Manawatu Standard (PUBLISHED DAILY.) The Oldest Daily Newspaper on the West Coast. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1884. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Standard, Volume IV, Issue 274, 16 October 1884, Page 2

Manawatu Standard (PUBLISHED DAILY.) The Oldest Daily Newspaper on the West Coast. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1884. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

It is expected the estate of Poppens, the Wellington levanter.who was brought back, will realize 17s 6d iv the £, after paying the cost of his arrest. The Aucklaud members have been instructed not to obstruct the Central Route, but work for a bran«h to the westward. Iv Osnnuittee on Ihe Government Insurance Bill, Sir George Grey made a strong protest against the unseemly niauner iv which Bills were being rushed through. He instanced the case of the Railway Bill, which hail been forced upou tha House m spite the of prayer of 26 members for time to obtain information. We learn that Miss Patterson's method of teaching is proving very successful, and the school committee may consider themselves fortunate m having secured her Bervicea. The children are much attached to her, aud the parents speak highly m praise of her gentle consideration combined with firmness as il lustrafed m her treatment of her pupils. The head master is much pleased with her system and general school method,which he considers excellent. We learn that it is Dr Rockstrow's intention to retire from public life altogether, and that he will not come furward for the County Council election. Dr Kockstiow has done good service m the various public positions he has held and his advocacy has always been on the side of progress and the assistance of the small settlers. In his retirement from public life he will carry with him the good feeling of a large section of the population m all parts of the district. Messrs Wollerman and Hutcheson announce the arrival of a large quantity of (•hick-wheat, which they are selling cheap for cash. An aged woman named Elizabeth Jenkins, living alone at Gap-road, near Winton, Otago, was burned to death on Tuesday. The town clerk of Portland (Victoria), brought an action for libel against the local Guardian for calling him a "fussy," reßtlcss kind of body, incapable of steady office work." Judge Nolan, who heard the case, said that the paper was right, and therefore gave a verdict for the defendant. The timber is now on the ground at Halcorabe for the building of a town hall. The New Zealand mutton is still hardening m the Home market.. , The Ton? gariro's shipment is realising from 6£d to 7d per lb, and, those prices are likely to be maintained, if not exceeded, throughout the winter season. The Christmas trade ihould give a fillip to the industry, which, now that the English prejudice is being overcome, should, shortly assume large proportions. Says the Marton paper : — Messrs Wilson and Richardson, of Waituna are about to drive 100 head of fat bullocks to the Wellington market. They are a "splendid mob of cattle, and it is expec- j ted they will average l,oolbs. We again remind our readers that the telegraph department has instituted a new system of payment for messages. ! Its object is to simplify the workiug of the departmental affairs by dispensing with the handling of money, aud couducting all transactions by means of stamps, as has been the practice m the law Courts for many years. Any person presenting a telegram for transmission will be required to affix stamps, procurable at the post-office, to. the face of the ordinary form, representing the amount of the fees payable for the message. There are numerous and anxious m ■ quiries being made on the* part of the Coast natives, (says the Bay of Plenty Times) what is to become of them during the immediate future. Their last year's crops are exhausted, and they hnvH to use up their seed potatoes for food. The news from Whaugamata has given them encouragement, and those natives who are m town are going on to the gumfields, whilo a few have gone back to their respective settlements to bring on the remainder of tkeir people without delay. The attention drawn by the press some time ago to the fact that meat m Hobart was very much dearer than m any of the other colonies apparently has 1 borne f.tuit, as the Te Anau on her last trip had a number of sheep as cargo which were sold at Hobart on the Ist October. Mutton at that date was worth m the Tasmanian capital 8d per lb wholesale. Unfortunately carcasses are not allowed to be imported, but a bill is now before jtheir Parliament seeking to alter that state of things. A mong the amateur London hansome cab-drivers are an elderly enthusiast ani a titled fanatic. The young one has had enough of it, and has recently purchased a stud with the view of going on the turf. The other may be seen every day setting down peers at the entrance to the House of Lords, with a high white hnt,his white vest showing a tasteful margin, from underneath his full-cut blue frock coats wearing a shilling gardenia m the buttonhole, patent leather shoes, a gold rimmed eyeglass, and smoking a first-rate cigar.

The torpedo boats m Wellington will probably be tested shortly. The New Zealand Refrigerating Company purpose sending Home by the New Zealand Shipping Company's s.h. Doric 9000 carcases of frozen meat, and also expect to ship between five and six thousand sheep by the Victory, which sails from Port Chalmers during the beginniug of next mouth. A man named Thomas Henry died at Kaikora, Hawke's Biy, on Tuesday as he was being conveyed to Waipukurau Hospital for medical treatment. Ihe i man had been found m the Orero bush, lin a thoroughly exhausted state. The jury returned a verdict of death from exposure and starvation accelerated by drink. • Both Natives aud Europeans are at present largely engaged m the Ohinemuri district m potato plantiug. If we may judge by former years, the crop, though late m going m, should be a most plentiful one as all the conditions are favourable to a good yield for this year. A gold prospecting party has lately returned m New Guinea from inland, after a long tramp aud two months absence. They found no gold, not even the "colour." They made good use of their time m bird collecting, and have brought Borne beautiful specimens, with good types of rare birds ol^paradise aud gome never before obtained m that part of New Guinea. The taxidermist obtained seven differeeut species of these beautiful birds. These seven, lying side by side, formed a wonderful collection of beauty and loveliness. They represent, too, a vast amount of toil aud hurdshin. Birda-gf T""-fldise are not as plentiful as sparrows, aatf~uio iumuugiuuranges where they have their home aro said to be awful places to travel m. A Victorian grocer was fined £25 the other day for selling hop bitters, he not being the holder of a wine and spirit license. The evidence shewed that hop bitters paid the same duty as whisky or brandy, and that while beer contained from 3 to 7 per cent, of alcohol, light win s 8 to 10 per cent., the bitters contained 12 to 14 per cent. Color-Sergeant Johnstone, one of the leading lights of the Melbourne Savation Army, Collingwood, has eloped with a hallelujah sister, a widow named Richardson. Johnstone leaves behind a wife and eight children and Richardson four children. The last time " Hamlet " was produced m St Louis there were loud cheers for the author after the third act. The manager of the theatre came forward and thanked the audience on behalf of the author, who, he said, was detained m New York on busiuess. A. novel mode of paying a visit occurred the other day at Aibury (the Duke of Northumberland's place), when Mr Baden-Powell of the Scots Guards, actcompanied by a brother officer, descended m his balloon m the park having come from Aldershot just m time for lunch.