The Chronicle LEVIN. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1916. Local and General

Horowhenua Chronicle, 8 February 1916, Page 2

The Chronicle LEVIN. TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1916. Local and General

« Thursday next, the lOtdi February, is the last dmy on whicn discount will be allowed on gas bills (lor January due" to Levin Borough Council. An advertisement appears 011 page -i of today's issue. i-'iasifflills Jlo|i'owlhcnua. County are in great heart this season, on account ol the pnenomenally goiod prices ruling lor homp 111 London. The (JJu'omolo heai's 011 excellent authority that practically every mill in the county intendis to continue wort right through the winter.

'l'iie police eell at .Yfai tun in which the man Jolin Harris hanged himself forms pairt of a new lock-up just, erected) iby the Puiblio Works Department (pays the "Wangauuti Qironicle.''). The facilities lor such a hiappeuuig is amply provided, and occasion was taken 7jy the coroner (Mr. J. JVlePonald), at the inquest, to draw attention to the matter. Inspector Wilson, in reply, said that the cells Wero recently built to a modern plan hy the Public "Works .Department, but iie had never been consulted. He would convey the opinion of the coroner to the authorities. I'll® bag London dailies get hold by some 'means of a good deau. oi reliable information from the enemies' otlicial sources. They told us thait a new class pi' Zepplins were being brlt, ior a raid on England.. This hias happened! and a good deal oi damage must hnve resulted. Their persistent reports that Germany is arming her Keil fleet with 17in. and-lSin guns and' when eompJetely equipped will come out and give battle is not a.t all unlikely, but when, is the question that most concerns the British fleet.—Opun<ike Times. * The farmer is often credited •with being the most complaining of mortals, but underneath this cloak he is at heart an optimist. Proof of this is shown by the iact 0110 seed •merchant in Oamaru on Friday (says the "Mail") received 20 immediate orders for turnip seed, these farmers, despite the appalling drought, having had paddocks in thorough preparation for te sowing of f&o crops, when rain was apparently the most remote possibility. A pleasing feature of the "send-off' in the Town Hall last evening was the hearty way in which the audience greeted the appearance of Sergeants Stuckey and Hillson, the former back from the campaign in German Southwest A'frica, and the latter from Gallipoli. There was no mistaking the feeling of the audience, end its doep regard for the men.

A pair of spectacles picked up in Levin liave been left at tlie Chronicle office. Tlie owner can have them on application. xq>' is now fairly certain that the Australian harvest will yield I(JD,()(W,LUU bushels for export., requiring IUOU ships Ui carry it away. At the IHuilJ.ii uuoi me bade o 1 wool donated by Messrs Peter Me Leod and Sons or Wantwood Station aiul Waihoino, to ue sold m aid oi lie Serbian lieliet Fundi, realized tlie splendid sum ,rf .lii-'OO ). —Wail < uiti Times. A notilicaition ol much importance tn those interested in the fruit industry appears on page u. It is an advertisement calling tlie annual meeting oi the Horowhenua Fruitgroweis' Association for Friday 11th inst. i'lie meeting will be held in Mr D. Smart's office, Queen (Street at 8 p.m. The fruit season is now u>t its height iu Central Qtago'(says iilie Bruce Herald; /and seme idea ol the magnitude cf this industry in Roxburgh district may be gauged from the tact that <18 toUS' were consigned .from lieoumont last Friday, and nearly 60 tons on Monday. A gentleman who called on us this week made the astounding statement that some small grazing runhoklers in Centra] Otago had acquired the free nold of their runs without anything being known about the matter untiltlie whole transaction was completed. Jf this statement- be true the matter i> worth looking into.—Alexandra Herald. The men who returned by the Willed ira. tell of the wonderful work being done to safeguard the <ftnal. It is trenohedi on both sides, big guns are in position, war boats sail up and clown and the men are there in thousands. The one hope was that the Turks would attack the canal. There was no doubt, as to what would happen to them it they did. Tempted by the high price at present ruling for empty bottles, particularly beer bottles, a gang of small boys explored the "rich unfa.th.omed depths" of the Avon, says the' Ohristchurch Star. Their" diving met with astonishing success, one of the lads telling a reporter last night that they had .obtained in a couple of days no" fewer than twenty-four dozen, with several promising reaches of the x -river yet untouched.

Up-to-rla.te American meth&ds have been responsible for the salving ol the ex-German turret steamer "Wialkure •which was sunk early in the war 111 Papeete Harbour by gunfire. Advice that the Walkure, now Republic, has been raised was received when the Mai ti i arrived from San Fimjieiseo 011 Sunday. The work, which has occupied about two months, was carried out by a IBan Francisco syndicate, and the vessel is to be taken to ttie American port :n c.rder to again enffrf the merchant service. On Tuesday evening, says the Ti-u----aru Herald, Mr Reg Davis, of Geraldine, saw some boys birdi-nesting In some trees nfvir a creefc yjnning o'i i'is father's property in Cox-st r eet , anrt thinking he heard l something fall qu tioned a small lad who started that one of their number was up 111 the tree but they had heard nothing fall. Mr Datis looked about and seeing nothing was about to leave when he thought ho would have a look at tne creek, and there lie found a lad whose clothing had caught in the barbed wire, andi whose head was under the water ot the stream. Mr Davis has not yet recovered fronr a recent burning accident. and is unaible to use one arm, but with the other he pulled the hoy out of the water oncl sent one. of - the youngsters for his father. The boy who was about nine years of age, was all but drowned, but under medical care is recovering. The following instance *ot canine fidelity, is related by a townsman (states the ' 'Waitara Mail"). Wishing to' "dispose" of a. dog, lie took it in a boat towards the month of the river, and having attached it to a heavy stone in the usual fashion, he stood up in the boat and threw the stone and dog overboard. He Had failed to notice, however, that the rope was round his leg, and the pull oi the weight caused him to over-balance, andl he followed the dog into the water, the rape at the sa.me time breaking. The dog reached tTTe sliOrtTfflid then the owner of the dog also reached the bank. The dog was then in a staite of great agitation with the mans bait in his mouth. Needless to say the dog received a reprieve. Tlie i'Yixtou "Herald" is a little .suspicious, as this quotation of a recent editorial will show: —The Palmorston Chamber of Commerce, at its last meeting, discussed the railway luaitteis to .dome before the K-oyal Commission in committee. r J]he Ohatn.l>or does not intend to disclose its policy of opposition to the linking up of the Main Trunk line between Marton and Levin, but it is working up a case and is endeavouring to puM in centres in the Hanvtkes .Bay and upper eastern Wellington d Ist riots to prove to the Commission what a grave injustice would be done if tlie State's interest were made paramount. Well we shall know in goodi time what the strength of the opposition is, and if the West Coast cannot successfully dispose of it before the Commission, then we shall be greatly surprised.

An important conference was held at Marton last w#ek, m connection •with the I,€viH-Crrtiitifor<l railway deviation scheme. The Slav or of Levin (Mr C. Blenkhorn) and the Town "Clerk (Mr B. R. Gardener) represented Levin Borough Council and Mr P. W. Goldsmith (County Clerk), Horowhenua County Council. Discussion took plaiv as to the best mea<ns ol : plaoing evidence before the Royal! Commission that has been set up by the Oovernor-iii-Council to report generally upon the deviation scheme ami also as to the acquisition of Forton wharf (by the Foxton Harbour Board) from the Nriw Zealand Rndliway Department. The conference sot up suß-oommittees to prepare evidence tor submission to •> general meeting to be held this mo -I '' The conference to thoroughly "representative of the districts along this coast. Sir Jainos "Wilson occupied th« chair, and Messrs W. H. Field and F. Newman, M.'s.P.. were present and took part in the discussions.

V There was a large numbef of people present at the Levin station tills morning to say faieivelJ to Llie meii from this district, leaving to join the thiritjetli reinforcements. i'cllowaig, are the lbtuuufe ol the men who joined the tiain liere: AV. *i. Anderson, 1. iJar■llii luuiew, \\. i>re«i e, .). iilythe, 11. it. Iftjttle, C. -U. rloldaway, J. Horn, ■Sun Morgan, n. McAaughton. l\ie Taranuki j»ens lepuits tii.u -••.-..jor Coleman left ins home on >. ... - I ueSuay and iias not ueen heard o»I cilice. His Irieiios axe anxiously enj qunutg iiis» wiioroauo'uU. JL»ater news lepoiL-s taat ma uody nas ueen lound ui.k».Uiig in lue sea. Also that enquiries are iijoing made lor Tho'ihas Jiiwvii, a pork lju Loiter, who left 11awera lor -Now Plymouth lately, a tut missing. He is oS ye;irs ol age, ol stouit buflu, with grey haiir and moustache, and lame in the right leg. Fears u-ro entertained for his safety. 'line dry season - is injuriously affecting agricuk'iir.ii enterprise in the \Y<tikouaiti district. Even the residents

ol' the borough of AYaikouaiti .ie handicapped through a shortage of witter, the dry weather rendering the reservoir supply inadequate for the needs of the borough. Similar shortage may be oibviated in the futuire, it is said, by raising the height of the reservoir dam, which at present is only eight feet high, tints increasing the storage capacity ol tilie reservoir. Outside the bwough the dry season is being felt by farmers. Less milk, owing tn meagre grass teed, is apparent in less cheese and butter. 'The wheat and oat crops are thin for tlie lack oi Moisture in the soil.—Star. The extravagant tastes of a small boy, 14 years of age, brought him • eiore -\lr J. AV. I'oynton, S."<l. at I'allnerston JS'ortli yesfceiday morning,' on a charge of being out of control. Tlie evidence showed thait tlie lad was s'omething of a kleptomaniac. On Saitutv <.!ay lie stole £30 from his father in Feilding. He hired a trap and cauie tc, Palmerston with another boy on a joy-ride. The police saw them, ana the boys whipped! up the horse, ana after a long pursuit by the police in a motor car, they were caught near Hiinnyfchorp'e. The boy was ordered tc be sent to the Weraroa Training Farm.—Times.