DISTRICT NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1820, 5 August 1913, Page 7

DISTRICT NEWS.

JOTTINGS FROM ALL SOURCES,

* NAPIER. Several burglaries havo taken placo during tho past few months and investigations have fc'o far proved no tangible clue. Tlio latest burglary occurred 011 tho Marine Parade, a liouso Jiaving been entered and about JM stolen from tho box. There nro indications that tho several burglaries were carricjt out' by the same oulprit. Tho Rev. Percy Davis, of Eotorua, has been appointed vicar of tho new Puketapu district. At a meeting of the Hastings branch of tho Farmers' Union yesterday a mombor drew attention to an apparent discrepancy in the figures quoted by tho chairman (Mr. J. G. "Wilson) at t'ho recent Dominion Conference in connection with the expenditure and revenue of the'dairying industry, and it was resolved to communicate with Mr. Wilson asking him to check his figures.

Tho Napier Bowling Club is negotiating to acquire an acre of ground at Napier South for a new green. Their present green has long bepn too small to meet .tho growing domands.

At a meeting of tho Thirty Thousand Club last night Mr. C. D. WiLson, accountant, was appointed secretary at a salary of .£IOO a year. It was decided to approach tho Harbour Board with' a view to acquiring 50 acres of land, now being reclaimed, for a publio part, and also to ask tho board to inoreose tho length of the tenure of tho leases.

WANGANUI.' ' The Presbyterian churches along the mat Coast wro showing considerable activity in their ministers, etc., and within the past twelve months ne\i manses, balls, and ohnrchea have been, or are in course of (erection, the expenditure running over .£20,000. This amount : includes -building schemes at Shannon, , Mmenston North, Terraco End, Marton, . Wangaimi, Wavorloy, Hawera, and Stmt- : ford. With a view to offering further opposition to the proposal of the Government to have obo Jaw for Maori and pakehn, a ■deputation, consisting of A. N'ikitini, A. Taumumu, Worore lCingi, and H. N. Walker, proceeded to Wellington yesterday.. The party represents the Maoris of the Wangamii, Eivor, Taumaramii Natives, and also those between Wanganui and Woitotara. It is claimed that if tho proposal of tho Native Minister is eivea effeot to a violation of Hie Treaty of Waitangi will have; been committed. , . . Though there 'havo been a largo 'number of shipping disasters on the West Coast, between Turalrina and Otaki rivers, it docs not appear to have generally suggested itself that these may l>e,d>ue to currents of whose force and direction practically nothing is known. Tho matter was brought under tho notice of the Harbour Board at tho August meeting by Mr. W. Oh on whose motion the following resolution was pas«id "That this ■board iraspeotfully calls tho attention of the Marine Department to tho fact that a largo number,: of vessels have from, time to time grounded or become total wrecks on tho coast between Titrakina and Otaki rivers, and expresses tho opinion that the said coast is subject to rapidlychanging ooean ourrents, which are insufficiently definieid on Cook Strait, charts and other publications,. and that a copy of this resolution be.sent to the. Marino 'Department with a request that steps be •taken at onco to ascertain if there bo such ■currents or other phonomeaia endangering chipping, and that the mercanitilo marine., be fully advised and warned through tho j.proper channels of any such curreji/ts "or .'■ether. phenomena." , A theft of an unusual nature was per- . pstrated yestffl'day, when several guards' • vans in the railway station wero broken [Unto, and: the. ambulance lockers - therein forced. All tho hamdiiges, 'dressings, jGcissora, etc., kept for use in oases of iifl,ccidenit, wore taken away. A band of boys,,in -the ' shore' on fSunddy afternoon,' is'-suipii'tecL'. MASTERTON. \ The. : Jlarlborough Rugby Union.is send--jlng'a senior repTeisentative team to play fa match with W'acrarapa, on Thursday, ' August 21. , The. Masterton 00-operative Dairy Com(pany las at present about sixty suppliers. |It is hoped that .with) the new system of collecting cxeam the number of suppliers 'will be more than doubled during the I teming sea>ion.' . Some' alarm has been created in tho ineishbouffing suburb of Lansdowne by the eccentric conduct of a man who delivers to Megraph posts, trees, and [vegetation. The police .went in pursuit 'of him on Saturday, but after a cliase of Ipereral hours ho eluded them,..and is still 'at large.. The.expenditure of the Mastorton Fire j. Board for. the year ending June 30 [amounted to .£7OO 195,. lid. on the general Isiceount, and ,£373 19s. frtll on-tho loan acloount. The liabilities of the board amount Ito ,£3860 35.-, brat the assets ore valued at M' 1626 193. M. i A company ha*; been formed in Masterjton, with a capital' of several • thousand [pounds, to pla.oo on the market a fencing .standard invented by Mr. Ci. Hutchinson. jThe standard is only 81b. in weight, is perforated with, wirq holes, and is s> coil- ■ structed'that it is easy to transport. The Masterton Co-operative Dairy' Company distributed .£BBSO Ss. 7d. among the farmers of tlir- district last season. A number of members of the Masterton i6im Olub intend competing at th» livo;bird chamnionshfin meeting in Christ'chiirch this month, A spanrow match was fired by tho Vns./terton Gun Club on S.ntnrdav last. Tb<> 'first prize was divided by Messrs. B, ,T. King and J. M'Calmont. •OTAKI. An' explosion, which caused mild excitement occurred ; in Otaki yesterday morning, while some workmen wero busy emptying a case-tank at the rear of Mr. AV. Manning's hotel for the, purpose of making a connection with Bright's Theatre. The taps were turned on, and tho gas, by means of two pipes, allowed to escape, a very safe proceeding under ordinary circumstances. Unfortunately, one of the workmen lit a match for the purpose of lighting a cigarette, and as tho gas was being run into tho benzoline tank it was practically converted into pure benzoline, and tho fumes escaping, immediately camo into contact with the light. There was a loud report, and the upper tank was blown some 15 or 20 feet in tho air, tearing away from its substantial supports. It fell within a few feet of both Sir. Dorset and Mr. Adsett, tho lattor, who was working outside by the tank, having a very narrow cscape. It is estimated that the damage done amounts to tomo

Tho Horowhenua County Council is doing much good work on tho Otaki-Mana-kau Koad, and widening anil filling is bring resorted to in many places. ' Mrs. Harcourt l'eat has been appointed assistant teacher in place of Miss Fletcher, ivho has resigned from the staff of tho Otaki Native Collego.fo accept a iposition under the Marlborough Education Board. , Major_ Tatum has offered two handsome prizes for competition by Che Manakau Debating Society. Several competitors from Otaki, Manakau, and other parts of tbe district will compete at the Shannon competitions, to ba held next week. . It is understood that tho Levin Competitions Socioty mado'a profit of *640 at its recent fixture, as against .£BO last year. FEATHERSTON. Teams from the Featherston and the Groytown Golf Clubs met at Grcytown on Saturday. Tho match resulted in a win for tho Groytown Club by 125 to 2s. Sir Walter Buchanan, M.P., formally opened tlia recently-erected addition to tho South Featherston School on Saturday afttirnoon. Tho original building -was erected in 1899, and has now been extended to more than double l'ts former size. A Xesidsilco for tho teacher is also being /built, adjacent to tho school. There are indications pointing to an early spring throughout this district. Tiio Featherston Co-operutivfe Dairy "Company will reopen far the season next ■week. It is worth noting that, the rainfall liere for the past two months has been lighter than usual. The figures are—June, l.SGin.; July, 2.13 in. Tho Maryborough Oddfellows' annual bnll was held in tho Town Hall l;hcro on Thursday evening, about eighty couplcs being present, including visitors from neighbouring towns. Messrs. A. Sutherland, .N. 'Thomas, S. M'Fern, and- T. Grant were M.C.'a, ' V .