LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 253, 23 April 1910, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL NEWS.

Halley's comet was seen with the naked eye in Te Kuiti shortly after five o'clock yesterday morning. The monthly railway time-tables cost the Department fourpence. It will therefore not pay at threepence, the new charge. The annual general meeting of the Te Kuiti Chamber of Commerce will be held in Hattaway's Hall on Tuesday next, at 7.30 p.m., when a full meeting is specially requested. We would remind our readers that entries for the coming musical competitions, to be held in the Hamilton Town Hall during May next (16th to 20th), close at 9 p.m. on Monday next, 25th inst. The remains of Frederick Adlam, who was killed in the bush near Awakino, were interred in the Waitara cemetery on Monday. It was established that the unfortunate young man was kicked by his horse. Mr P. J. Quirk, a recent arrival in Te Kuiti, has this week gone to his late home at Mangamaire, in order to bring back with him his racing stock. It is Mr Quirk's intention to keep his stud at Te Kuiti. Readers and aspirants to municipal honours are reminded that nominations for the borough elections must be handed in to Mr Tammadge, the returning officer, by twelve (noon) on Wednesday next, the 27th inst. Dogs have been giving trouble with sheep recently in Te Kuiti. On Tuesday night Mr R. M. Somerville had six sheep worried by dogs. He now notifies that poison is laid and owners will do well to keep their dogs tied up. The Maoris of Orakau. North Auckland, have instituted a telephone exchange amongst themselves, extending over 40 miles. Fourteen telephone instruments of the Jatest pattern have been purchased and the total outlay, so far, runs to £250. Says a writer in the "Lyttelton Times": —The cost price of land is the farmer's chief trouble, and the cause of dear land is the speculator's. Too lazy to farm himself, he merely finds good land which the farmer will soon want, buys it, laughs as the fnrmer arrives, raises the price, grabs the gold, and repeats such robbery aa soon as possible. A new wing has been added to the Victoria Maori Girls' School at Parnell, at a cost of about £ISOO. Besides enhancing the appearance of the building, which stands on St. Stephen's Estate, the addition will accommodate 20 girls. The new wing is to be opened by the Anglican Bishop of Auckland on the 26th inst. The Commission which has been inspecting various proposed sites for the military training camps in the North Island has reduced its choice to one of two: Waiouru or Waimarino Plains. It is probable that Waiouru will be selected, as though high and cold in winter, it is healthy, has plenty of water and ample space. Miss Pine's hew quarter for Music, Paintiag.atrfi Infant School, on April 25|h. *

This is what a visitor to Te Kuiti says, and we leave it for readers to ponder over: The attendance at all the churches combined each Sunday is hardly more than at one church he attended in his own town, where the population is scarcely a third of that of Te Kuiti—now 1200. Can it be the state of the roads, or what is the cause? Recent additions to the telephone exchange include No. 60, Firman and Floyd, cordial factory; No. 61, Young and Co., land agents; No. 62, J. Erikson, saddler; No. 46, Mangaotaki bureau; No. 26, Waitomo County Council; and No. 12, W. S. King. Hotel Grand. The number of subscribers is now equal to those in Cambridge. The Te Kuiti Young Men's Social Institute commences the session for the winter with a social evening on Monday at 8 p.m., in the Congregational Church. A good musical programme has been arranged. Refreshments will be provided and games indulged in. A happy evening ought to be spent. The general public are invited to share in the enjoyment and the good things the friends are providing." A correspondent of a contemporary urges the planting of Californian Redwood to take the place oc our fastdisappearing native timber, which in less than 20 years will have completely disappeared. Trees of this variety when not crowded, reach ten feet in girth four feet from the ground and have good straight barrels of 30 to 40 feet. They can be planted in any waste piece of poor land and the cattle kept out. New greatness is being thrust on New Zealand's Governor-elect, Sir John Dickson-Poynder (says the Wellington, "Pose"), and Auckland, with characteristic vigour, is taking the lead. The Auckland Hockey Association has bravely taken him on trust, and has appointed him honorary patron of the organisation. This deed was done on Tuesday night, according to a telegram from the "Post's" correspondent, but it is probable that Sir John will not be aware of his new dignity till he reahchse these shores. On Tuesday next the Taylor Carrington Dramatic Company revisit Te Kuiti, and produce their latest dramatic success, "Mizpah," a romantic and sensational play. A Perth paper writing of the performance says the new drama was most enthusiastically received, applause and laughter being loud and frequent. Mr Charlie Taylor and Miss Carrington provide most of the fun. The serious interest is in capable hands, the scenic effects are most beautiful, and "Mizpah" certainly contains all the elements of a successful drama. Mr E. Tregear, Secretary for Labour, interviewed at Auckland, said the outlook for labour in this district seemed to be very good. • "I "have been of the opinion," said Mr Tregear, "that this coming winter would be a comparatively prosperous one, but the rise in wool and frozen meat.has not yet been felt by the distribution of the extra money, so I am afraid some people will have a struggle this winter. With the coming spring, however, I look forward to a time of almost phenomenal prosperity, both for employers and men." The affairs of the New Zealand Farmers' Union in the Auckland province appear to be brightening up very considerably. The provincial secretary (Mr A. Schmitt) has been energetically at work in the country districts, and as a result no less than fourteen new branches have been formed since Christmas, some of them reaching a membership roll of sixty. Throughout the province a healthy and live interest is being played in union affairs, and proposals for the formation of additional branches are expected to materialise very shortly. The conference in May is expected to be one of the largest and most interesting yet held by the Union. "If hospitals in their expenditure would all come down to the average of what the more economically adminis tered hospitals spend, there would be avast saving," remarked Dr Valintine, Inspector-General of Hospitals, at a conference at Gisborne. He pointed out that the hospitals in the Dominion cost £216,000 last year. There could be, he said, a great saving if hospitals only saw to it that they got the value.and quality of the pro- | visions they paid for, which in many ! instance* wa3 not done. "I am, however, very much against false economy, and, in my opinion, to make addition to your present buildings you would only be wasting money." There is an abundance of fi3h in the waters round Kawhia just now, and a Wellington resident who has latelv paid a visit to that quarter suggests that steps should be taken to obtain regular supplies of flounders and schnapper for the local market, which for some time has been rather bare of fish. He also states that settlement at Kawhia is progressing, despite "the fact that large areas of fertile land owned by the natives are still locked up. Several Wellington residents have taken up land- in the district, and two others are negotiating for the purchase of properties there. In the opinion of the gentleman who has just come back from Kawhia, the time is ripe for the establishment of a steamer service between Wellington and Kawhia. William Henry Collett, labourer, of "Six-mile Peg, near Te Kuiti, a bankrupt, states that his liabilities amount to £766 Is 6£d and assets £6 10s, leaving a deficiency of £69 lis 6Ui. There was litigation between the brothers between December 1908, and July, 1909, and bankrupt was successful on the third occasion they went to court—once for money due to him on account of board and lodging, then in defending an action brought by the brother for money due on an alleged account, and again in obtaining an order on a judgment summons. The amount due to him was £27 4s, of which he had received no part. Then his wife had suffered from a continuous illness, and this was a source of additional expense. He was employed on road work at 8s a day. His failure he ascribed to the loss of money owing by his brother, who became bankrupt on being pressed to law costs in connection therewith, and to his wife's illness. The first meeting of creditors takes place at Te Kuiti on the 25th inat.