LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 442, 26 November 1908, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The handsome wedding cake supplied for the Kirkley-Collius marriage, was manufactured locally by Mr M. Perreau. The recent rain has been greatly appreciated by farmers throughout the district.

Mr Thorpe, the newly-appointed librarian, will enter upon his duties and take up his residence in the Council Chambers on Saturday next.

Mr Cave, brickmaker of Rougotea, notifies that Mr Patterson has consented to act as local agent, and samples of bricks may be inspected at the pharmacy. It is more than probable that the local railway station will be lit up with gas at an early date. The assis-tant-engineer conferred with the local gas manager on the subject this morning.

At the Christchurch Supreme Court, on Tuesday, a jury awarded jCiooo damages to plaintiff in the breach of promise case of Lome Morton v. George Walter Bassett, of Oxford, sheep-farmer. One Wairarapa publican, says the News, considers the electorate is a “cert” tor No-license three years hence. He is not going to take any chances, and will therefore not be a publican in that electorate at the next poll. The case against Lynn McKelvie for furiously driving a motor car through Shannon, and which was adjourned for further evidence, was again before the Palmerston Court recently. McKelvie was fined £3, costs ss.

The total voters throughout this electorate, who recorded their votes at the second ballot were about 50 short of the total number who voted at the first ballot. The Auckland Herald considers that “ generally speaking, the elections have improved the Freehold strength in the House, and the warning given by the Mataura farmers can hardly fail to have a restraining influence upon land legislation.”

The proprietors of the local Public Hall will pardon us for suggesting that it would be greatly to the comfort of the general public if coal gas were substituted for actylene. People who attend meetings, etc., are greatly discomforted by being compelled to inhale large quantities of smoky actylene fumes.

The first daily paper in the Wairarapa was published at Mastercon in November, 1878, thirty years ago. It was then called “ The Wairarapa Daily,” subsequently “ The Wairarapa Daily Times,” Prior to 1878 that journal was published as a tri-weekly. It is now considered to be the best provincial newspaper in the Southern Hemisphere. Owing to the inclement weather throughout this electorate pn Tuesday it was feared that a number of electors would fail to record their votes. But a change for the better took place in the afternoon. Mr Newman’s Foxton supporters had secured the services of four motor cars and Mr Stevens had three running, besides several vehicles. The Wellington Trades and Labour Council on Thursday removed its secretary, Mr W. H. Westbrooke, from office in consequence of an interview which appeared in the New Zealand Times in which Mr Westbrooke expressed the view that ” labour was committing political suicide in severing its alliance with the Liberal Party.”

The Czar’s Winter Palace is the largest building iu Europe. It was begun by Peter the Great and finished by Catherine 11., and is built iu red sandstone. It contains the finest State-rooms, iu addition to 1,500 other rooms. The Imperial nurseries are very large, one of them being large enough to hold a “ mountain ” down which the children toboggan. This room is upholstered in red, and here the Royal children are taught, and are sometimes joined in their lessons by cousins or friends. A crystalline body, which he calls trichotxin, is regarded by Dr Delos S. Parker as an active agent iu producing baldness. It is carried in the blood, being chiefly produced in the lungs, and it can be detected in the exhaled air. The fact that females—who breathe more fully—are less affected with baldness than males is cited as evidence supporting the theory. It is concluded that persons who are losing their hair should practice breathing, and the investigation seems to have shown further that ordinary turpentine is superior to the usual remedies as a local application.

Absence trom church appears to be one of the worst forms of Sabbath desecration in New Zealand. That, at least, is the opinion of the Rev J. Kennedy Elliott, of Wellington, who, in bringing forward a report on Sabbath observance, dressed bis speech attractively. “At Home,” said Mr Elliott, ‘‘ they talk about churchmen and dissenters. In New Zealand we have churchmen and absentee.” Whilst talking of suggested remedies, Mr Elliott said that it was proposed to distribute literature on the need of observing the Sabbath Day. ‘‘The Devil is still afraid of printer’s ink,” he remarked.

Everybody appears to be engaged in the rumour manufacturing business at election times. In the case of the Hutt local option poll stories are also being circulated that the determination of the electors is to be upset because certain alleged irregularities are supposed to have taken place in at least one of the booths. Time alone can bring confirmation or contraditlon to these stories. A rumour to the effect that an attempt is to be made to upset the Welilngton South Eocal Option Poll on a technical point has gained wide currency, The gist of the story is that the new electoral-boundaries have not been gazetted. Thi s is not so, however, the new boundaries were gazetted in a special supplement on 7th February 1907, and the official notice, of the taking of ths local option poll appeared in the Gazette of October 31st, 1908.

Considerable interest is being taken in the selection of two members to fill the vacancies caused in in the Cabinet by the failure of Mr McNab to secure-re-election and the appointment of Mr Hall-Jones to the position of High Commissioner in Tondon. Several names are mentioned, but it is probable that no definite announcement will be made until alter all the second ballots have taken place. It is believed, however, fn quarters likely to be fairly well informed that the new Minister for I,ands will be Mr Thomas MacKenzie, the member for Taferi, and that the Mr A. R. Guinness, the member for Grey, will the portfolio of Public Works and Railways. In the latter ease the question of the Speakership of the House would assume an interesting phase. With Mr Guinness no longer in nomination for that position, upon whom would the choice of the House fall ? That wqild depend on the selection made by*he Government, and the probabilities are, it is said, that Mr F. Baume, the member for Auckland Hast, -would be chosen.— AucklaM Herald,

An advertiser has vacancies for two or four gentlemen boarders.' Further particulars] in reference to the forthcoming horticultural show are advertised in this issue.

We regret to state that Mr M. Perreau is laid aside with an attack of pleurisy.

All the houses at the beach have been engaged up to the Christmas holidays and some as far forward as Faster.

A quiet pony, together with gig and harness, are advertised for sale. Suitable for lady to drive. A meeting of the Committee of the Foxton Racing Club will be held in the Club’s office at eight o’clock to-morrow (Friday) night. Business important. Messrs C. M. Ross and Co., of the Bon Marche, Palmerston, are now showing a magnificent range of new summer dress fabrics, in their centre window', which is attracting much favourable comment among the ladies of Palmerston. — Advt. When Ford Kitchener leaves In dia, towards the end of nextyear, it is his intention to make a tour practically round the world. He first hop<;s to visit Japan and the Far Fast, and will then travel to Canada, and the United States, finally visiting, if time permits, Australia and New Zealand. While in Japan he hopes to study the army of that country very carefully, and he may go to Manchuria, in order to see some of the great battlefields of the recent war.

A large number of people assembled in front of the Herald office to watch the posting up of the results as they came in on Tuesday night. Through the cooperation of the local postmaster and his staff, we were able to display the returns in record time, and the result of the Second Ballot, excepting three small returns for Mauawatu, was available by 7.40 p.m. We were also able to publish the results from other electorates as early as at any other centre. The returns were received almost without a murmur, and the crowd was extremely quiet and subdued. We have to again thank the Gas Company for providing the lighting, which enabled the public to read the returns at a distance.

An extraordinary feature of an assault and robbery case heard in the Wellington Supreme Court, on Saturday afternoon, was, according to Mr Justice Cooper, the conduct of two barmaids, the prisoner and the informant at a well-known city hotel. His Honour agreed that it was an argument, as Mr Myers had said, for No-License. Prisoner went into the hotel with a lot of money in his possession, and was kept there the whole of one day in drinking and buying champagne in which the barmaids shared—spending altogether something like both he and the informant got into a state of intoxication. It showed that our licensing laws were sometimes more honoured in the breach than the observance, and afforded a plea, at any rate, for some of the criticism which was adduced against the employment of barmaids in hotels. —Post.