NEW ZEALAND NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 707, 5 January 1910, Page 6

NEW ZEALAND NEWS.

■■/. (By Teieeraph.-Prees Association.) i V;.-V:■■•GETTING READY, TEE SOTLLEES AT WANGANUI. •■•■';• ■;. ; .' Wanganui, January 1 > The ecnllers'werß ont on the river thia morning and afternoon, all putting in solid work. • Owing l to the non-arrival of Arnsfs boat (the steamer being delayed m Wellington) ■ the champion rowed in FeltonV boat. Arost, though on the heavy-side, showed : great pace, swinging along with a: strong stroke. Ho gsgg pthers,. (excepting Webb, Hagcey, and 'Felton,v about a hundred yards' start, and caught them in the two miles, though; he out-off a corner while doing so. F€lton:is; pulling'well, as is Hagney, who is.showing good form. Larsen, who . has , nineteen;seconds start, is sure to'ba among the rclaced'men, as ho is scnlling~ strongly. /Webb, although reported to be' well, and who is .sculling in good style, -appearsVto be on,tho fight side. Tβ TCayrluti has' been": doing good -nork, ' Jhough it seems to be a general opinion that his:handicap is;not quite sufficient Felten'and Te-Eawhiti-Ro up the river in; the" morning,"and will camp at Kai* ' whaike till after the race.

; ; - LABOUIVi MARKET; IMPEOVEMENT :IN ■y. ■'.''■'- ? CHristchurch, January 4. According to the officer in charge of the .local bureau, of the. Department of Labour, the; Neiv Tear has started well as far. as the labour!market is concerned. So; far. there have .been twice as many jobs offering.as there have been inquiries for .'employment.-; Another satisfactory feature is.that there has not been the customary; applications by visitors from the-country, .who'have spent all theii' money, for work in the districts they belong :to. ■- In.the past these applications have been made by those who ;ra» stone broke. in order to: get back to their homes, .v.'..",. , .-.: .•:;:•.■

"KEROSENE ON THE KITCHEN' '■ FIRE." Christctturch, January 4.- ■ At the Court, Alfred Doty Ogier was charged' with, on January I,' at Christchurch, having 6et fire•• to »'' dwelling-house situated ie Ingus Street Linwood, the property of J. Barrett. Hβ," was remanded till to-morrow week. The ■' facts alleged are that when questioned regarding the allegation that he had Get. the house on. fire Ogier said he had put some kerosene on the kitchen fire, but not with intent to eet the house on fire., Mrs. Ogier states that she saw her hueband near the window in their bedroom with a lighted candle. The curtains were burning, and she heard her husband roniark: "Let them go for the Now Tear."

MORE RETRENCHMENT. Cambridge, January i Important changes ate being made in connection with To Waiiato Sanatorium, located eight miles from here. The staff will be'considerably curtailed. Miss Bochfort, matron for many years, has resigned. The Karere tree-planting camp for consumptives will be closed,

SENT UP FOR SENTENCE. - < Oamaru, January L Eobert Clark pleaded guilty to the forgery of a cheque for £7 and uttering the same on Bulleid and Co. He was committed to the Supremo Court for sentence.- ' ATTEMPTED SUICIDE, Wanganui, January 1 Henry Neville Maskelyne, aged 29, t single man, attempted suicide at a boardinghouse last night by cutting his throat with a razor. He arrived in Wellington by the Corinthio on. Boxing Day, and came to Wanganui on New Tear's Eve. He had 'been drinking heavily. He was removed to the hospital. The wound is not serious.

TO ENTER THE MINISTRY. '. / . .Ashburton, January i. , As the result of an appeal made by the Eev. Dr. Gibb at the Summer Conference last night, it 'is probable that two young men members will go to the Otago University,-, with a view t» entering ,tho regular ministry of the Presbyterian Church, while wo—and probably three—have decided to devote themselves to the . Homo Mission work of the Church. ' .I . ,

"AMUSEMENT" WITH A CHINESE.Napier,, January' 4. Albert Farmery, ,a youth, who on ■ Christmas Eve amused himself by throw* , ing a scale weight at a Chinaman, hit ; ting him ia the face, received a salutary ■ lesson to-day, being bound over for twelve months to keep the peace, and fined £5 . and costs. , / -

tfITAL STATISTICS. Invercargill, January 4. The vital - statistics for lnvaiw cargill and district are as fol-" low, the' figures for 1909 being given in parentheses.—For' month of Decem. ber: Births 62 (57), deaths 17 (1C), afarriages 29 (31). For the whole year 1909: Births C 92 (G52),' deaths 217 (252), marriages 198 (223). It is noticeable that ' there is an increase in births, while deaths are the lowest recorded since 1903. Another feature is that the marriages are fewer than those of-the preceding three years. ' . 1