Matiere.

King Country Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 308, 2 November 1910, Page 3

Matiere.

A fair spell of weather has greatly improved the condition of the main road, but the state of the by-roads is such as to prevent the cartage of cream. The Matiere sale was, as usual, marred by heavy rain; in fact, one of the wettest days we have had this winter. Notwithstanding these drawbacks there were a fair number of cattle entered, which reached the highest prices yet obtained in this district, buyers being present from as far south as Ohakune, while others came from the direction of Kawhia. Mr Hunt received £3 9s a head for a good coloured line of yearling to fifteen months steers, and other prices were proportionate. The factory is now taking a fair supply of cream and milk and cows are coming in very fast. The majority of the settlers are augmenting their heads which may be taken as a progressive sign in keeping with the district's general advance. I learn that it is possible that the Bank of New Zealand is likely to start a branch here, the inspector and Mr Foy, of Te Kuiti branch, having favourably reported on the same. A gig built by our local tradesman, Mr Gray, for Mr Phillips, is a very creditable piece of work, being built throughout of spotted gum and kauri and artistically finished. Messrs Kelly are now installed in their new butcher's shop and appear to be doing a satisfactory trade. I have, through a friend, been favoured with a copy of your Taumarunui contemporary, wherein my notes re the recent Court held at Matiere are hinted to be inaccurate, to put it mildly. Well, Mr Editor, it is not often that a plaintiff is found foolish enough to sue another on a poor claim and an equal anomaly is seldom found in which the defendant successfully shows himself to be several shillings the creditor of the person suing him. The litigant in this case, who wrote your contemporary, would, one thinks, have better left the matter to oblivion rather than court a cheap and undesirable notoriety. I will dismiss him with the cynical comment of a weltknown wit: "It was his misfortune that he lived in a valley." Lambing percentages, despite the number lost about lambing time, have been very fair, though the recent wet season has left its effects on the wool. Mr Huddlestone, of the Stock Department, has been round investigating the prevalence of contagious abortion in cattle and tells me that it is more common than desirable in many localities.

I Jeam that Mr C. Manning, of Nino Nino, has left for Hamilton to undergo a serious operation due to an internal growth of some years' standing. We wish him a safe and speedy recovery. Mr Edmundson, our sole Home Missionary at present, is organising concerts in the leading centres in aid of the finances of the work. The cricketing fraternity are very enthusiastic here, and no doubt the Daylight Saving Bill would find ardent and general support if it put the clock on sufficiently to steal few hours extra for: "chasing leather." The ladies have joined forces in the. establishment of a lawn tennis club and I believe are going to lay down some courts and start play shortly. Mr Scott, road overseer, has been inspecting the road through the township, and I hear it is possible that the road may be formed on its proper line and metalled. I have also been told that the fourteen-mile deviation may be gone on with shortly and a continuous layer of pumice placed on the road from Ongarue, all of which we devoutly hope is true; and, seeing the proximity of the general election, we may be pardoned if "These things are dreamt of in our philosophy." The death of an old identity at Taihape the other day reminded me of his exploit in winning the Karioi Cup in earlier days with a dead horse. A field of two only started and one horse dropped dead near the post, the other ran inside a flag and was ruled out, whereupon the owner "commandeered" a handy bullock team, hitched them on and pulled his dead equine over the line and then produced sufficient and valid argument to make the club pay over the stakes. This was told me as true, but I would not recommend your King Country contemporary to copy it and thereby gain the distrust of its fastidious readers. By the way, Mr Editor, do all persons who run a paper "fall from grace" in the matter of cribbing without acknowledgement?