The Herald. Alexandra, Thursday, August 13, 1903 RESERVES CONSERVATION SOCIETY.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 379, 13 August 1903, Page 4

The Herald. Alexandra, Thursday, August 13, 1903 RESERVES CONSERVATION SOCIETY.

We are pleased to note that the public meeting held recently in Alexandra for the purpose of forming a Reserves Conservation Society was successful in so far accomplishing its object; and although the meeting, numerically considered, was a comparatively small one (in consequence no doubt of the very disagreeable weather), the proceedings were characterised by a degree of enthusiasm that can hardly fail to awaken a corresponding impulse in the breasts of the public generally. The object of the society is to devise ways and means for carrying out, in a systematic manner, the laudable work of beautifying the reserves and sur« roundings of the, town, devoting particular attention in the first place to the recreation reserve. The people of Alexandra are fortunate in ppssessing such a magnificent reserve, so conveniently situated, for the purposes oi recreation ; and every credit is due to the"city fathers," of byegone year? for the sagacity and foresight they displayed in having had this area reserved for the use of the people. It cannot be gainsaid, however, that the work of improving and the ground—which could be made a veritable beauty spot at comparatively small expense —has in the past been sadly"-neglected; though we can scarcely blame the Domain Board tor the apparent neglect on their part, for we recognise that that body has never had the control of funds sufficient to accomplish much in the direction indicated. It must also be said that hitherto the unsatisfactory nature of the water-supply, for the purposes of irrigation, has discounted any efforts that have been made to improve the ground ; but with the advent of a water-supply under pressure this drawback will be entirely eliminated, and there will be no danger of any work that might be done being nullified by reason of the inability to provide the necessary irrigation. We understand that before the end of the present month it is intended to set apart a day as Arbor Day, when a portion of the reserve will be planted with suitable trees and shrubs, and the Society will, on that occasion, entei upon the practical work which the members thereof have undertaken to carry out, and we trust that the townspeople will assist the Society in every possible way to beautify what is, after all, but the people's own property. The success which has attended the labours of similar societies in- other parts of the Colony should act as an incentive to tha local society to persevere in their self-imposed task, and, in this connection, we might instance the excellent work done by the Dune* dih Society,in beautifying the surroundings of the city. A notable example of this Society's work is to be seen at: the' Triangle, where a sandy dusty waste was converted into the beautiful park which now ornaments that portion fpf "the city, and there is no reason why similarly satisfactory results should hot, as years go by, be observable in our own town. The Alexandra Society has been fortunate in securing the of an enthusiastic and energe|jc executive, and, given which may reasonably be*expected, they can hardly fail to carry to a successful issue the object they have in view.

THE at Alexandra on Monday at rTueauai ■?**■%& Siß Jjbaßsit; Ward . will represent Sthei oolpriy at:thfc,; ; Postal Confecenot itf R*n# next February. Mr J J O'Kane, dentist, may be consulted at Ophir on Saturday next, from aoon till 3 p.m. ... : 4; ... ; Ms Jambs Rivers notifies ;that he bW received his new season's stock of seeds from the well-known firm of Yates and Co. The annual ball, under the auspices of the Clyde Court of Foresters, will be held at Clyde on Friday evening, 28th August. The " Grey River Argus " says that the young man Labes, who was injured recently on the Greenstone dredge, is proizressißK favorably. roe, The Rev. J. Hosking will deliver a lecture on" William Makepeace Thackerey " on Tuesday evening next, in the Alexandra Schoolhouse. On dit, a Dunedin commercial traveller in the liquor line is missing ; also a considerable quantity of his employer's coin,— "Taieri Advocate." The next English and European Frisco, will close at the Alexandra post office on Sunday evening next, at 7 o'clock. The mails are due in London on September 19th.

Early on Friday morning last, the premises of Messrs Betts and Webster, carpenters, Cromwell, were destroyed by fire. The fire was with difficulty prevented from spreading to the ' adjoining buildings. The insurances totalled £650. Mr E. B Oargill, one of the old identities, died at Dunedin last Sunday evening after a somewhat prolonged illness. He was the son of the leader of Settlement, and in the early days, did much to push Otago's trade and industries. He is survived by four daughters. A Dannevirke man writes:— " The amount of utter godlessness in this town is really appalling. On a recent Sabbath I saw the following:—Four, drunken men on the main street, a game of 'football, a local tradesman doing business, a man building an outhouse, several persons sawing ana chopping wood in full view of the passersby, and one man digging in his garden." Plans were submitted on July Ist to the city authorities of New York for. the building of a great City Hall, together with a railway station in Park row and Chambers street. The building is to have a great tower on the campanile plan forty-five storeys high, or fifteen storeys, higher than any New York •• sky scraper." The total cost, including the ground, is estimated at £1,800,000. The police made a raid on a boarding, house in Gore, conducted by James Holland, who lost his license on enforcement of prohibition. The police found several in what had been the bar; and those who were inclined to refuse to give their names, were threatened with arrest. A considerable quantity of liquor was seized and re' moved to the police station, followed by a nournful crowd. According to the local paper, the youth on the northern goldfields have hit on a 1 new method of self-decoration Instead of putting a modest flower in their button holes, or a button bearing the portrait of Lords Kitchener or Roberts, they now bedeck the lapels of their coats with bits of bank notes. The bedecked youth runs a risk of rendering valueless his pound note, for if the piece torn away carries the numbers, it seems that the note is absolutely defaced. The Clyde Dramatic Club gave a very successful performance of Pinero's threeact comedy, "The Magistrate," in the Clyde town hall on Friday evening last. The hall was packed, and the general opinion seemed to be that the play was one of the most successful amateur performances ever seen on the goldfields, the interpretation of the various parts being excellent. The play will be reproduced at Alexandra on Friday evening of next week, in aid'of the Anglican Church funds, on which occasion we. expect to see a bumper house. , As the outcome of representations J from persons in the country districts, the Post-master-General has decided that at isolated places where there is no branch' of a bank, cheques aggregating a fixed amount drawn by well know firms in favour of settlers, may be cashed at the local post office. It has also been arranged that cheques drawn by local bodies shall be accepted, on the local bodies concerned indemnifying the post office against loss through "forgeryor other fraudulent practices. Cheques will also be accepted under certain conditions as a deposit, for credit to ahyindiyidual's post office savings bank account; *■ ' ; -' Me W. Bell June , had the misfortune to loose his waggon last-Weekr Herhad just delivered a load of coal at the Riley Beach claim, and was turning to leave when one of his horses fell and got under the waggon. Mr Bell took out the horses and began to pull the waggon round with chains. He got the fallen horse away clear, and was going on with the pulling when the chains broke, and the waggon ran over the steep 1 bank plump into the river at a place where it was useless to think of recovering it. It is a heavy loss to Mr Bell, but it is luoky that the accident was not accompanied by the loss of any horses or any danger to himself.—" Argus." The anti-kissing crusade which is being carried on in several countries, on hygienic grounds doos not receive universal support. An American journal, with the imposing title of " The Stillwater Advance," refers to the alleged danger of kissing, and denounces it as an unmitigated slander on the women. "There can be no more danger in kissing a beautiful woman," says the paper, "than, in kissing .the sunlight or a newblown rose and for the purpose of demonstrating our position we stand ready to kiss any white woman (who does not wear store teeth) from Cape Cod to Kalamazoo. We are not afraid of this diabolical kissing miciobe." The truth of this story is vouched for by the "Strttfoid Settler": In the King Country, where "pubs"are unknown,and where slygrog sellers abound, the dominie of a certain village spent much of his time and most of his salary at a barber's shop, where the proprietor, in addition to lathering and shaving, tangle-footed his customers. The school committe waxed exceeding wrath because of the drunkenness of the school master, and being determined to put further temptation|ps£|of his way,; passed a a resolution—" That unless Mr S. takes ft prohibition order out against himself, he is requested to resign." The obliging old toper4mmidiately the parish constablejis now in m fix to kriow ; whas to do with the paper, theVe being hoi pub within 40 miles, and the nearest way to it is via Auckland, What, is to prevent the adoption of the indentifying elector's right, in the shape of a parchment, to Jbe Jssue4,by the Registrar of Electors, and to be cancelled by the Registrar of Deaths in case the holder'died t No person, of course, would be able to record a vote unless he showed his parchment, and duplications of such a document would be impossible except by clever forgery; The addition of the finger print impression would entirely obviate the possibility of deceiving the authorities, and the not oversweet moral atmosphere ot elections, general or municipal, would oertainly be purified, The country will anxiously await- any further disclosures that may be made in this roll-stuffing connection, and will see the feasibility and necessity of a system by which a thooh needed change eoald bo

: -\, The New Golden .... vd Company adver- - 1 Mii ; at.present on a visit w the North Island. ; Just before 4oing to press we )mm*4 that the V anuherikia and Molyaeus; >jiv»,r?'Jlhad risen a good deal since 6 p.m veste*-* day, and were still rising. " Mr James Pollock has been appointed manager of the Alexandra Coal Mining I Co.'s mine, vice Mr W. Clfcson (resigned) _- Mr Carson has obtained a re-jp .r,*ih.- M position in the astle' Co:'smine,K><Wn-BtCT*H At the ordinary meeting of the Dunsrat- <M Hospital Trustees, held last week ihft™ surgeon was ins! 1 ucted to give a certified« cr testimonial of competence to iVrs Anderson, of Alexandra, uho bad been for some time acting-nurse at the hospital. A widowkii recently., advertised in a city newspaper for "a housekeeper, one wth oapital preferred." What kind of poverty or misery or plan or joke does it mean (asks an exchange) when, a man advertises for a housekeeper or servant-girl with.capltal J- ;: . Master len Egginton win give* gramophone entertainment in the Alexandra town hall on Thursday evening next. Thi machine is the best that has yet be'eS brought to the goldfields, and as Mast** Egginton has an almost unlimited supply ot first-class records; an interesting And enjoyable evening may be anticipated." I*. . A distressing fatality happened', as Alexandra yesterday, the victim being tbV youngest daughter of Mr A. Taylor. aeS about 2£ years. It appears that temporary absence of her mother from the house, the unfortunate ohild must have beea playing about the fire, when by some means her clothing became ignited. Before t$ sistance could be rendered the poor cthct was fearfully burned, and she succumbed to her injuries in the . afternoon. Muofe sympathy is expressed for the parents in their sad and sudden bereavements In response to a request from the AlexJockey Club, the Minister of Lands has agreed to set aside an area of <> bout 60 acres on the flat above the town, as a recreation reserve, and he has instructed the Commissioner of Crown .Lands accordingly The reserve will be duly gazetted and vested in trustees under the Domains Act It is the intention of the Jockey Club to provide funds to fence and improve tbfc' ground as soon as it is- surveyed, and it is also intended to at ron.ee, take steps to have the racing track put in proper order. Tba Jockey Club have decided that the next race-meeting will be held on this ground,* For absolute strengtn, extreme simplicity '. freedom from -weak or undesirable poirw and abundance of exQeJlentr.workingfatniH throughout, Excelsior Ploughs are unrivalled They will do perfectly ,the work thafcoah be expected of any plough,and, are to give satisfaction in any soils--whej-. s. plough can workT at all; no matter ! 'bqw> tough and difficult the work. They bar < extra length of land beam, specially, m&h mould boards, and steering gear of tb'e nmst complete and approve?. hmt\ ReVtfylrrV swivel -steel Cuaulai- <.oii-i3ru.'''''D*^TO : furrow, £ll 10s.;, three fxmoxtsfll? Morrow, Babsett, and Co.. *ol» Agent|