LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 396, 11 June 1908, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mr J. A. Nash, Mayor of Palmerston, paid a brief business visit to Foxton yesterday. It is possible that the 20 hours’ journey from Wellington to Auckland, when the Main Trunk Ijne is completed might be reduced in point of time when the service is consolidated.

According to a message from Wairoa, a monster wild boar was shot at Waikopirau, 30 miles from Wairoa. It measured Bft from tip of the nose to the tip of the tail, and weighed over 3 cwt. , A Melbourne message states that there was a free fight at the conclusion of the Fitzroy - Kssendon toolball match. About 2000 larri kins assailed the Fssendon men, and the police had hard work to quell the disturbance. Mr R. D. D. McLean, of Marekahaho, Hawke’s Bay, has given the Department of Agriculture the pick of the best Shorthorn heifers ou his estate, ten altogether. Delivery has been given to the Secretary for Agriculture, and the stock will be distributed amongst the State Farms.

According to Mr Ronayne, the banks and cuttings on the Main Trunk Line are very stable, and he does not expect that much trouble will be caused by slips. In fact, the old section between Marton and Taihape, owing to the treacherous nature of the soil, is likely to give more trouble of this kind than any new portion of the line.

Yesterday was the second anniversary of the death of the late Right Hon. R. J. Seddon, which occurred oh June 10th, iqo6. At Wellington there was no formal celebration of the sorrowful occasion, but during the da}' the Premier, Lady Ward, members of the Ministry, and many personal friends of the deceased visited the grave and placed wreaths there. “ The cruel practice of docking horses is still largely in vogue in Canterbury,” stated Mr W. H. Zouch, in his monthly report to the committee of tile Christchurch Society for the Prevention of Cruelly to Animals (reports the Press). He expressed the hope this useless and unwarrantable disfigurement of horses would be one of the chief matters for consideration at the proposed conference of societies at Wellington. The American Society was doing its best to put a stop to it; an Anti-docking Bill was before the Legislature of that country. There was a good deal of excitement in Blackball on Tuesday, when the bailiff, acting under imstructions, submitted to auction goods seized under the distress warrant for the payment of the £75 fine inflicted on the Blackball strikers by the Arbitration Court. The miners refused to work, and observed the day as a holiday. At the time appointed for the sale there was a large attendance at the Hall to watch the proceedings. The articles submitted were three bicycles, three sewing machines, duchess chest and other furniture. The bailiff asked for bids, exhibiting the goods to the best advantage, but buyers were scarce. The whole, matter was treated as a huge joke, and eventually the lot were knocked down for 12s fid.

Small boys played a sad .prank upon a Wellington butcher recently. He was a jovial butcher, with all the freshness of complexion and lightness of heart usually found in the gentlemen of sanguinary occupation. Therefore he all the more strongly appealed to the merciless small boy as a target for the dart of a practical joke. The distributer of meat left his oart standing in the street while he was delivering some goods at a customer’s back door. A couple ot urchins had a clear run to a piece of mischief, and did not lose the chance. They tampered with the vehicle, and retired to a safe place to watch for the sequel. The unsuspecting butcher moved his equipage along the road till he was hailed by a woman, armed with a large plate. The driver descended, opened the door at the back of the cart to get the goods which the lady desired, and some meat, which was was decidely not dead, jumped out. It was a frisky fox-terrier, with a string of sausages in his mouth. The woman naturally got the greatest fright of her life. She was aghast at the spectacle ; her arms flew up, and the plate clattered to the stony ground, where it was shattered into many pieces. The small boys were well pleased with the incident, and so, says the Post, was the dog.

Messrs Millar and Georgi, the great outfitters, announce their winter sale elsewhere in this issue.

The appointment of Mr Reeves, as High Commissioner for New Zealand in London, was renewed to-day. The libel action Essex v. Hoben will be beard at the Palmerston Supreme Court to-day. The action Hamer v. the editor and proprietor of this journal will be taken to-morrow.

Incendiaries fired the Dominican Church of St. Paul’s, Berlin. The priests, learning of the outbreak, closed the service and walked down the aisles, whispering to 200 worshippers to leave the building quietly. A panic was averted, The roof and portion of the belfry was destroyed. At the small birds conference held at Ashburton, Mr Wilson, of Selwyn, stated that each full-grown bird was responsible for destroying over half a bushel of grain each year, either by pulling it up when it was springing through the ground, or devouring it when it was reaching maturity.

One of the 98 applicants for the position of steward of the Greytown Working Men’s Club, who had not previously held a similar position, admitted his inability to produce a testimonial, but as a saving qualification mentioned that he had a mother-in-law, who had lived with him ever since his marriage, and with whom he had got on alright. The trustees of the club decided not: to separate him from the old lady. In dealing with a case of truancy at Hastings, last week, Mr M'Carthy, S.M., stated that his experience had been that criminals who come before him owed their first downfall in life to truancy in their school days. Parents should see that children attend regularlj' to their school, for much of the good that education was doing was being lost through parents’ neglect. In concluding the third of three lengthy articles in the Auckland Star on ‘‘ Medical Fees,” in which he deals with many difficulties with which doctors have to contend, Dr R. M. Bakewell says: ‘‘ I saj' deliberately and seriously, that if some supreme power could offer me my youth and life over again on condition of following the medical profession, I would prefer immediate death. 1 have not brought up any of my sous to the profession.” The Under-Secretary for Public Works (Mr H. J. H. Blow), speaking with reference to the Hon. W. Hall-Jones’ statement that the Main Trunk Line would be completed by November, expressed the opinion that the rail connection would be completed even before that, if the weather were at all favourable. “So far,” said Mr Blow, “ they have been been experiencing really splendid weather for this time of the year. If that keeps up, they will be able to get through in good lime, you’ll see.”

“I only wish there was some way by which we could stop the people jeering when the corps is on parade,” said Captain Beere, of the Gisborne Rifles. ‘‘lt is very annoying, and I am sure the men do not like it. I often feel like telling off half-a-dozen men to go and give the jeerers a good thrashing.” (Laughter). “ The time might come,” said the captain at another interval, “when we shall be required, and the first to cry out would be those who had laughed aud jeered at us, and declined to support us. A meeting was held last night in the Methodist Church, for the purpose of discussing the formation of a young men’s class. There was a fair attendance. The Rev. Mr Mairs presided. Much enthusiasm was evinced on the subject, and it was unanimously decided to form a young men’s class, under the auspices of the Methodist Church. The Rev. Mr Mairs was elected President, and Mr C. Haydon secretary, pro tern. The election of a leader and other officers was held over till a subsequent meeting. The first meeting will be held on Sunday next, at 3 p.m., and all young men are cordially invited to be present.

As from to - day Mr Chas. Collins takes over Messrs J. A. Nash and Co.’s local Universal Supply Stores, The new proprietor has been connected with the firm since it took over the business from Mr L- W. Wilson. Under the latter’s supervision the business increased to very large proportions, and has become well known throughout Foxton and district. The new proprietor, Mr Chas. Collins, being a Foxton boy, needs no introduction from us. He has won his way in commercial life, and his genial and obliging manner should stand him in good stead in his new venture. Together with Mr Collins’ many friends, we wish him a successful business career.

A correspondent signing himself “ A man is a man for all that,” in a letter to the Nelson Mail, says : “ Last evening I, in company with two friends, went to hear Tom Mann on Socialism. One of my companions was, like myself, outside the ranks of labour; the other was my brother—inside the ranks of labour, and one of the horn} 7 - handed sons of labour. I and my friend were admitted to hear the words of wisdom from the prophet because we were able to produce the sum of is ; my brother was excluded because .he had not the necessary sum. Sir, he was not only excluded from the ball, but he was ejected from the alleyway, and even debarred from the crumbs that fell from the rich man’s table. If this is socialism, God help Socialism.”,

Mr J. A. Lamb, Government Auditor, audited the Borough Council and Police accounts yesterday, and left Foxton this morning.

“ Sir,” said one of the speakers at the Eltham Literary and Debating Society meeting recently, “ The Government have been nur-, sing a frozen snake in their bosom, which will tnrn to dust and ashes in their mouth,” and by the time the audience has fully realised the horror of the situation (records the local paper) the speaker had soared to other realms of oratory.

“So soon,” said Sir Robert Stout at Auckland University, “ as young men think of winning a game than of having ‘ played the game,’ they will begin to consider that any tactics are right if the game can be won. The game then becomes a demoralised and demoralising performance, and not far removed from a bull-fight or a prize-fight.”

A claim for ,£4OO has been made by Ji.hanna Cameron, of Foxton, against Olliver Austin, flaxrailler, of Foxton, the employer of her lute husband. In her statement of claim, she alleged that the deceased, whilst engaged in loading flax, sustained rupture of a valve of the heart, and expired immediately.

The nromoters ot the local volunteer corps have received a communication from Mr John Stevens, M.P., stating that he had communicated with the Minister of Defence on the subject of the acceptance of the corps, and that on receipt of the Minister’s reply, he would again communicate with the promoters.

An ex-volunteer who states that he has recently “ found religion ” has written to an officer of the Wellington City Rifles as follows : ‘ ‘ Several years ago, when I was in your company attending classfiring, etc., I took several packets of ammunition at different times. Please find enclosed sura, which will more than pay for same. My reason for doing this is that, having got right with God, I must get right with man.” “Old Journalist” writes to the N.Z. Times:—“l see that Sir Robert Stout is anxious for the university training of journalists. Sir Robert evidently does not know first-class journalists are born and cannot be created. I know of a number of university men who have been arrant failures at newspaper work, and only one or two — mostly leader writers—who have been of any use in the profession. The best working journalists are those who have been ‘ through the mill,’ and gone upward and onward from grade to grade. Sir Robert Stout seems to think that university education has a broadening and liberalising tendency. Such is not the case. The most proficient journalists are those whose minds have been matured by contact with all sorts and conditions of men, whose style has been fashioned by study, and whose thoughts have been leavened by a judicious course of reading and independent investigation.”

Woods’ Great Peppermint Cure for Coughs and Colds never fails, is 6d and 2s 6d

Tile comfort of elderly people depends largely on keeping the bowels in a healthy condition. Alter certain age, inascular weakness causes chronic constipation, a complaint which invariably causes serious illness. No medicine is so safe, pleasant or certain for old people’s relief as Chamberlain’s Tablets. Try them. They are just what you need. For sale by W, J. Gardner, grocer.— Advt. For Children’s Hacking Cough at night Woods’ Great Peppermint Cure, is 6d and 2s 6d.

For Bronchial Coughs take Woods’ Great Peppermint Cure, is 6d and 2s 6d. your storekeeper or chemist sells Rheumo at 2s 6d and 4s Gd. Our new season’s dress goods have now arrived, and samples of same will be posted on application to Watchorn, Stiles and Co. — Advt. WOLFE’S SCHNAPPS is absoutely invaluable to the traveller. A little man stepped in the shop, And said: “ Now, you be sure To give me what I ask for pop, That’s Wood’s Great Peppermint Cure. It’s no use to try and force On me any other class, For (hough Pm a little hoarse, I’m not a little ass ”