LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 248, 6 April 1910, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

A dead sheep has been lying in a paddock on Rora street for over a week past. Is it no one's duty co see to these things? The annual general meeting of the Te Kuiti Football Club will be held to-morrow night at the "Chronicle" office, at 7.30 o'clock. All interested are requested to attend. On Saturday next Mr C. B. Lever will sell by auction at his mart a quantity of nearly new furniture as per particulars advertised in another column. Tenders are invited for the erection of new offices for the Waitomo County Council in Tanpiri street, Te Kuiti. Plans, etc., may be seen at the County office, Te Kuiti. A select dance will be held on Thursday evenings in the Public Hall, Te Kuiti, commencing on the 7th April. Hetet's band will be in attendance. Dancing at 8 p.m. During the month of February last 2689 persons arrived in the Dominion from overseas and 2834 departed. In February, 1909, the arrivals numbered 4141 and the departures 2857. The Under-Secretary for Crown Lands states that the Department has arranged to open for selection 17,000 acres of. the Hauraki Plains estate on the optional system on May 16th. We are informed that Mr V. S. Hattaway has sold out his 850-acre block of land at Pio Pio. Mr Gorringe, late of Taranaki, has purchased 700 acres, and Mr F. Willis, of Pio Pio, the remaining 150 acres. The British quarterly revenue amounted to £37,4009,09, Customs contributing £7,993,000, excise £7,162,000, and stamps £2,108,000. The year's property and income tax totalled £13,295,000. The gale on Wednesday last did an amount" of damage in and about Pirongia. Several sheds were unroofed, trees blown over, and in one case a chimney was razed and broke through the roof. The Native Land Court opened its sittings at Te Kuiti yesterday with a list of over 1000 cases. These cases will occupy the Court for fully three months. Mr A. G. Holland, the newiy-appointed Judge of the Native Land Court is presiding. The Maori Council for the Ngatimaniapoto district has fixed the registration fee for dogs for the current year at 2s 6d for each sheep, cattle or rabbit dog, and 3s for others. Mr R. T. Rhodis, of Otorohanga, has been appointed registrar. The Kawhia mail coach was unable to cross the Mangati stream on Wednesday last until late afternoon (writes our Pirongia correspondent). Something ought to be done to bridge this stream as it is only a short time ago since 6000 sheep were blocked there for twenty-four hours. The Commissioner of Crown Lands notifies that reserves in the townships of Mangaroa and Aria and in the villages of Matiere an J Tatu will be offered for lease by auction on Wednesday, April 13th, at the Lands and Survey office, New Plymouth. Plans may be seen at post offices ind railway stations or from the office direct. There is a very bad patch of Rora street beyond the. corner of King street. The road dips and forms a clay-bottomed lake in wet weather, and carts and buggies cut round it and take half the footpath in so doing. A few tons of pumice now would save much mud later. But this applies also to a good many footpaths where for lack of pumice the patch becomes a bog. The reported turnip crop failure in the Waikato through being attacked by a blight turns out to be wrong. The crop is far more promising this year than it was last, and the farmers are very hopeful of a most profitable winter. Caterpillars have been at work on the leaves of the root-) in some . places, and it is thought this gave rise to the idea that a blight was about. For Influenza take Woods' Great Peppermint Cure. Never fails. Is 6d, 2s 6d.* At the yearling horse sales in Sydney the other day the Malster—Winkfield's Lass colt brought 1750g5, and the Wallace—Mylae colt HOOgs. Mr E. J. Watt, of New Zealand, paid 80gs for the San Francisco —Dear colt and 200gs for a sister to Welcome Trist. Mr J. B. Reid paid 200gs for the Malster —Madura filly, 60ga for the Ayr Laddie —Partulacca colt, and 42£gs for the Louis Xlll.—Nellie B colt. On account of Mr Fogarty, of Pahiatua, the Knight Errant—Lady Forest gelding was sold for 45Ags, and a sister to Pure Silver for 25gs. On Sunday afternoon the Ongarue railway goods shed was broken into, and some bottled beer stolen. Constble Owen was informe 1 and he proceeded to lay in wait for the offenders. Shortly after dusk, when all was quiet, two men named John Thompson and Duncan Alex. Mcßae appeared on the scene and effected an entrance once more. They got no beer this time, however. The constable arrested one and noted the other, whom he knew by sight. They were both brought before the Te Kuiti Police Court on Monday and remanded until Friday. The Te Kuiti Young Men's Social Institute, which had a successful initial session last winter, is about to resume its operations. As the public are aware the Institute has for its object the Jifcerary improvement and social intercourse of the young men of the town,and is quite undenominational and of a non-religious character. In anticipating the work of a new session a special meeting is to be held in the Congregational schoolroom on Monday, the 11th inst, at 8 p.m. sharp, to make the necessary arrangements. All the gentlemen of Te Kuiti are invited to be present. Said Jones, who had a cough indeed, A bark like any setter; "Thi3 dog's life I'll no longer lead; To morrow, if no better." But on that day a friend for sure Heard of this melan (collie) ; He gave him Woods' Great Peppermint Cure, *"*-&ss curet) bjm of his folly.

It is currently reported that the Eltham Butter Box Company intends removing its manufacturing plant to one of its bush sites on the Main Trunk railway (says the Argus). If this is the case, Eltham is going to lose one of its most important industries, and will suffer a loss in population that will not easily be made up. The wages fund that is distributed in connection with the Butter Box Company i 3 an important factor in the business of Eltham. According to the Hon. R. M'Kenzie, Minister for Public Works, £BOO,OOO has already been spent on railways construction works in the Dominion this year. He declared at Auckland the other day that the cooperative system upon the railway works was working satisfactorily, and that the men were doing well. "Of course," he added, "there are always a -number of men on the works who have never done any navvying before in their lives, and in many cases an experienced man has to be put in with them to show them how to do their work." In a report presented to the Waikato Hospital, Dr Douglas stated that a serious epidemic of ptomaine occurred in the men's surgical ward on March 15th. Twenty-six patients were affected by it, some of them seriously, causing considerable anxiety. All were now well with the exception of two, who are convalescent. After investigation the source of trouble was traced to bread pudding, of which three were made on the day in question, but only one contained the ptomaine, showing that it must have been due to a particular piece of bread or butter being affected. No blame was attached to the suppliers of either the bread or the butter. The New Zealand Dairy Association recently completed its February accounts. The value of the butter made, by the Association during that month reached the handsome sum of £29,453 13s lid on account of which an advance sum of £19,547 lis 7d has been paid to milk suppliers. These advance payments will be supplemened by further substantial sums which will be paid out at the end of the season in the usual way. The Association's payments for milk supplied in February of last year was £15,372 17s 6d, thus showing an increase of £4174 14s Id. The suppliers at the one creamery district of Otaua received payments from the Association for February milk totalling almost £IOOO. It is announced in the last "Gazette" that the Department of Agricutlure wishes to obtain, with a view to general adoption in New Zealand, the best system of distinguishing between live stock of different owners (by earmarking or otherwise), and therefore proposes to appoint a committee of pastoralists to report upon the merits of any systems that are submitted for that purpose. Any person wishing to have a scheme considered by the committee should forward to the Secretary of Agriculuture on or before July 31«t next his name, telegraphic address, postal address and full details (with diagrams or specimens if possible) of the scheme, and the amount of single sum or royalty that would be required for the rights of the scheme if it were brought into operation by law. The Department does not undertake to give effect to the recommendation of the committee. As many people have wondered just what Lord Kitchener thought of the New Zealand Volunteer Force as material for building up an army, a statement made by his Excellency the Governor at Port Chalmers is interesting, says the 'Otago Daily Times."' "I had the privilege of spending a week in the company of Lord Kitchener," said Lord Plunket, "and he told me many things which I would like to tell you, but which I may not repeat. But one thing I will say. Lord Kitchener regarded the troops he saw in diffreent places in this country as being material for absolutely magnificent soldiers. In some respects he thought them almost perfectly adapted to the purpose in view. He said that if these men were trained as they ought to be trained, under his or some similar scheme, New Zealand would then have a force that might cope with a highly trained and disciplined force that might be sent against the Dominion from any part. of the world. Is not any selfsacrifice worth while if it justifies an opinion like that?"