier part when he went on n lecturing tour instead of continuing 'to seek the bubble reputation at the cannon's month.' . ■ A Home paper says : — ' The officer m temporary charge of the French fleet at Madagascar, it is stated, has forwarded » request for immediate reinforcements. No wonder. The French sent out an available landing force of 800 soldiers lo subdue an island nearly as large as Prance, held by a military caste 1,000,000 strong. Before they had been at Tamutave two months nearly 200 of their number were ' s»ut aa invalids to Reunion. Yet the unhealthy season has not yet sat m. It begins next month and lasts till March. Very heavy reinforcements will therefore be noeded if the whole French expedition is not to be used up by fever, and these reinforcements will have to be again and again reinforced before any appreciable progress is made towards the Bubiugation of the island." The pafwell Sound; Marble Company have presented a clap of white marbls?, taken from oue of their quarries, to the, directors of the Wellington-Manawatu Railway Company. The slab, which wuT be placed on some conspicuous place on • the company's property, bears the following inscription :— " This railway was con.'structed under the Land and Railway Construction Act, 1881, and commenced by the Wellington and Manaw^tu Railway Company (Limited) Ist September, 1882 under the directory of J. E. Nathan, J. P. (chairman); James Bui 1 , J.P.; Q. J. Johnston, x\X.H.R.; James Linton, J.P.; H. Levin, M.H.K.; John Plimmer, and Gr. V. Shannon, J. P.; secre'bsryJames Wallace; solicitor, , W, T. L. TrarersJ engineer, H. P. Higgiasoa, M.L.E.0." Gounod has made great progress with his oratorio ' Mors et Vita/ which he is writing for tbe next Birmingham festival. A visitor who heard fragments of the work is of the opinion that' it Will be placed at the head of Gounod's compositions, and the composer himself is convinced that it will take rank m advance even of " The Redemption." A distinguished traveller, Mr James Ashburv, formerly M.P. for Brigton, visited Masterton recently. Mr Aahbury was the fortunate Englishman ' who a dozen years ago beat Jauiea Gordon Bennett m the celebrated trans-Atlantic yacht race. Mr\ashburg has just made a tour of the Australasian colonies and gives a decided preference to New Zealand— so mu.h so that lie is anxious to invest money m the purchase of an eßtutein this colony.