DISTRICT PARS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 194, 27 September 1909, Page 2

DISTRICT PARS.

Miss Pine's new quarter for music, painting and infant school begins on October 4th. —Advt. The members of the school committee are reminded that the usual monthly meeting will be held in the 'Chronicle' office at 7.30 p.m. this evening. Already a phenomenal number of in-quiries-over 12,000—have been made for plans of the Te Akau block settlement, Raglan County, to be opened on October 11th. It is well that prospective applicants should know that the maximum areas that may be applied for are 660 acres of first class land, or 2000 acres of second class and. Should any applicant seek to acquire more than this amount in two or morn sections, hi * applications will be reduced by the Land Board, and the principle the Board has acted upon in similar cases up to the present is to reduce the areas by cutting out the sections at the bottom of the applicant's list. The Under-Secretary for Lands states that further purchases of land -for settlement in the King Country and at Te Akau are contemplated by the Government. The Maniapoto Rugby Union meeting which was to have been held on Friday night last, lapsed from the want of a quorum. The adjourned meeting will be held in Messrs Falwasser and Thorp's office this evening at 7.30 p.m., wl-.cn it is hoped that all members of the Committee will make a point of being present. To expedite the delivery of letters between Wellington and the North on the one side and Christchurch on the other, it is proposed to arrange an exchange of Christchurch'and Wellington officers for short periods at a time, in order that the intimate knowledge thus gained may enable the repsective staffs to sort for the offices of destination.

The New Zealand Dairy Association have just made payments on 21st inst. totalling £7106 4s Sd for butterfat supplied to their creameries during August, The payments for the same month last year totalled £4673 3d, thus there is an increase of £2 486 18s 2d.

Building at Te Kuiti is proceeding apace, several houses and business places being in course of erection. On the eastern side of the 'river the Church of England parsonage has been completed, a residence for Mr Hitchcock and a private hospital for Nurse Hattaway arc in course of erection, while on the western side of the river Mr E. H. Hardy's residence is about completed, as Is a house for Mr Dillicar. Messrs Lever Bros, have just commenced a two storey block of buildings on their section in King Street and it is stated that a block of shops Is to be erected on Mr Hooper's fection at the corner of King Street and Bora Street.

The sections to be thrown open for settlement on Rangitoto and Korakonui blocks on the Eastern side of the Main Trunk line from Otorohanga and Te Kuiti are advertised in this issue. The conditions attaching to the applications provide that retrenched Civil Seravnts, workmen from the Main Trunk Railway, and road works may be given preference, as well as landless married men. The sections are being opened under the optional tenure and applicants will be examined by the Land Board on Octobebr 25th. Tha ballot takes place on October 29th.

Good progress is being made with the laying down of the Te Kuiti bowling green, and Mr Carpenter is hopeful of being able to complete the contract next month. He is highly pleased with the site and with the character of the soil with which the green is being laid. It is anticipated that bowlers and croquet players will be able to use the green shortly after New Year. With the object of putting European laundries on a better footing to compete with Chinese laundries a petition is being sent to members of Parliament on behalf of the whites for amendment (f section 21 of the factories Act, in this direction. It is pointed out in the petition that European laundries employ almost exclusively female labour, subject to the provision of the Factories Act, preventing females working more than 45 hours in a week, more than 8i hours a day or between 6 p.m. and 7.45 a.m. It is desired that the provision in section 21 referring to females should apply to all adult male persons engaged in or about a laundry, as owner, partner, or employee at work usually performed by females in a laundry. A counter petition has been drafted by the Chinese, who, it is understood, claim that so long as employees' hours are properly regulated, employers should not be tied down, as it is prc-poscd, because it would be difficult then to carry on business owing to the irregular nature of the work.

The. story of the notorious Kelly Gang has been told many times and in various forms; but what claims to be the first story of the performance of that little band of criminals is being written by Dr Fitchett in "Life." The story will run into three chapters, and the first appears in the October number just to hand. Following on the heels o? the Van Dusen Detective stories anew series begins in the October number. Captain Hayes takes the place of the Professor as the central figure in the series, and the writer is an Australian, Mr Albert Dorrington, who is now in London. Each chapter is a complete graphic story, and No. 1 tells how Captain Hayes outwitted the villainy of some Chinese pearlthieves in the South Seas. This promises to be a notable collection of stories. On the fiction side of this number is strong. There are humorous, serious and thrilling narratives. Dr Fitchett, as usual, gives a brilliant review of the leading current events at Home and abroad, and the regular departments are full of good things for the busy man. We notice that the Picture-Puzzle Contest is just closing, but is still open to any of our readers Altogether the current issue is a fine sixpenn'orth, and we can confidently recommend "Life" to our readers.