TELEGRAMS.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 28 May 1912, Page 3

TELEGRAMS.

("PBR PRBSS ABSOCIATIBtt.] SET FIRE TO THE lIOKSE. DARGAYI LLE, May 27. A put'iiliar case of cruelty to animal* was beiore the Police Court today. Defendant was administering a bottle of kerosene to a lior.se as a cure for gripes, when he .spilt the kerosene on the animal's head and set lire to it, the animal being badly injured. He was lined CI. with costs. L\ THE .10VI-;NT OK A GENERAL STRIKE. AI'CK LAN D. .May 27. Mr Paul Richardson, president of J the Auckland Tramways I'liion, and union delegate to the Federation of Labour Conference ill "Wellington, returned to Auckland yesterday morning. Mr Richardson declines to make any statement relative to his mission back" to Auckland, but members of the union with whom the president has been in touch since his return are more communicative. A reporter was informed on good authority tliis morning tltat Mr Richardson had returned for the purpose of meeting members of the union and ascertaining from them what their attitude would be in the event of a general strike being declared bv the fedi'ration. From various members ol the union it was further ascertained that the tramwaymen in Auckland are likely to declare emphatically a.gainst anything in the nature of a strike at the present time. STRIKERS' PLACES FILI/ED. A FCKLAXI). Mav 27. The Herald' s correspondent at Pacroa states Ihe J'aeroa Extraction Company has obtained men to fill the places ol those who went on strike a few days ago. and work is to be continued as Übiial. FARMERS IX CONFERENCE. GROWTH OF SOCIALISM. PALMERSTOX X., This J)a.v. I ho Ear mors I'nion Conference for the Wellington province opened this morning. In his presidential address, Mr G. Wilson congratulated

the province on a. prosperous year in all departments of fanning. Ho pre- < dieted tint next season would be equally prosperous. He warned farmers against the growth of Socialism. Proceeding, he said: There is one important point, I should like to Ijring before your notice, and that is that the populations of the towns exceed (as shown hv the last census) that of country districts. That is rather an alarming position •in a young country, who.se future is bound up in agriculture. We know that towns unfortunately are happy hunting grounds for all sorts of theorists, who wish to upset the present condition of things in order to carry out their theories which in the past have proved failures again aniT again. They art.- nearly all aimed at placing further taxation on somebody other than themselves. Mr Wilson referred to the success of the i Union's Mutual Assurance scheme and the Ear mors' Distributing Company. LOCAL GOVERNMENT. CHRISTCIIURCII, May >27. The Hon. G. W. Russell, Minister lor Internal Affairs, informed a reporter to-day that a full report of the proceedings ol the recent Local Government Conference had been taken by the Hansard staff, and with a view to giving tho public the fullest information a.s to the discussion that took place he bad given instructions for tho publication of the report. to Ik- expedited. Directly printed copies would bo issued throughout the country. He considered it very desirable that the whole information should he put before the people of the dominion. METHODIST UNION. CHRISTCHURCH, May 27, Iti June last year a committee, representing the Methodist Church and tho Primitive Methodist Church of New Zealand, met in "Wellington, and drew up a basis of union hotween the two Churches. The proposed union wan considered, and provisionally adopted bv the conference of each Church. Early this year the Methodist conference remitted the matter to the quarterly meeting of circuit officials throughout the dominion, and the results now to hand show a very strong holly of opinion in favour of the proposed union. An unanimous vote was given for union in a vorv large majority of circuits." Out of 1-111 persons present, only 11 voted in the negative, while 42 were neutral, leaving 13n8 votes in supnort of the proposal.