Provincial News.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 8, 4 October 1907, Page 2

Provincial News.

: PALMERSTON; i A Iviwitea County Councillor, interviewed yesterday, stated that thq recent heavy rains have done considerable damage to the roads, and the Council's expenditure will bo very much increased. Slips have taken place 1 ill all directions. The Nikau Creamery manager rc- > ports that the Nikau-Feildiiig road is 1 covered with slips, and that the fords 1 across the Oroua River have been washed away. Latterly he has had some interesting experiences in getting his cream out to Cheltenham. - ■ The Cheltenham Dairy Company, is i at present paying 91d. for butterfat. i Several new suppliers have joined the Company's ranks, and there is every indication that the output will exceed that of last season. Trial subscribers to tho telephone , exchange are not up to the , present captivated ■ with ■ the work- ! ing of the new systom ' ow- • ing to the delay caused, in getting tho desired connection. It is stated 1 that the operators have some difficulty • ( in becoming acquainted with the mechanism. In addition to this, an epidemic of influenza has reduced the , ranks in the exchange. The North Island Poultry Associa- , tion will meet at Palmerston oil the afternoon of October 14, when some important business will be dealt with. The Chamber of .Commerce Council met yesterday to consider a telegram from the Premier in rcsp.'.ct to .lie i application for a continuous telephone ■ service. The President stated that a petition had . been signed by twothirds in favour 1 of a continuous service. The petition had been forwarded to Wellington, bnt no reply had beeii • received up to Monday last. He tlieii sent two telegrams to the Premier, and received a reply to the. second one yesterday morning. The Postmasteri General stated that the amount of lmsiiiess did not warrant a continuous service, but i ftlie. business increased the matter would, receive consideration. In the meantime the exchange would open from 6 a.m., instead of 8 a.m. It'was decided that the president and Mr. Cohen be requested to arrange with the member for . the district to meet tho Minister, and advocate continuous service. Feeling on the point is very strong here, and it is said that,, if subscribers, are willing to p_ay, the requirements should be met.' - The Manawatu Drainage Board met ycsteiday, when routine business was transacted, chiefly in connection with storm water flooding properties. At the cattle sale'tnere was an average attendance, and a great demand ' for fat stock. The Mayor and Councillors have ■ made a systematic inspection of the drains to carry off storm water. ■ It is suggested that many culverts will have to be enlarged, and a considerable sum may have to be spent. . Farmers interviewed at the sales to-day were disconsolate regarding the weather, which is still wet. ■ Catches of fish have been- small owing to the flooded state of' the ■ rivers. . The various Clubs arc arranging for the opening of tho cricket season. A Bunnythorpc farmer reports a percentage of 144 for his' lambing. This, is a record for a season like this. PAHIAT.UA. A Press Association message states that at a meeting of tho Technical • School Board on Wednesday night, it was decided to start' carpentery, tinsmithing, dressmaking, and cookery classes in a fortnight's time. WOODVILLE. Thero was very littlo excitement over the election of two Borough Conn-' ■ cillors yostrday, and tho result of poll •gave the positions to Messrs.-J. Hard- ' ing and A. Rapley, with C. Noedt, Q.' P. ,Smith, C. Scott and B. Tyerman, following in tho order named'' Tho by-laws of tho Borough in regard to building arc now to be tested. Mr. P. Scully, tho owner of buildings gutted by fire, desiros to renovate Shaw's bakery, while there is a strong public sentiment that the building should be pulled down._ Tho result of the agitation is that a special meeting of the Council was to be held yesterday to discuss the matter.- . i Mr.. A. Pease, who for a number of years was' in the employ of Mr.'J. Nicholas, has started - business for himself at Hunterville. - - The'school has rc-opcned but tho at-, tendance is very small, and unless it is possible for scholars to attend tho commit,tec will close tho school down again. This will naturally have' a bad effect on the annual examination, which takes' place in December next, and as tho school is generally in tho highest grade in this respect, it is to' be hoped that it wiil not be closed again. '" The Christchurch Meat Company has taken over tho bacon works luji-'e as from October .2, and hopes to bo in full swing within a few days.' Tho first kill was the small number of six pigs. ■ OTAKI. - \ _ The first annual social ill connection witli tho Otaki Hockey Club took place last evening, some fifty couples . attending. The interior of tho hall had been tastefully decorated in tho club's colours, a prominent feature of tiie docorations being . a 'goal-post, neatly -draped with red, white and blue ribbons, clematis, and camellias,, while tho stage was covered with green cocoanut matting. Games, dances' and musical items were indulged in until after midnight. Among'those who. assisted in the latter were Mesdames. Jones and Tunniclilfe, Miss N. M'Clelaiid, and Messrs Andrews, ByronBrown and Merry (Wellington). Mr. Enokcr supplied the dance music.FEILDING. In the Police Court this morning, Jas. Quarrio was fined 20s. and 14s. costs, for sending 290 sheep with -lico to tho saloynrds. Adjutant'Mclksham,'head of the Salvation Army in this district, who has been laid up for tho past week with an affection of the lioart, has been compelled to take a rest. -, Landowners in parts of tho Raugitikei district are up in aVms at nilimproved values now being placcd on clay lands, as much as £9 per aero being considered its value without calculating, improvements. This, they say, is beyond all reason. The "Star" has been receiving letters from teachers of small aided schools in tho back blocks concerning their hardships. Briefly summed up, they consist, in many cases of poor accommodation, tho requirement that a certain amount of household work should he done after school hours, and treatment as if the teachers worq some interloper allowed to romain on sufferance. Of course there are exceptions to this state of things, but it is the sordid which has to be guarded against. The Education Board lias taken up the complaints aiid passed a resolution prescribing that, instead of tho old system of allowing a deficiency in the . salary,' guaranteed to be made up by providing lodgings, the amount must be provided in cash, and the teacher will have ,to make tho most suitable arrangements in regard to accommodation. The matter is thus placed on a business basis, wliicli should be satisfactory to all parties concerned. Tho promoters of the agitation in favour of the extension of-the railway to Kimbolton arc organising tho movement. At Aniti this week one of the

leaders of the Farmers' Union, Mr. Crabb, who with several others jepre-v sented Kimbolton, gave an address, m tlie course of which he advised that Apiti should support the railway to Kiinbolton first, and afterwards Kimbolton would help Apiti in the matter ot an extension to its district. An animated discussion followed. Mr. Rix moved, and Mr. Melton seconded, that the people of Apiti support the Kiinbolton Railway League, in trying ■to obtain a raiKvay to Kimboltoni as a hrst instalment of a railway to Apiti. At Apiti a meeting was also held for the purpose of urging the Government to carry out its promise to erect a post-ofiicc. Mr. Guy was empowered to represent the feelings'of settlers in the matter. Improvements are going on at Bunnythorpo Railway Station, an extra line of rails having been put down to cope, with the increased traffic somewhere _ between here and Wellington.' A petition for a goods shed for Bunnythorps has beei) lost, as the Government has not replied. . • Land at Aorangi is magnificent, a settler there with twentj'-four acres keeping twenty-four cows on it and getting splendid results. j The dried milk factory at Bunnythorpe is about to start operations again. , Notwithstanding rough weather, a considerable quantity ot milk' is being received by the Bunnythorpe Dairy Company, It is quite a lively scene to see the numerous carts going to and from the factory. ..The first meeting of creditors In the bankrupt estate of Francis Robert; Linton, of Halcombe, was held at the Fcilding Courthouso yesterday. The statement of bankrupt showed a deficiency of £854 4s. 9d. In his statement he said his bankruptcy dated from 1903, when he was farming in Fitzherbert. The District Official Assignee said the bankrupt had purchased his wife's property while m a state of insolvency,' and -had paid in-, stalments on the loan and the price of improvements. There was no doubt that lie had committed some offences under the Insolvency Act. The bankrupt is to be publicly examined. .MASTERTON. Mauriceville appears to have suffered- even worse from the results of Wednesday's gale than elsewhere. At the Mauriceville Hotel a lamp suspended in front of the building was wrenched off and carried clean across the railway line. • At a meeting of St. Matthew's Vestry, on Wednesday, the action of the, Vicar in offering the dual position of organist and choirmaster of St. Matthew's Church to Mr. H. ,S. Claughton iyas unanimously endorsed. Mr; Claughton, who has lately come, to New Zealand from England, brings very high credentials, and has among other appointments held the offices of resident music master and organist.,of Hortford County College. A meeting ,of delegates of Wairarapa Dairy Companies will be held a,t Carterton on October 12 to consider the claims of the Wellington Butter, Creamery and Cheese Factory Employers' Industrial Union of Workers. The " Daily Times" says that there are evidences of the checking of an early spring'on the western side of Ekctahuna: The grass started -well, but its progress was not maintained on account of wintry weather super- 1 veiling. Tho Tararuas have an unquestioned domination of pastures under their immediate slopes, and snowchilled Winds sweeping down at unseasonable periods put a different complexion on tho face of the country. However, the season lias not been bad for lambing, taken right through, and farmers will be satisfied if things move along as they .are at-present. The Carterton Fire Brigade has decided to open x its new station next Thursday afternoon. Messrs. W. Moore (Mayor) and J. T. M. Hornsby,' M.H.lt., are to be asked to officiate, and in the evening visiting firemen from Wairarapa Brigades will be entertained. ' Following are the vital statistics for Greytown for September:—Births, 2; death, 1; marriages, nil. Those for the quarter are: —Bi-ths, 8; deaths, 6; marriages, 4. ' At Alfredton the galo on Wednesday 'was of extraordinary violence. Oil the hill • tops it was impossible for shepherds to keep their feet, and between ■nine arid ten o'clock torrential raini calne down. Several settlers who had timber stacked on their properties found it scattered in all directions after the storm., A large stack on Mr.'A. Napier's (Tirumea) was badly -damaged. , , , UPPER RANGITIKEI. , Nurso Purcell, who, since its inception, has occupied the position of matron at the Ruanui Hospital,- Tai-'v liapc, has resigned her post. Her place has been taken by Miss Fergusson, a. fully certificated nurse, who has latterly conducted a private hospital for> a period in Wanganui. She will be. assisted- in her duties by Nurse Duke. The, work of installing the-telephone . instrument in the residences and premises of subscribers to the proposed bureau has been carried on in Taihape during tho last few days. The lines have also been carried along and connected. All is now in readiness for tho uew'post-oflice building to be occupied, and the exchange opened. Tho new premises for. the local branch of tho Bank of New Zealand are being rapidly constructed, and give promise of greatly enhancing the appearance of tho town when completed. . ./['lie Presbyterian Church authorities at. Raetihi have secured a section in Ward "Street, with a view to building there. . ■ - '