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Manawatu Herald, 19 January 1904, Page 2

A meeting is convened to-night of members of the Foxton Rifle Club at Mr Laing’s Hotel at 8 o’clock.

Considerable additions are made to Messrs Abraham & Williams’ usual Palmerston stock sale.

Charles Reside was fined £lO and costs at Masterton for using indecent language to a Maori girl in a public place; In the back country of Highfield, Canterbury there was a heavy thunderstorm, during which Messrs Northcote Bros, lost 900 ewes just off the shears. In another column Mr Geo. Coley tenders his thanks for assistance rendered yesterday afternoon when his flaxmill was in danger of being destroyed. A young man advertises in a southern newspaper for a good, kind, Christian lady who will undertake to pay his debts which were contracted while he was an unbeliever.

It is reported that Mr V. C. Ransom has purchased a farm at Levin and will go there to reside in March, If so Rongotea will loose one of its most public-spirited residents. In this issue appears a new advertisement from Messrs Prouse Bros., the well-known sawmillers, who announce that having erected a sawmill at the Shannon Ferry they are now prepared to supply any quantity of timber and of the best quality.

The Stratford Post states that Mr W. Tisch has suffered from the ravages of so-called sportsmen. One of his cows on Tuesday last was brought in most terribly cut up by shot. She had been shot by some brute and was severely wounded in the flank.

On Friday and Saturday nights those old favourites, Mr and Mrs Frank May will again appear before a Foxton audience at the Public Hall. Besides these well-known entertainers, other performers have been specially engaged, and first-class entertainments are promised.

The Union Coy’s new steamer Manuka established a steaming record for a passenger boat in the run from Lyttelton to Wellington on Friday night, the journey being covered in ten hours thirty minutes. The previous best voyage was ten hours forty-three minutes by the Rotomahana.

Mr Geo. Coley’s “ Star ” flaxmill had a narrow escape from total destruction yesterday afternoon. A load of fibre had just been brought from the paddocks to undergo the scutching process and was tipped alongside the shed. A few minutes after it had been deposited the whole of the fibre was found to be ablaze, and the mill was stopped, when all hands, together with the employes from the adjoining mills successfully prevented the fire from spreading to the mill- The combined efforts of those present alone saved the mill from destruction, and to mark his appreciation of their strenuous exertions Mr Geo, Coley has generously donated to the Palmerston _ North Hospital £5. This sum which is subsidised by the Government to the extent of £6 will be a very acceptable donation, the Hospital Board thus benefitting to the amount of £ll,

An Irish Fusilier was once asked what struck him most at the battle of Colenso. “Faith,” he said, “it was the shower of bullets that missed me." Another who lost arm ’ a * e . g averred that it was easy to K ee P c °°li but not so easy to keep collecied.

We understand that the bike riders of Foxton are endeavouring to get up another five-mile contest to take place on the Park track the first Wednesday evening after the races. The stakes will be made up by sweepstakes by the riders, augmented no doubt by assistance from the public. These contests will become very popular, and provide an interesting evening’s amusement.

Two young men, charged at North Loudon recently with causing grievous bodily harm to a stable-man, were described as belonging to a gang known as the " Amalgamated Sons of Rest.” Any member of the gang who worked before the age of sixty had to pay a penalty. The prisoners were playing football in the street when the incident occurred.

We hear a Lodge of Freemasons, to be called the Te Awahon Lodge, will be opened in Foxton on Thursday, the 18th February, The Grand Master and Grand Lodge officers will be present, and perform the ceremony of Consecration and installation. We understand the Lodge to be a very strong one and We wish the brethren of the “ Mystic Tie ” every success.

In a speech at Hokitika on Monday night, the Premier made reference to the threatened war between Russia and Japan. He said it would have a direct bearing on the colony, as the introduction of Russia as a naval power would be dangerous to the colonies. He considered that the best solution of the difficulty would be to invoke The Hague Tribunal to act as arbitrator.

Thursday’s Post says:—*A man who has been missing since the beginning of December, has just been restored to his family. He disappeared just after getting a citation to serve as a juryman. On Tuesday, while some pig-shooters were in the wild country between Makara and Terawhiti, the barking of their dogs led them to explore a patch of scrub, where they found the missing man, half dressed and sleeping on a sack. His means of subsistence during a month and a-half is a mystery. He was unable to give an intelligible account of himself.

The fartie of Pelorus Jack, the fish that follows steamers through Pelorus Sound, has spread to the uttermost corners of the earth. He is specially protected by an Order-in-Council published in the “New Zealand Gazette,” and has been written about and much photographed. He is generally spoken of as an albino whale. A correspondent of the “ Post,” however explains that he belongs to the Delphinidae or dolphin family, and is one of the species Beluga leucas. The common name of the Beluga is whitefish. It is described as from 14ft to ißft in length, bluish gray m colour when young, but almost white when old. North of 56deg north latitude it is abundant, and is caught_ by the Eskimo, who greatly relish its fiesh. In the Southern seas it seems to be rare. In its fondness for passing ships it resembles the porpoise to which it is related.

At Wednesday’s meeting held in Palmerston N. (says an exchange), in connection with the proposal to deal with the over-flow waters of the Manawatu and Oroua rivers, Mr J. R. Stansell accused the papers of the town, its residents, and the member for the district, of being decidedly hostile to the undertaking. When spoken to on the matter, said Mr Stansell, residents of the the town had indicated pretty plainly they did not want to have anything to do with the scheme, In fact, they inferred land was so high and valuable here that nothing could be done to improve its value. In consequence of this alleged apathy and want of interest generally, Mr Stansell moved that all future meetings of the Committee be held at Shannon, and the Board be recommended to meet there instead of at Palmerston. The motion was carried by a small majority.

There has been established in a Christchurch surburb what is said to be the most extensive poultry farm in the colony. According to an account of the establishment in the Canterbury Times it -is modelled on the best American plans. Some idea of the buildings may be gained from the fact that 70 railway truck-loads of timber were absorbed in their construction, 200 rolls of wire-netting, and over a ton of barbed wire. The buildings are principally covered with stout brown paper, tarred on the premises by a special machine. The laying house is 450 ft long and 15ft in width, of 45pens, each to accommodate 25 birds. From both sides of the laying house are reaming pens, covering some acres. These are laid down in ryegrass, clover, and oats, which latter will shortly be cut. The incubators have a capacity of 1900 eggs, and the brooder house wiil hold 2500 chickens. The farm will have an output capacity of 50,000 birds a year. Mr W. Mcßae Peacock is the progressive proprietor. An Oamaru telegram saysAn affray that created a sensation occurred at Moerakion Monday afternoon, when a fisherman named Peter Clifford (a married man) shot another fisherman named Albert Nelson (unmarried), wounding him in the thighs. There had been bad feeling between the parties for some time, and on Monday afternoon Nelson had to pass Clifford’s cottage on the way up the hill. As he approached he was warned by Clifford’s son that his father intended to shoot him, but he took no notice. As he passed Clifford came out with a doublebarrelled gun, and after one barrel missed fire, fired with the other the shot lodging in Nelson’s thigh, from which forty-six pellets were subsequently removed. Clifford was about to follow up his partial success when Charles Johnston induced him to desist. The injured man was removed to Hampton and brought into the Oamaru Hospital. He is progressing satisfactorily. Clifford was arrested, and is now in the Oamaru Gaol,

By advertisement in another it will be seen that Mr O. Coffßß just received a punt load of the “ firewood, which he is selling at vei reasonable charges.

Westport visitors to Greymouth during the holidays were (says the WeSioOft Times) struck with the prevalence of drunkenness especially among young men. Ihe surreptitious supply of liquor to prohibited persons appears to be a regular industry amongst a shameless branch of the population.

Mr John Holmes, who toured the world as Trade Commissioner in 189798 and as specialist in the Hemp Industry, has written to the Premier suggesting a special exhibit of flax dressing methods at the St Louis Exposition with a view of getting the machinery and methods of treatment improved and also introducing flax to the world at the exposition. The Otaki-Manaku Co-operative Dairy Company has just paid away for the December supply a sum _ within a fraction of £zooo. This is a considerable advance on the November payments, and shows that the Company’s operations have assumed very much larger proportions than ever before. The Mail states that several of the supplies are drawing cheques close on £BO per month from the company for their butter fat. Yesterday morning as some small boys were fishing off the wharf one of their number, Master Percy Overend, accidentally fell into the river, and being unable to swim was drifting helplessly away from the wharf, when Master Freddie Jenks who was in a canoe with some more lads, pluckily jumped in and supported him till assistance arrived. The action of Master Jenks is to be highly commended, and we hope notice of it will be taken from the proper quarter.