THE KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. WEDNESDAY, JAN. 26, 1910 DISTRICT PARS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 228, 26 January 1910, Page 2

THE KING COUNTRY CHRONICLE. WEDNESDAY, JAN. 26, 1910 DISTRICT PARS.

Miss Pine's new quarter for music, painting, and infant school, begins on January 31st. —Advt.

We have received from Messrs Wbitcombe and Tombs a copy of "The Dominion Year Book and Almanac, 1910." This book should be of great benefit not only to the business man, but to every householder also. It contains a great variety of general information, which is made the more handy to use, by a good index. . The book contains matters educational, religious, and agricultural, post office, harbour board and other regulations, lists of batiks, post offices, useful legal, commercial and agricultural information, hints to housekeepers, etc., and a great amount of useful knowledge regarding the Dominion

In announcing that Mr Thomas Mackenzie is to receive full status as a salaried member of the Ministry this week, the "Otago Daily Times" says that Mr McKenzie has during the twelve months capably managed tho business of the Department under his care, and to put it mildly, has discharged the duties of his office certainly not less efficiently than have the majority of his colleagues. It would have been just to him had he been given full Cabinet status when Mr Hogg left the Ministry in June last.

A curious method of protecting horses against the bot fly is being employed by several residents near Goulbourn, New South Wales. The device is said to prove very effective. It consists in tying a strip of red ribbon or other similarly coloured material round the animals' necks, with the ends left dangling for several inches. The success of one person whose horse previously was driven mad by the attacks of the fly, but which is this season unscathed, has caused the example to be followed by his neighbours, and tha results, says the Daily Telegraph, are reported to be most successful.

As evidence of the hidden dangers of sunken rocks in the Sounds, a gentleman now resident in Westport relates that an obstruction in the fairway of George Sound, now charted as "Sinclair Rock," was discovered in an accidental manner. Some years ago our informant, says the Greymouth "Star," and Captain Sinclair were fishing in the sound from a boat. At one side of the boat the Westport man, with two lengths of fishing line, could not get bottom, while on the opposite side of the boat Captain Sinclair's line bottomed at eighteen feet. Careful plotting proved the presence of a previously unsuspected pinnacle rock.

At Taumarnnui Court on Tuesday last, Mr Loughnan, S.M., in delivering; judgment in the breach of award case, Shanahan v. Wackerow, talked very straight in respect to the prosecution. The mill hands at Wailnngi had requested to be paid monthly, instead of fortnightly as the Act required. The reason foV this desire on their part was that they might not lose a couple of working days every gjMrtnight in coming to bank the money feat Taumarunui. Tho arrangement .was amicably agreed upon between them and the mill manager, Mr WackroW,' by Mr Shanahan was ill-advised enough to put the law in motion "against them. Mr Page, as delegate fo* the men, gave clear and complete evidence oil the matter, after which the magistrate, with much warmth and vigor, characterised the prosecution as a monstrous one, and as instituted rather for the purpose of' harassing epmloyers ''and employed than for doing any good. He hoped that such a case vvoud never come before him again. He would impose a fine of one farthing and no costs.

Who among those who have read Mrs Stowe's famous story and who has not, have not sympathised with poor old Uncle Tom when subjected to the brutalities of that arch-fiend Simon Legree, wept at the pathetic deathbed scene of Little Eya, Jaughed at the almost similar proclivities of that imp of mischief Topsy, or have not been stirred to enthusiasm when George Harris and his faithful wife Eliza make their bold bid for freedom. The Taylor-Carrington Company Will present a very realistic dramatisation of this powerful story at the Town Hall to-morrow night, when Miss Ella Carrington will appear in her renowned impersonation of Topsy. j