King Country Chronicle Saturday, Nov. 28th 1914.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 725, 28 November 1914, Page 5

King Country Chronicle Saturday, Nov. 28th 1914.

The Rev. and Mrs Ralph, of Pio Pio, returned from Auckland on Thursday last, after a pleasant holiday in town to resume work in the backblocks. -

Mr and Mrs Snowdsn, English social reformers, will speak in Te Kuiti on Thursday, December 3rd. Mr Snowden ia the Socialist M.P. for Blackburn, England, and Mrs Snowden is recognised as the best lady speaker in England. We regret to state that the Rev. S Griffiths fs leaving Te Kuiti for Waipu. On Sunday next Mr Griffiths will close his ministry in this town. The Rev. and Mrs Griffiths leave for Auckland en route for Waipu on Tuesday, December Ist. Services in the Congregational Church, Te Kuiti, will be arranged for by the Congregational Union.

Nominations for the coming general elactions close ou November 30tb at noon, and the polls are to be taken on December lOtb, the hours of voting being from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.-

Mr A. Scholes, chairman of the Waitomo County Council, who is contesting the Waikato electorate in the Opposition interest, addressed the electors at Hamilton on Wednesday evening. The candidate received an excellent hearing from a large audience, and received a vote of tbanks and confidence by a big majority. Mr Scholes'" good humoured methods of criticism were greatly appreciated by the audience, and his quaint comparisons provoked frequent bursts of laughter and applause. . x

At the recent Sydney wool sales a considerable quantity was purchased for Japan. It has now been officially notified that the export cf wool for Japan is prohibited. At the Melbourne sales en Wednesday there was strong competition for all good sorts at 5° pel cent, above last week's prices. Inferior wools were neglected, and more difficult to sell.

A sale of work under the auspices of the Presbyerian Church Ladies' Guild will be "held at the Te Kuiti Municipal Hall on Wednesday next. The function will be opened at 2.30 p.m., and will be carried on thcough- --"" out the evening.

Arrangements in connection with the fourth annual show under the auspices of the To Kuiti Horticultural and Poultry Society are well in hand and Thursday, December 10th, should see a record attendance at the Alexandra Rink. The enterprise of the .;' Society in adding the poultry section ?C t() the gboV should ne well rewarded, and the exhibits promise to be up to a bigh standard.

Nearly three weeks ago it was stated in a cabled message from London that the Admiralty was commandeering an increasing number of insulated steamers for transport purnos°s"without the steamship owners objecting- The Prime Minister ins mediately cabled to the High Comnrnqioner in London on the subject, ar.d baa now a reply that the nabled statement is not correct. The Admiralty states that it folly aflMeSate 3 the importance of the frozen mß at trade. Such vessels are not now -Mauisitioned, and those engaged will hP released as soon as practicable. The Admiralty has taken altogether v 56 frozen meat shipi out of 230 em- • nioved. Those in use as transport wMI be released in January and Febrnarv The release of 12 others is uncertain, and nine will be retained ■aritil-.-the end pi the ,,■

Tba rain which fell on Thursday night would be widely welcomed by the farming community. In the King Country the effects of the dry spell have not bsen .so severe as i;i othfir localities, but the growth of ieed this season fcas been much less than usual, and thrse farmers who are depending on dairying will be glad to see further rains before the heat of summer ensues.

Visitors are congregating at Te Kuiti to attend the Maori meeting which is to be ' officially ' opened on Monday. Yesterday and to-day large numbers of natives arrived in the town and a good many others are still to arrive. One of the chief objects of the meeting is to decide upon the candidate to he supported for the Western Maori electorate, and the choice of ?he Maori Kingrffill receive the backing of tha Kingite section of the electors.

A farmer named R. A. Mullen, residing at Underwood, near Invercargill, stowed 151b of gelignite in a shed'adjacent to his homestead. His wife went to get wheat from the shed for her fowl 3, and while she was distributing it a terrific explosion occurred. The shed was completely shattered, little of it remaining, and many of the fowl J were killed. Pisces ef timber from the shed were picked up several chains away. Every window in the dwelling was, broken, and one end of the house was blown in. Mullen, who -was in one of the rooms, was thrown to the floor. Other members of the family received a severe shaking. By some miraculous means, Mrs Mullen, wuo'wfis within a f-w feet of the scene vf the "explosion, escaped injury, except for a faw minor bruises caused by her being thrown down. A bicycle which was in the shed is now a twisted mass of iron," and a bicycle pump was broken in tsvo and one portion is missing. The cause of the explosion of the gelignite is unknown.