NEWS OF THE DAY.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11484, 17 January 1903, Page 7

NEWS OF THE DAY.

The auction advertisements of Dalgety and Co., Ltd., N.Z. Loan and Mercantile, N.Z. Fanners' Co-operative, Xorth Canterbury Cooperative, Canterbury Farmers' Co-operative Association, Ingram and Co., J. H. Keesing, Parkerson and Co., F. t>. Malcolm and Co., Freeborn Parsons, Taylor, Cole and Co., and George King and Co., will be found on page 11 of this issue. Owing to the pressure of advertisements we have been obliged to hold over book notices, lofatera to tihe editor, and a quantity of other matter. The meeting of trustees of the Samaritan Home, whioh was to liave been held yesterday, lapsed for wUnt of a quorum, and has been postponed for a week. At a meeting of traction engine owners, held at Ashburton on Thursday evening, it was decided to form a branch of the Canterbury Engine Drivers' Association. The new buildings of the •Somerset Hotal in Ashburton, work upon which has been stopped since the local option poll -was taken, will be pushed on to completion in the course of a few days. The secretary of the Koyal Humane Society of N«w ZenJand has at present eleven applications in hand, concerning whioh the necessary preliminary enquiries are being made. What with tlie wool sales, the bowling tournament, and the tourist influx wiuoh has just set in, the hotel accommodation of Christohurch is well taxed at present. Many of the leading hotels have Imd to refuse accommodation to visitors. The Lyttelton Borough Council have arranged with the two local bands to supply open-air music to the residents of the town during the summer months. The first of the concerts will take place between the Council Chambers and the Fire Brigade Building this evening, when the LytteLton Brass Baud will p"!ay a selection. At the Manawatu Gun Club pigeon match yesterday, Price (Christchurch), and Graham (Gore) tied for first place with nine birds each. They decided to divide £80 of first and second, money, and! shoot off for the remaining £10. This was won by Graham. Woolvem secured third place out of a large number of contestants. About three hundred people were present. The Health Officer, Dr. Finch, has now the question oi fumigating all the State schools under his consideration, and it is understood! that he ie making a personal inspection of the schools with this object, and will report to the Board next week. The city schools, it is stated, are at present in good condition, as they have been thoroughly renovated within a very recent period. There -is a strike on a small scale at Petone, a suburb of Wellington (telegraphs our correspondent). Eight labourers employed excavating for the reception of a gasholder at & wage of 8s per day considered themselves entitled to an extra sliiihmg per diem, as the jab wae a wet one, the men being constantly in water. They applied to the engineer foi , an advance, and the application wus refused. Thereupon they threw down their tools and went op strike. The new saleyards at Scargill will foe opened on Monday, and preparations are being made in order to make the function a success. A luncheon is to be provided, and all arrangements are in a forward state. Although regular railway communication has only recently been opened Scargill has rapidly become a very busy centre. Nearly every day there are special stock trains, and last Wednesday two specials were required to deal with ths traffic. An interesting case nndei» the Licensing Act was heard at Wanganui yesterday. Murdoch Sturt, master of the river steamer Mamnvai, was charged with having sold liquor contrary to the terms of his packut license. The facts of the caee were that on Boxing Day the steamer left town for an all day excursion. She proceeded about 20 miles, where she moored to a tree on shore, and the passengers disembarked. Four shortly afterwards returned to tue btrat and were served with liquor. The men stayed on board the remainder of the time the vessel was moored, and were served with further drinks. After a stay of a couple of hours the steamer retunieJ to town. For the prosecution it was held that the licensee had by selling when the vessel had finished the journey infringed section 159 of the Licensing Act of 1881. For the defence it was alleged that the ship was advertised as an all day excursion. The vessel's port of departure and destination was Wanganui. Thus the stoppage was eimply an incident in the passage. The Magistrate reserved his decision.

A correspondent writes to the "Otago Daily Times ": —" One does not expect to sen six small boys sitting on a form in front of a hotel ' at the back of beyond,' or, t-3 speak more plainly, at the edge of ' the Wilderness,' near the Mararoa River. The first suggestion was that the hotelkeeper has a particularly healthy family—not that six is an abnormal number for a family, but at least four were of the same age We were told they were strikers, but their youthful appearance discounted the sugjrestkra that they formed a labour orgsonisation, and there" was do blacksmith's forge near. It appeared, however, that they did form a labour organisation. In a shearing shed a number of boys are required as * pickers'-up * of the wool as it is shorn, and appear to be asjjnecessary to the shearer as his shears. The wagps offered to them was 12s 6d a week, and the boys concluded that that sum was not sufficient remuneration for their services They therefore intimated their determination that if the wages were not 'riz' they would not 'pick-up.' The runholder was obdurate, and so were the boys, and they left the ehed. Tbe -result was thai the stearers could not commence their labours, and the runholder was at bis wits' end. How this youthful strike will end the future only will "show."

Mr I. Montague and several others are promoting the New Zealand Austral Cycls Meeting, to be held during December next. The first prize will amount to between £250 and £550. According to returns prepared by the Department of Agriculture the totai area under potato crop in the colony for the year 1902-3 was 31,408 acres, as against 31.269 acres in the previous year—an increase of 149 acres. It is understood that the Mayors and Councillors of Sydenham, St. Albans and Lmwood will be invited •to address the public meeting to be held on Tuesday to discuss the Greater Christchurch proposals. Speaking at the Primitive Methodist Conference at Asliburtcin on Thursday evening, the Key. G. H. Mann said that in addition to drunkenness and gambling, the church must en - out against the totalisator and the theatre", all of which were lowering to the people. The Geraldine Floral, Horticultural and Industrial Association's Show was held in the Volunteer Hall on Thursday afternoon, when contrary to expectations there was a very large attendance", and, notwithstanding the backward season, were 600 entries. The quality of the exhibits, especially in vegetables and fruit, was the best that had ever been seen in the district. Major-General Babington and Captain Campbell have returcvd to Wellington from ft Umr of inspection in the Hawke's Bay district. During the holidays (telegraphs our correspondent) tliey had .some trout ri.shim: a.v CtLilii-tfa. The fishing w;i.« r.oi of tho aw the sivwims wt-re rathfer low after a dry season. (Itiß-ral will probably pay a three-week's visit of inspection lv Otugo shortly. • Wliil c a number of small boys were bathing in the river at the hack of the Old Home, one of their number, a boy named Osborne, dived in at the cor.Uuence of tw>> streimis, and being unable to swim, was soon in difficulties. Another boy named Xorthcote, at much risk to his own life, plunged in and succeeded in keeping Osborne afloat, guiding him down stream until they readied a place of safety. When Northcote reached his companion he was sinking for the third time, and both were in an exhausted condition when they landed. There were present at a meeting of the Greater Christehurch Committee yesterday afternoon the Mayor (Mr Hemy F. Wigram), Messrs Ell and Taylor, M.H.R.'s, Hon. C. Louisson, Messrs W. Recce, F. Waymouth, C. M. Gray, John Anderson. J A. Froutick, and J. T. Smith. An apology was received from Mr R. M. Macdona Id" A petition, largely signed, was presented, requesting the Mayor to call a public meeting o£Jhe ratepayers of the city and suburban boroughs, to consider the proposal to form the city and boroughs into a Greater Christehurch. It was decided to hold a meeting on Tuesday next, hi the Canterbury Hall, at 8 p.m. It was considered that the meeting would give a fair opportunity for the expression of views on both sides of the question. Our Wellington correspondent telegraphs that it is the intention of the Wellington bianch. of the Australasian Federated Seamens' Union to test the validity of section 5, sub-division 2, paragraphs D and E of the second schedule of the Workers' Compensation for Accidents Act. The Union contends that an injured worker can claim full wages for the first two -weeks subsequent to tho date of the accident, and in this contention is said to he supported by some of the best legal advice in Wellington. To test the matter the Union is bringing a case gainst the Union B.S. Company in respect of an accident to a member of the Union on the Rotoiti in Novernuber hist. Aβ the point is one affecting all classes of labour, the Union lias asked .the Trades' Council for financial assistance in having the question settled. Wcf-cooie rain came on Monday night, says a Gisborne message, and completely broke up the long drought. A number of persons who attended the Kaiapoi Wesleyan Church on Thursday, expeoting an announced wedding to be heid, were disappointed, as the bridegroom at the eLeveutih hour telegraphed, that his ill-health would entail a postponement of the event. At a meeting of fanners at Tinwald on Thursday, it was decided to take steps to reopen the Tinwald Butter Factory and commence the dairy industry in the district. A committee was appointed to ascertain what support would be guaranteed to the scheme. When the Governor visits-the Cook Islands in March, says the "Auckland Herald," i)t is his intention to formally hand over the administration of the group to the Minister in charge (the Hon. C. H. Mills). Before the annexation the islands were nominally under the charge of Lord Ranfurly. Mr T. Humphries, Commissioner of Crown Lands, went South by the express yesterday to inspect an estate. On Thursday he intends proceeding to Rakaia to examine the applicants and conduct the ballot for the Mead Estate. On Wednesday evening the N Battery, 50 strong, under Captain J. T. Brioe and Lieutenants Neville and Wardle, held a Commanding Officers' inspection parade, after which th« men were formed into two half-companies for skirmishing, under Lieutenants Neville and Wardle, respectively, and marched to Governor's Bay road- Very useful work was done. Writing from Cheviot, a lady correspondent says that the import ac to the size of the hailstones in tho recent storm was by no means exaggerated, aaid that, as a matter of fact, many of these were as large as tea-cups- Being afraid for 'the safety of her husband, who was working in a field, she sailkd forth to his rescue with a galvanised iron bucket on her head in lieu of a bonnet. So driviDg and pitiless was the hail that one eheet of "galvanised iron at a neighbour's house was perforated in no fewer than twenty places. Before Captain Marciel, J.P., at Lyttelton yesterday, a first offender was convicted of drunkenness, and discharged with a caution. John Anderson and William Westphal, who had stowed away on the Wanaka from Newcastle, were fined 40s e.ich, with the alternative of three weeks' imprisonment. Hugh Mcllroy, charged with having stolen £4, the property oi L. Wilson, was, on the application of the police, remanded till January 23rd. Generally the opinion is expressed by candidates for the Tramway Board witli regard to the questions submitted to them by the Trades and Labour Council, that they deal with matters which should be left to the discretion of the Board when appointed, and that the members should not have their hands tied with regard to them. One candidate, seen by a representative of ""The Press," remarked that the questions regarding labour conditions were really outside the scope of the Board, seeing that they are controlled by awards of the Arbitration Court or Conciliation Board. A rather good story is told about Dr. Pomare, the Native "Health Officer, who, though a full-blooded Maori, is no mean scholar, and has travelled to nearly every nook and corner of the Continent and America. The doctor (saya an exchange) was traveling hi the north* by the Whangarei steamer —a run where they frequently carry natives- He was poking round the saloon, looking for his berth, when a steward, spying a member of the Maori race fossicking round, caught him by the arm, aud asked, with some indignation, "Why you no makey the ask for what .you want to maker the find?" The medico looked him up aid down, and in his most faultless accent, and with a chilling look, said:—"My dear sir, if you cannot make yourself understood in plain English, try French or German; or, if you do not feel at home in either of these languages, try some of the dead ones—Greek or Roman—and I will endeavour to converse with you." The steward collapsed amid profuse apologies, and the joke waa much enjoyed by a number oi people, who were in the saloon at the time.

In announcing the close of our very successful eale, Harris's Imperial Boot Depot desire to thank the public for the solid support accorded. They also intimate that they have satisfactorily arranged to remain another year in their present premises, and will be glad to see their customers at t W» some old address, 207 Caehel street. 22

That's it, the " McGonniek" is built to run true for yeans. Friction en the bearings of a flimsy machine makes it pull heavy. 4090 There was the usual attendance at "Ballantync's" sale yesterday, and at times the now " Customary Crowding." Ballantyne and Company desire to return thanks for the heaity support accorded their initial effort in "the sale business of 1903; but they regret the crowding, and although they might have prevented it, they were reluctant to adopt the only means of prevention, viz., the closing of the entrance doors. It is anticipated that, given fine weather to-day, there will be a large attendances but it is not the intention of the pioprietors to close the doors of " Dunstabie House" against any customer, unless such a measure is considered absolutely necessary in the interests of those attending the sale. 68 To-day you may invest your money to best advantage by visiting Beath's great summer sale. Stupendous bargains J» drapery and cl&thing, the whole stock now offered*at reduced prices. Gimp trimmings, for 2d; black Suede gloves, 3s lid for wide fancy ribbons. Is 6d for 4Ad, 2s 6d for 9£d, 2s lid for ll£d; feather ruffles. 17s 6d for 9s lid; belts. Is lid for 6£d: chiffon ruffles. 15s lid for 12s 6d; muslin aprons, U 6d for 9id, 2s lid for Is 9d: holland aprons. Is 6d for 9£d, 2s 9d for Is 6d : silk and lace fichus, 2s lid for l.s 6d. 4s lid for 2s 6d ; collarettes.. 2s 9d for Is 6d, 3s 9d for 2s 6d. Beath's sale, sec windows. 6 Drink , "Crown" Brand Teas and save all coupons for prizes. Every packet and tin contains coupons at the rate of one coupon to every half-pound of "Crown" Brand Tea. See display oi prizes in window, including handsome piano, to be given away for December. 1902, competition. John Hall and Co., Ltd., late Hubbard, Hall and Co., next Milner and Thompson's, Chrietchurca.— (Advt.) 3,000,000 Envelopes, well assorted; 2000 reams note and letter papers, good and clieap; folio papers, every size and quality. Thousands account books, all sizes and bindings, now on. sale by H. J. Wood and Co., at unprecedentedly low prices. Office requisites and stationers' sundries, oi best quality. Large new stock of photo, albums and photo, frames. Thousands of new books, just landed, a'.eo immense assortment of cheap reading. A great sale of fancy goods upstairs. Inspection invited by H. J. Wood and Co., Stationera' Hall, High street. Remember the whole r.toc!; ie to be sold off. 2362 Wanted Known—Jewellery gale, for one month, of watches, clocks, rings, brooches, and all other classes of jewellery, cold at greatly reduced prices. K. Grieshaber, Watchmaker and Jeweller, 155 Colombo street. Y463 If you have the faintest suspicion tnat your eyes are not just right, if they bother you in any way, it's best to have them examined at once. Do not go to the avcage optician or spectacle (seller, for he is unable to distinguish between optical defects and dieeaees, but consult John ft. Procter, 180 High street, Christchuroh, who will give you a thorough examination free of charge. 2115 Bicycles for 1903. Just arrived, shipment ex s.s. Turakina, of new Hudson's latest models. Ladies and gents. Adanw Sun Cycle Depot, 136 Lower High street. 43 Jam Jare. —Mason's extra strong patent glass jam jars, with patent air-tight tops, quarts 4e 6d doz., half gallon 7s doz. John Hall and Co., late Hubbard, Hall and Co., next Milner and Thompson's, Christchuroh. —(Advt.) It is a singular coincidence that the most graceful lady cyclist* are invariably mounted on Zealandia bicycles, manufactured by Oates, Lowry and Co., and this fact is now generally recognised.—(Advt.) To hotels and boardinghouse-keepere.— Fletcher Bros, quote wholesale prioee lor tumblers, cutlery, spoons, forke, tea and dinner eets, glassware, household ironmongery, etc. In fact everything you want at wholesale prices, at Fletcher Bros., direct importers, Lower High Street.—(Advt.) Fortunes are daily made by clever inventions. Sec handbook, how to obtain "Patent*" for inventions, free by poet from Baldwin and Rayward. 172 Gloucester street, Chrietchurch. A. H. Hart, representative. —(Advt.) 1