LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 24 April 1911, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

lhe_ Mayor will address a meeting ot citizens in the Century Hall tins evening on municipal affars. Those candidates who desire to do so vvill Jiavo the_ opportunity of addressing the meeting. On Saturday evening Mr W. H. Galliclian addressed a large gathering in the Square, and subjected the council to some criticism. He was well listened to until questions were invited, when some good-humoured banter was indulged

For p,ronic Cheet Complaints, 6d S 6d Pe PPeraint Cure, Is

Gieborne is going to build an up-to-date hospital, which with complete furnishing will cost £50.000.

Every piVblio school in Paris nas a restanrajit where meals are gratitously served to pupils too poor to pay for them.

The Mastorton Dairy Company is now using coke for the generation of steam at the local factory. It finds that, with wood at its present price, coke is the more economical fuel.

Mount Egmont has recently been uncovered with snow, except for a tiny spot in the crater. Mr J. Davidson, conversing with a Star reporter on the incident, snid this is tho first time in forty years that" If© has seen Egmont naked.

A Masterton rabbitor informed a representative of tilie Age that the rabbits havo ben most prolific in the district this season . Tt is no uncommon thing to find a doe with a litter often, and ho has found as many as twelve yonug rabbits in a, single burrow.

Tt is not generally known that any person purchasing a. railway ticket, and not using the return ticket, can ogiain a. refund of the amount paid, on application to the station master Prom whom the ticket was purchased. Printed forms for "tin's purpose are obtainable from any stationmaster, and the refund is made from head office.

A wood mine is something of a novelty, says tho Auckland, Star, but there is one situated in Alfriston, about three miles from Manurewa, and Papakura. The Papakura Sawmilling Company has the project in hand, and it works an area of about 1300 acres of swampland, which is covered with kauri remains. The timber, which is well-preserved, is cut into lengths in the ground and hauled to the company's mill. The work pavs well., as here is a big demand for kauri,, and this timber is of the best grade.

Messrs Smart and Thorne. state, in regard to tlhe controversy between tbo Thorough Council and themselves on tbo matte-r of fittings, .that tbo invitation to meet the council delegates and Mr Gfapper only oame " two minutes before the time fixed for the meeting.' , Mr Smart at that time had an appointment to keep, and Mr Thorno was unable to be present. Mr Smart, the firm state, asked Mr TTannnn whether it was not possible to postpone the matter until the now council came into office.

A' correspondent in the Otago Times, in correcting a statement about Francis Bacon, makes the following interesting remark : Now Ze«alandors should take a special interest in Francis TCacon. or Lord St. Alban, as ho was called, for he lost his life in experimenting, nearly 300 years ago, regarding what is now one of the greatest industries in New Zealand. Tt occurred to him from his .scientific, knowledge and researches that meat of nnv kind might he nre.serred hy being frozen, and while driving home one snowy day carry incr sonic dressed fowls for his own table, he 20+ out of his carriage and stuffed a fowl with snow in onW to test his theory, but while doing so he contracted a chill which caused his deatb. TTis idea was the germ of the frozen meat industry, so lawyers soniet'mcs do .some good. Despite the decision of the court upholding the validity of tho» new city by-law regulating the holding of meetings in Cathedral Spuare, Ohristchnreh. the RalvaLion Army held their meetings on Saturday and Sunday as usual. The. Socialists also held a meeting on Sunday night, and the names of two of the speakers Messrs F. ft. Cooke and 0. Smith, were taken by the police. Mr Cooler 1 infovmod n reporter that the Socialists were determined to insist on their riftht to free spech in the squnre, pnd the meetings would be continued as usual. They recognise:! that even if they consented fo hold their meetings on a. site allotted to them by the Council, that would only be the first step to their total exclusion frnni the "There are 100 of us ready to go to gaol if j nece.ssnry." declared Mr Cooke. "and "more to follow, if necessary." A tragic, illustration of the trials and sufferings frequently experienced by back-blocks pioneers is shown in iho case of Mr and Mrs Erni and

their family, residing in the Manga oImtn Valley ,_ thirty miles down tie "Wanganui river from Taumarunui C.says an exchange). Last week one of their five children was stricken

down with diphtheria, and died be

fore if. could be brought to town. The body, however. was convoyed in |b\v fhe father antl mother, after a

long and wearv boat journey, and interred in the Tanmnrnnui cemetery. TMurning to their home the parents found that two other of their cliildr<?n had heroine afllietecl with the disonse, and without waiting for a boat, horses were procured, and the

patients were brought in k> Raurimu. a distance of 28 miles, and then on to Tnuinnrunui hospital, where another of th<v-children died. Tt is a sad ra^o. Recently the cables told us briefly that Johnson, the world's champion pugilist, had been sent to gaol for twenty-one days for excessive speeding, in his motor ear. Additional information o.tWed to a Sydney paper stat-o.s that Johnson conducted his

own cose, and when his npnishment was recorded by the judge he appealed. TTe had been smiling very broadly during the hearing of the police-officer's evidence, and, uncautiously, bad pleaded guilty, moanwhile ostenfiously displaying a bundle of notes with which to pay the fine . he heard that he was to cro to gaol the smile came right off liis face and his month closed with a .snap. Johnson was an extremely mad man for a moment or two. Then he said to the Judge, "Can I appeal, sir?" "No," replied the judge who was doing all the smiling. "You conducted your own case, and you advised yourself badly. You cannot appeal after pleading guilty. More than that, you have violated all vour

promises to desist from speeding. Go to gaol." The coloured pugilist doparted from the court a sadder but

wiser man. Arrangements have been made by bis wife and other .friends to get him special accommodation at the country gaol. His food*-ivill be taken to him from an adjacent restaurant. Chickens, and watermelons will comprise the major part of Johnson's diet.

A correspondent of the Auckland Star rolates the strange doings of a mad cow near Te Kniti. The manager of a local butter factory was riding homo-wards on his horse when he observed a wild looking cow occupying the roadway, and apparently intent on mischief. The animal charged the horseman, and, the horse turning round, the cow got its horn in the stirrup leather, and "jammed the horse and rider against the fence, over which the rider jumped_and escaped, Shortly afterwards Mr Anderson, a half-caste, riding in the same direction, was'" savagely attacked by the cow, which dug its horns into the horse's rear, and made tho rider beat a quick retreat—over the fence, too. Then came along two Maori boy.s, riding bicycles. They looked at the beast and thought it was only a quiet old cow. Their impressions were rudely dispelled when the animal charged one of. the bicycles, lifting it high in the air, and throwing the rider to the ground. Then the cow attacked the lad, and was about to gore him, when it was seiz-

Ed by the other boy, who annoyed .it so much that it turned, and becoming entangled in the wrecked bicvele, itself came to the ground.. Both tads made off as fast as they could, one jumping over the thrice. > valuable fence, and the other hiding in the hush.

The meeting arranged for to-mor-row night in reference to tho proposed Golf Club will not be held. The elate to be arranged will he advertised in the Chronicle.

Tlio Government Gazette notifies the permanent appointment of Mr Tom Brown as depnty-Registrnr at Levin, for births, marriages, and deaths.

At the local S.M.. Oonrt to-day W. Skelly was convicted and discharged for having been drunk in Oxford street on April 22. A prohibition order was, on his own application, taken out against him.

"Whether it is easy to proenre iiqnor at Gore is a matter that is often debated, says the Mataura Ensign. A patient-looking individual, who had spent the previous evening under lock and key, was fined 5s for being drunk one morning this week. "When discharged from custody at 11 a.m. he was sober and had G1.3 odd in his possession. At 12.30 p.m. he was found lying hopelessly _ drunk in front of the courthouse with £9 6s 8d in his Dockets. For nm'ck work in the "lambing down" of a victim, a prohibition town is, it would seem, equal to a mining township In the old gold-mining days.

In conversation with a. Dally Times reporter, the Hon. Thomas Mackenzie (Minister of Agriculture) stated that his department was doing its utmost to find some means of exterminating the potato grub, which has caused so much havoc in the Oam_ aru district. A report has been submitted to the Minister setting out the treatment which has been tried in the district, and Messrs A. H. Cockayne and T. W. Kirk (of the biological section of the department) have been engaged on the matter for some time, hut, as far as latest, advices £0. have not yet discovered any effective remedy.

The annual official visit to tho f>ovin gasworks took place on Saturday bv the Mayor and councillors. Mr Shaw, the manager, took the party round the works and the first thing he showed them was an apparatus for testing the burning capacity of the various humors in use. Tt is a simple method by which the number of cubic feet consumed per hour is easily ascertained. Tn visiting the works it was seen that tho bench with four retorts wa.s now in use in stead of the throe bench retort. This is accounted for by the increased consumption, and will bo the moans of .saving overtime in the production of gas. The water motor working the engine was a.now feature of tho works. Tin's has been recently fitted, up. and will prove a considerable saving in the vear's work. Tho r:'" c engine is still in readiness in case of cmerwncv. The councillors all expressed themselves as liiablv pleased wit.li ol] tbov saw, and coinpliinonterl MrSbnwon the "•pnei'.nl pen I ness an' l orderliness of tbo undert-nkincr.

The gentle art of wasting time, (says tho Christchureh livening News) is reduced to a very fin© art; indeed by members of the Trades and Labour Conference now sitting in Clirislcliurch. The morning session yesterdav was largely given over to a discussion of the question Whether the Conference should.- send representatives to tho Labour Party Conference which was to meet in the evening. For some reason or. other the idea was hotly opposed by several members, and after a long debate a division was taken. T.he ordinary principle of "one delegate one voto" did not satisfy the objectors, who were hopelessly outnumbered, and they demanded'a voto "according to numerical strength." This meant that tho secretary had to ascertain the nunVber of unionists represented by each delegate, and arrive at a conclusion in that way. This took about a quartor of an hour to ascertain, and tvhe result arrived at was no different from that found by the ordinary method of voting. ft was suggested to the president that the result was a foregone conclusion, and that the intricate calculation was unnecessary, but ho appeared to consider that as a numerical vote had been called for, the process should be carried out to the bitter ond.

The Otago -Daily Times understands that a communication lias been reeived by Mie medical sui)erintendent of the Duncdin hospital from the District Health Officer at Dunedin with reference to the subject of prophylactic injections for the prevention of typhoid fever, with which it is suggested that the nurses who arc engaged in the typhoid fever ward at the Dunedin hospital should be treated, if they so desire it. Dr. Chamtaloup (District Health Officer) questioned in regard to this method of treatment, said it has been largely used at Home for some years pa.st, principally among troops, and lias now been perfected. In accordance with this means of preventing infection from typhoid, a preparation is mades from cultures of typhoid haccilli, and those desiring to be immune from typhoid fever receive two small injections at intervals, and the liability of contracting typhoid over the succeeding two yenrs is then very slight, and if it should be contracted it occurs in a very mild form. The Health Department at Dunedin intends preparing this material for purposes of injection, and it will also bo issued through the Department to the various hospitals in tho .Dominion.