The Chronicle. PUBLESHED DAILY SATURDAY, JANUARY 21, 1911. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 21 January 1911, Page 2

The Chronicle. PUBLESHED DAILY SATURDAY, JANUARY 21, 1911. LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A Levin citizen whose business is insufficient to occupy bis full time is making himself busy informing people that Tho Horowhenua Daily Chronicle is about to revert to a tri-weekly publication. Possibly he is desirous of seeing such a retrograde step taken. "We hope lie will live to see it. If he should manage to survive that long, he will become a veritable Methuselaih. Among the sky features for 1911 will be a total eclipse of the sun, visible in New Zealand. Jit will ■take _ place 011 29th April, beginning at nineteen minutes past' 7, a.m. The. first term of the AVellington Boys' College for tho new year will comtncnce on Monday, 30th January, and of the Girls' College 011 Monday, 6th February. New pupils of both colleges must present themselves for enrolment on tho days specified, and free place pupils must produce 'their certificates. Full particulars appear in our advertising columns. Shannon residents are greatly disturbed at Ithe acion of the Postal authorities in increasing Ithe cost of private boxes from 10s to El. This increase has been brought ahoulb through the appointment of a leitter carrier for the township; Tail king /to a- Chronicle reporter yesterday a Shannon farmer remarked l that the •fact was thalti those who had, letter boxes were paying for the benefits of the town residents. The iShannon branch of the Farmers' Union mav discuss the point at to-night's meeting, provided a. meeting can be held. This country spends something over a million a year 011 all educational purposes, and about £200,000 a year on "higher" education alone. Is it credible or possible ibhat, after thirty years of work on this scale, there are no.colonial graduates fit to be made 'headmistresses of our hi"th schools?-:-Auckland Star.

■There appeal's to he a vegetable war raging in Foxton between a. European firm and one or two Chinese firms. The Manawatu Herald has received a lengthy letter on the subject from Mr P. W. Brown in which he charges his almond-eyed competitors with "tricks 'rtihat are vain."_ Mr Brown's gi'ievance is that his competitors have stated to householders thaifc the European firm wil _lnot be able to supply vegetables in winter and. that "if the Chinese are not' patronised, they will not serve the householders at that time who do not now buy from them. 'Mr Brown continues that as he has some of the most fertile soil in rfilie dominion lie enn grow tables as successfully as his competitors all the year round and that as any surplus he may make is invested to permanent local advantage, his other things being equal, should receive preference.

At tlie match at Hobart fcetwoen South Africa and the South Africans were for 178. Tasmania have lost wicket for 28. The hi "hi v inflammable nature of henziri<3 had an illustration m a Blenheim shop a few days ago. Some rubbish was being burnt m a orate, and a hottle containing benzinc was accidentally knocked, off ihe mantelpiece on to the \ blaze followed instantaneously, which, fortunately, was extinguished before any serious damage lesulted. Anniversary D,ay is to he observed ns a general .holiday on Monday next, and there will be no publication of The Chronicle. Amongst the holiday fixtures will !bo racing at Wellington and Foxton, a pans bowling tournament at rifle shooting at Pnlmerston North, and motor boalfc excursions on Horowhenna. Lake, Levin, where TSiven s two launches will he available all day. Fruit growers in Collingwood are likelv to have a serious shortage of raspberries this season. The frequent rains have not had beneficial effect- that was anticipated, and in mauv cases the berries are withering and dropping off. It the second crop fails* of \rliKvh there is a grave apprehension, it will mean a. serious loss to growers. There are immense numbers of eels in Northern Wairoa waters, and it is mooted that when freezing works are established in the Northern Wairoa district an enterprising firm is prepared to create an eel industry, freeze them in suitable quantities for the Home market, and turn to payable account an asset which fairly teems in all Northern tributaries. The action of the Dairy Department in installing a- pasteurising planf at the Glen Oroua factory for the purpose of pasteurising the skim milk is now beginning to show good results. The number of diseased in latest consignment® show a marked decrease, and undoubtedly great credit is due to the Department for the live interest it is taking in the dairying industry.—Standard. Some lenorthy information was forwarded to tilie recent meeting of the Hawke's Bay Fruitgrowers' Association, with reaard to frost control, also a snecimen firepot similar to that used in California. Mr Boucher, Government Pomologist, wrote stating that he hoped to have the opportunity of discussing the matter with the Association, and also earrvins out systematic experiments for frost control at one of the Government experimental stations. A striking exneriment in education is bebig made by two ladies at a girls' school at Scarborough. They are endeavourinj? to fit their pupils for the responsibilities of motherhood bv training them systematically in the care of babies. The school contains a nursery, in eharrre of a trained nurse, and the pupils who have reached the age of seventeen vears go through a thorough scientific course of instruction in the intricai-n nrf of looking after "a real, live baby." S'uno difficulty has arisen in regard to the wages required for Onnlity Council work in the Omoana riding of (he Eltham Countv. The engineer stated at Saturday's meeting that a countv contrator at Omoana has to pav men 10s, lis and np to '12s a day. and the question was what was the Council going to pav. The regular rate of wnnrr.s! nnid h" the. Council is 9s. riding foremen getHnsr 9s fid. and the engineer thought it would be somewhat of an anomaly if he were to offe--- IDs a dav to induce men to rrc to Omonna while the foreman received fid a day less. The engineer wns instructed to do the best lie could and use his own discretion. A good manv noxious weeds are 1,-, h,, cof.ii In the Lcn'n dist-rist at the present time, and, as already sin ted. fi'c Levin Borough Council tvis 'Wi'ded to call the attention of th" Denartmenf: to the matter. "There is eot-hine 1 to be alarmed at." remarked a member of the Borougih Cnirceil vesferdnv. "but it- is necessnw to keen the Department up to the mark.'' The principal noxious wood nrnwiu'T within the Borough ('■> Clu'oinVl-e rennrfer was is rag«-nrt. "Ti'>cre nre several patches op it in t.bc district, npd it ennnof be allowed to remain," added our informant. A former resident of the Rangitilcei who Vf- bi.s creditors down badjv some time back is now reported to be buving up farms in the Wail*n'o mi (be .strength of the usual rich uncle. One deal in particular i.s Avorih reporting Csavs the Ran<ritikei Adro'-ate). He treated with a small farmer who wished to sell, saving his brother-in-law was a prospective buyer. After a week or two the brother-in-law bad not appeared and tiV farmer began to get anxious, so the "agent" guaranteed that he would' take up the farm instead. The terms were to be CSO down. CIOO in a month, nod the balance in six months. The commission worked out at £42 I.os. Fortunately for the farmer, a Southern visitor who had had some dealings with the modern "wizard op finance," as he used to be known in this district, heard of the affair and warned the settler in time. Tt is a remarkable thing that an undischarged bankrupt from whom creditors can get- no satisfactory statement, and whose answers to questions at a bankruptcy meeting the D.O.A. characterised as deliberate untruths, is able to operate as he is doing at the present "time in the Waikato.

A commercial traveller who has been in Masterton for a week or two, has met with an experience •that is unique even in the history of New Zealand railways (reports the Wairarapa Daily Times). He wanted some samples sent up from Wellington on Friday of last week, and sent a message accordingly. A reply was received in which it was stated that the goods had been sent. As they did not arrive, he enquired at the local railway station, and was informed that they had 110 information in regard to the matter. Ho then rang up his firm in Wellington, requesting 1 them to make inquiries at the railway station there. They did so, and, it is alleged, received the following reply (which is in the possession of a Mastertoji business man): —"The railway does not send goods by wifeless, and there is sometimes a delay at the Summit. They cannot blow hard enough to get the big train through by express time always." We were under the impression (comments the Times) that the Wairarapa had already suffered all the railway sins that humanity is heir to; but, apparently, we are also to endure the indignity of having our protests against an unsuitable service, made the subject of some railway hireling's laboured wit. To this the Chronicle would: _ add that the railway man's wit is of much more than average pungency, and representative of the protest of badgered, railway servants against the average commercial traveller's assumption that his particular sets of samples (heavy or otherwise) must he expedited in transit.

The Rev. D. C. Bates' weather 1 forecast states thalti present indications are for high westerly winds and showery and changeable weather. The barometer will probably rise slowly for a Short time in the South, but a further Ml is anticipated. The vines of the residence of Mr G. W. Stephenson, at Shannon, a<re looking very well just now, and. a good crop of grapes is assured, ino orchard has been somewhat troubled, with eodlin moth this season, and a good deal of spraying has had. to he undertaken. The orchard is a i large one and: contains fruit trees of many varieties. The annual picnic of the Methodist Sunday school will be held on Monday next. Mr and Mrs James Prouse have very kindly given permission for the function to he held on their grounds. The children will meet at the Century Hail-l at 10 o'clock on Monday morning. The officers aJid teachers heartily invite i parents and! friends to join them. Colonel Knight, of the Salvation Army, who is under transfer to > Melbourne, has covered 20,000 miles a I year in his New Zealand | train and boat on tours of inspection and, meetings. Speaking recently of the Army's work in the North Island, he expressed himself as being more than pleased with the progress made. The number of soldiers and adherents had increased, whilst their young people's work had steadily advanced. Bowling took place at Levin Green last night, .notwithstanding the morning's rain, and though the drawing was a trifle heavy the games proved enjoyable. The Bowen Stars match resulted in a victory for Pollock and Fenton, who defeated Palmer and Brown by 15 to 9, after a goodi game. Levin Club will be sending one or two rinks to Shannon on Monday to play friendly matches with the local bowlers. _ The municipal tepid hath at Christchurch (says an exchange) has of late greatly increased in popularity, and continues to do so. There is proper accommodation for sixty persons only, butt) sometimes as many as 200 are'using the bath at once. The ladies patronise the bath in great numbers, and it has been suggested that 'the time is ripe to establish a municipal bath for the use of females only. The Hon. John Bryce, once as well known to all New Zealanders as any Cabinett Minister of to-day. has wrobahlv been forgotten by most of the electors, and probably nine out of ten would say that he is no longer alive. It was mentioned, at sthe meeting of chess nlavers at Timnru last week (savs the Herald) that Mr Bryce is still very much alive, and though about 84 years of age, he still plays a strong game of chess.

Artist E. F. Hiscocks is mi allround! enthusiast. Above all, lie is an enthusiastic swimmer. Last summer, lio swam from itfie wharf at Karaka Ray to the wharf at Sea ton 11, and made nothing of it. And the other day at Napier lie fhallenged a man to.swim him from Nanier to Wellington. Unfortunately. Hiscocks insisted that the match should' be for £1000 a-side. and the local man's backers wouldn't stand it. Freelance. The people of Shannon are wondering when 'they will hear anything more of their new Post. Office. At Levin yesterday several farmers from th© northern town were talking; over the matter, and the opinion was expressed [that something should be speedily done. "It is some months since the contract was lot," remarked one resident, "arid T think we shall have to wake the Department up. Promises are so often made and tardily fulfilled." The hope was also expressed that the old Post Office would 'be converted into a reading room or institution. The Managaweka settler reports that on Sunday morning the youngest son of Mr W. A. Officer, who was on a visit to Mr A. McDonald's farm, near, Manui, was badly horned !by a young heifer. The lad was in the vicinity of the cowyard during milking time, and was left alone for a time, while another boy went in search of a bucket. During his absence the boy must have been attacked by the heifer, the beast's horn penetrating his oliest and lung. As soon as possible Dr Turnhull'.s services were requisitioned, and; the little sufferer is said to be doing well. Many of tihose_ who witnessed Sir Joseph Ward driving a motor car through Dee street, Tnve rear gill, last week, en route for Riverion and Otautau were probably unaware thai the Prime Minister was making his debut at the steering wheel, yet isuch was the case (says ithe News). The Prime Minister and his party* drove .to Riverton and Otautau and back to Invercargill without a hitch, with Sir Joseph at the helm all the way. The car used was specially imported for Sir Joseph, and was constructed specially to suit the hilly _ nature of the country in itihe vicinity of the Empire City. Farmers yesterday expressed Teat satisfaction at the downpour of rain that ocurred yesterday morning. A Shannon farmer was heard to remark, "The shower has been a. God-send to us. The countryside around Shannon was getting very dry. In fact, dairy farmers did not at all like the outlook. We shall soon have more feed again." A Levin farmer, among others, stated that, although lie had plenty of water on his land, the pasturage was looking very parched. "I only hope we shall have another downpour to-day. Jt will do the world of good." A deputation consisting of the Mayor of Levin (Mr B. R. Gardener) and other members of the Prospecting Association will wait' upon the Minister of Mines (the Hon. R. McKenzie) on Tuesday evening at 8 o'clock, at Wellington. The deputation will lie introduced by Mr W. H. Field, M.P., who has kindly arranged the meeting, which is for the purpose of making a request for the Government subsidy and the necessary arrangements for proclaiming the district a mining one. The com. mittee has every reason to believe that the matter will be brought to a successful issue, so as to allow it to slt-art the necessary work of prospecting in the district. "Now Zealand offers a multiplicity of attractions," said an officer of one of the Home steamers now in Auckland, apropos of the present epidemic of desertion. "The climate, sociaj life, and the New Zealand beer so deeply impress the -average sailor that he is extremely loth to leave. _ This is a veritable paradise to him, the surroundings being positively alluring to a mariner just off, a six weeks voyage. "Yes he added reflectively, "we do sometimes have trouble, but there is generally beer at the bottom of it. At Home our men go ashore, and after drinking the best portion of a gal- |. on ' T re '^ ,1 ) L n in an amicable mood. In New Zealand they probably consume the same amount, but instead of returning they proceed to paint your peaceful cities red, and Ithe result is disastrous to both themselves and their employers."

Have you any carting require ments? Give a trial to Nelson H. Heath if you have. Promptnisa and care are his two chief recommendations. He will shift your handbag or your whole household belongings, just as you may order. The Town Hall sample rooms are in has care, and he is always ready to attend on travellers. Ring him up—on Telephone 45.—4<Jrt.