LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 453, 25 March 1909, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The balf-tcm cheese which is to be seut to the Palmerston Dairy Show by the Ngaire Dairy Factory was manufactured yesterday. Coins valued at £ls were placed iu the mammoth cheese, and purchasers of slices will stand a chance of getting anything from a threepenny bit to half a sovereign.

A good joke was made by a child the other day at the expense of a Taranaki schoolmaster. He asked the children to bring along their little brothers and sisters. Two or three nearly five-year-olds came, one little loug-curly-haired boy being amongst them. Next day he refused to come to school except his mother cut off his curls and made the top of his head bright and shiny like the teacher’s!

Enormous catches of herrings were made recently in Nova Scotia under exceedingly unusual circumstances. A storm drove immense shoals of these fish upon the beach, and the receding tide left them piled three and four feet deep on the sands. The fishermen were not slow to take advantage of this unexpected dispensation, and secured hundreds of barrels of first-class herrings for the American market. Something similar occurred in New Brunswick a month ago ; but never before was such an immense quantity of fish secured. A farmer up Timaru way (writes Momus iu the Du icdin Star) has deliberately rejected the perfectest joy under the sun —a quiet woman. He broke his solemn promises to marry the girl because she was too quietHere is a phenomenal indifference to a treasure of treasures. There are men iu the world to-day whose timidity strikes them dumb in the presence of beloved termagants, who would give their ears to lavish their love on too quiet wives. In the case referred to the special jury only awarded damages. Silence is golden if you like. Be quiet, dear girls, and become rich.

The following communication has reached Mr E. Birks, engiueer-in-charge of the Tourist and Health Resorts Department, who is evidently looked upon as Mayor of Rotorua; Sir, —f, Hector McDonald, write yon these few lines to see if there is any possible chance of you getting me a light situation in your grand little city. Why I ask this of you is because I would like to form a Maori Brass Band. lam a member of the Kilties Band, which no doubt you heard while in Rotorua a few days ago. lam sick _of travelling round, and would like to settle down. I am going to leave the Kilties in a week and ahalf. I will be in Wellington then for a while, so if you could do anything for me it will be my constant aim to merit your good opinion. Yours etc., Hector McDonald.

At Christchurch, Mr Hart, president of the Trades and Tabour Council, interviewed, made a violent attack on the Government. He said the Premier’s offer to the Home Government of a first-class battleship, was little short of a delirious farce. In view of the retrenchment proposals Cabinet’s offer came like a bolt from the blue. A callow colony was offering to provide her portly mother' with ' a protector which she could not afford to pay for. Sir Joseph Ward, while intoxicated with jingoism, voted two millions to go out of the country, while reproductive works were languishing for want of support. The'Government’s gigantic piece of folly was opposed to every principle of representative Government and the masses would resent this impetuous piece of selfglorification on the part of the Premier. In its wild delirium the Cabinet displayed a suicidal tendency which vyould alienate the sympathy of the working classes throughout the Dominion.

The Stale School picnic photo groups are attracting much attention in Mr Yerex’s windows.

Mr B. R. Gardener, Mayor of Levin,, has signified his intention of giving a section to the Council as a site for a public library. At the Taranaki Jockey Club’s meeting yesterday, the cup was won by Mr T. Messeua’s Waitapu, Mahuta was second and Belario third.

The counter petition against merging a portion of the borough into the Manawatu Comity, contains about 120 signatures and a large number of additional names could have been obtained, but the number stated was considered sufficient.

We have received from Mr J. H. Yerex, photographer, a picture of the interior of the local Methoidist Church showing the recent harvest festival display. The picture should find a ready sale among members of the church.. The petition asking Mr W. Ross to allow himself to be nominated for the Mayoralty contains the signatures of 60 odd prominent citizens. We are reliably informed however, that Mr Ross will not be able to accede to the request by reason of his continued absence from Foxton. Mr S. H. Baker has received a letter from the Minister of Internal Affairs in reply to a communication re the petition asking that certain borough properties be merged into the Manawatu County, to the effect that the prayer of the petition may be granted against the wish of the Foxton borough. The Lord Mayor of Sydney has opened a Dreadnought fund, heading it himself with a donation of ,£IOOO. Mr Anthony Hordern has promised ,£io,ooo towards the first Dreadnought and a further ,£IO,OOO if a second is required. A leading city club gives £SOOO. Altogether over ,£55,000 has been subscribed or promised within 24 hours. The concert to be held on the 14th of next mouth in aid of the funds of the local school, promises to be very attractive. Owing to short notice, it will be impossible to expect much from the children, but they will take their share of the programme. Mr Betty is attending to the orchestral and glee work, the Rev. Mr Aitken, with the assistance of a number of young ladies, is arranging tableaux, and Mr Hornblow is looking after the juvenile portion of the bill-of-fare. The charge for admission will be 2s and is.

At last night’s meeting of the Borough Council, Cr Baker wanted to know what the Noxious Weeds Inspector was doing. He said there were a lot of lupins growing in the borough, and it did not appear to him as if there was any effort being made to keep them down. The Mayor said that the Inspector had too wide an area to look after. His district extended from Waikanae to Ashhurst. He considered the Department was to blame. No one man could look after a district this size. If the Council complained to the Department about the lupins, the Inspector would get “ hauled over the coals,” when it was really not his fault, but the fault of the Department in giving one man such a large district to work. Cr Coley said that the Inspector looked after his weeds fairly well. He was always hunting him (Cr Coley) up.

To illustrate his evidence in a charge against a man for illegally discharging a firearm, a constable at the Central Police Court in Sydney one day last week produced a businesslike revolver, and remarked, “ This is a fivechambered weapon, and one shot was fired.” “ Then don’t point it at me,” interjected Senior Sergeant Davis. The constable altered the direction of the weapon, whereupon there was an uneasy movement among the gentlemen at the barristers’table. ‘‘Put it in your pocket,” ordered the sergeant. “It is ” commenced the witness. “ Put it away,” reiterated the sergeant. “ But I was going to say——” “ Don’t point it at me,” cried tire presiding magistrate, as the cold barrel slowly crept round in his direction. “ Point it at the police if you like, or the Bar it you prefer it, or at the Press if you wish, or anywhere else, but don’t point it at me.” All this time the witness had been trying to get in a word. At last he succeeded. “ It’s not loaded,” he remarked.