LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 16 July 1910, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

"Plans and specifications are ready for the Shannon Post Office," was a reply given to Mr' Field, M.P., in the House of Representatives this week, by the Postmaster General. Sir Joseph .added that it would be decided presently when the work would be gone on with.

The diredge Maui at Gisborne is proving most successful. (Dealing W'iit'h papa rock she took close on a thousand tons of spoil to sea. in, a day. No difficulty was experienced in dealing ■with the papa rock, wbic-li was quite the hardest encountered so far.

A forcible protest against tho establishment of toll-gates in the Ta<rnmaki County was -made last week, when the Puniho gate was considerably damaged by fire and tar. The gaite-keeipor was absent from 10 that night until 7 next morning, and the destruction must have been done during that time.

The efficacy of cheminal fire engines was fully demonstrated nit Hastings when an outbreak of fire occurred, in an old two-story block of buildings next the Grand Hotel. The fire bad burned through from the. ground to the upstairs rooms, but the doors and windows were kept closed, and the chemicals quickly extinguished the flames. Had they failed, the whole block, from the Grand Hotel to the Union Bank eorner, must have gone, as an asbestos joint blew on to the "steamer" engine before it could get into action.

A fungus is said to be attacking the blackberry in America, and exterminating the pest. Tho Government of New Zealand has already written to tho United States Department of Agriculture on this subject, and the result of the (inquiry will be published when. n.. .reply is received. The officers of the Department of Agriculture here are, however, not sanguine in regairdi to the control of noxious weeds by menus of posts.

"Disappointment in my matrimonial affairs," was the excuse offered to the Hawke's Bay Land Board for non-compliance with the residential clause by a female who had: dinawn a To Ami section. "This disappointment, together with the, illness of my

nmt'her." added the ladv, "iwessifcnted my lo.ivijip; the district." Sho hoped, liowcver, to return as soon as possible. Throe months' notice to reside on the section was given by tho Board.

Pinus insignis, as a timber tree, has generally been despised, but Mr Richard Evans, or' Kaiapoi, says an exchange, had a good word to say for it at the Farmers' Union Conference. There were houses in

.North Canterbury, ho said, built of pinus dneignis, which was full of resin, .and a good durable wood. He added that Wio only timber in his district which seemed likely to take tho place of white ph*e for butter hoxes \vi\s poplar, which had no resin. He knew of « popla,r tree ivliich was planted twenty-six years iS" in Kflod land, ami which was now fMght feet round.

""Waiting-rooms for passengers aro necessary at most of our nvilway.siatiions, and I do not consider it would be advisable to convert the

waiting-rooms into reading-rooms," was the text of a reply given by the Minister for Railways to Mr Hogg, M.P., last Wednesday. Sir Joseph added that a large expense would also he involved in providing the necessary literature, and unless a. staff were provided to look after the safe custody of same there was no doii'bt a very large amount of literature would disappear. There were at the present time a considerable number of bookstalls connected, with

the rail way-system, and newsboys on trains were provided with newspnpers. magazines, etc. Sir Joseph added that those atrangements, in his opinion, met all requirements.

The Minister for Education lias given his opinion thait there is no reason why secondary schools, serving rural communities, should not arrange their curricula so as to provide suitable courses of agricultural

instruction. Some schools in New Zealand of the type mentioned are known to he moving already in this direction. As to the establishment

of colleges for higher agricultural instructions, the character of the support given by the farming community to tile efforts made hy control line; authorities of technical elapses to provide instruction in subjects related to agricultural and pastoral pursuits efforts which efforts—which the Minister for Education considers would continue to be made if the necessary interest and support were assured — does not lead the Government to interest and support were assured— does not lead the Government to suppose that adequate support on the part of the farming community would be forthcoming if special ccAlegcs were established as proposed.

A question was put to the Minister for Finance, in Parliament, by Mr Field, M.P. for this electorate, as follows:—"Whether, in. order to encourage private persons and companies to lend on mortgage of Crown leaseholds, upon which it is practically impossible to obtain loans at present, except from the State-guar-anteed Advance Office, the Government will bring down legislation extending as nearly as possible to such private lenders the same protection as is afforded to the State-giia ramteed Advance Office by section. 50' of the New Zealand State-guaranteed Advances Act, 1909?" The follow-

ing ansivcir was g/ven :—"The matter is now being considered in view of necessary amendments to tho Act; but as the intention is to help workers to build homes for themselves, a.s in the case of a building society an extension of the authority to lend money to purchase homes already built must l)e conceded 1 with caution'. Advances for this ouroose can be ob- ■ 'tamed from the Advances to Settlers' Branch of the Office. As tlfc loans under tho Workers' Branch arc granted up to three-fourths of the value of the security, and, iii most cases, the building is tho principal part or the security, it is nccessahy i'iaj" 8 ' to h,lve h imv and wejl

August Rewi, a Maori youth, has been arrested on a charge of having stolen money from Otaki Convent last Sunday. Mr C. Williams, a candidate for election to tho vacant seat on the Levin Borough Council, will address the burgesses on Monday nighifc, in the Town Hall, Levin. On Tuesday night he will speak in the Public Hall at "Wcraroa. Particulars are advertised in to-day's "Chronicle." The manager of a. Gore meuvanti'le firm, giving evidence in a case heard

I in the Magistrate's Court last week, said one potato-grower had anticipated .'3OO tons from his crop. He had purchased 100 tons with tho first right to the 'balance, 'but the grower could only deliver 91 tons in all. Twenty-eight boys have entered for the Marathon race, which is being organised in connection with the junior department of the Levin Y.M.C.A. The race, will take- place a, fortnight from to-day. Last evening the first class in connection Avith marine knotting was held, and Mr Donoghue kindly attended and explained certain details. Tho president of tho Arbitration Court told Mr La-racy, secretary of the Shearers' and "Woolshod Employees' Union, that unless that union receded from' its position of refusing to shear for less than £1 a hundred the Court would restore freedom of contract. This the representative of the union refused Ito do. Tho secretary of the union is now complaining, to tho Minister for Labour, about the stand taken up by Mr Justice Sim in this matter. In order to put a stop to the praoti.ee or reduce the demand being made on the hospitals 'by .people in good circumstances, Mr' John MacGibbon, at Thursday's meeting of the Southland Hospital and -Clinriira.ble Aid Board, proposed, says the Southland Times, that the maximum chairge for maintenance and atten-

tion be 12s a day, ,to be colleotet according to the paying power o: those who received the benefit. Tin', l

did not meet with the favour of the hoard, whjch after discussion decided to make 5s a day the maximum. During her voyage from London to Australia 'the new Huddar-Parker liner Zealandia, which is to go into the Vancouver-Sydney service, averaged a speed of 13 J knots, using only five boilers out of seven. This speed", too, was obtained on a coal consumption of hut 03 tolls per day. A London shipping expert says'of the Zealandia: "Her size, capacity and eouipment will undoubtedly give her a foromost placo amongst the vessels of 1010 constructed for colonial owners."

Last year 442, ooG acres of land were opened up for settlement in West] a ml. says the West Coast Times. The total area opened up during the year in the dominion /or all classes of applicants amounted to 2,»2G,037 acres, and ihe totail area disposed of was 1,431,143 acres. There are at present under survey 1,35-1,018 acres of Grown Land, anil 10G.837 acres oPXaltaveT land. Last year the new settlers totalled 2582 ■or with their families 8000 persons. The other morning the. police caused a great sensation in Blenheim by taking the names and addresses of all owners of bicycles left unattended in front of offices and buildings. One man had just jumped off Jus bicycle and entered the Express office, with a nadvertisement. His name was taken down. Perhaps the "lor" wanted him to take his machine into the office with him! How will Jadies "et on with their go-carts when shopping They will either have to leave them in the horse-road, in danger of possible collision, or take them into the shops. —I'jxpross.

An .appeal to the public of Otaki U> make one more effort to get the Auckland express to .stop at Otaki was made by the Otaki Mail of yesterday. In a leading article, "the -Mail says, inter alia:-"It is understood that some sort of promise has been made ' that these trams will stop at Levin shortly, the main reason for this stoppage 'being that, now that Win has a good high-pres-sure water supply, water can be taken there for the engines; but we would p#int out that all waiter used by the trains at Levin will have to be paid for, while at Otaki the Gove.rnmont has an abundant water supply of its own, so that the water could be secured here without any cost at all. We are not sayin.g anything derogatory to Levin , ! claims as a stopping place."

J'lie Department of Agriculture desires to collect information on t.lio conditions affeeting the- turnip, and the allied plants, rajw ami. kale. \\ ifcl) tins object (the Dominion reports) a tabulated set of inquiries is being submitted to formers by Mr h. Clifton (director of fields and experiment farms), wlio states that serious apprehension is experience'! throughout the dominion at tile damage caused to those important crops by the atUcks of insects and by diseases of fungoid nature. Tt is asked -that, in detailing the injury caused by insects the use of the mime turnip fly" should be avoided, as it is misleading, there being no flies that cause any trouble to turnip wops in New Zealand. The. term turnip fly" .is used indiscriminately tor either aphis or diamond black moth, and information on the relative importance of both these pests is required. Replies will be considered as confidential.

FnQ.m a recent issue of the WanW?SV°T Ie: ~" A l )! ' m l)l)'lot entitled 'J he Lnauthorised Hioo-raphv oi Sir Joseph Ward," is the "stock-in-trade of an individual who for some days past, lias been trading at the Post Office corner. The publication bears the imprint of an Auckland printer, and is retailed at Gd per copy Our readers do not need tolling that we hold no brief for Sir Joseph Ward. We are politically opposed to ,lwm. But we detest this muck-rake style of fighting, a,nd we have nothing but contempt for that kind of "cou-mge" which finds expression in the dissemination of slanderous garbatre culled from annient hi.story We oa,„„<,+. believe that this undly-covered and venom-onslv-worded publication is ibeine issued for moral and patriotic motives. It strikes us ra/ther as a disci-edita.ble attempt to wreak a poor spite 1 )V noisonin-r the public mind the man who, desnrte. the viciss*t:iul/. e or his commercial career, hoav hoM« the highest office within the Hft elf the people."