LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 458, 20 May 1909, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A service will be held in All Saints’ Church this evening, at 7.30 o’clock. “ What is the best way to tell a bad egg ? “I don’t know, but I would suggest that if you have anything really important to tell a bad egg, why—break it gently !” A Whangarei message states that Constable Douglas, of Hikurangi, had to perform a very gruesome task. The body of a Maori man, who had been dead for some time, was found in a whare in the heart of the Puhipuhi bush. As the other Maoris refused to have anything to do with the body, it being tapu, the constable had to carry it on his saddle lor over four miles to the place where the inquest was to be held.

At the Police Court yesterday morning, before Messrs Alf. Fraser and P. W. Frankland, J’s.P., a local resideutwas charged with assault, and asked to be bound over to keep the peace. Mr Barnard appeared lor complainant. Accused pleaded guilty and was convicted with costs, on the understanding that he would not commit a further breach of the peace. In default of non-payment of costs, seven days.

So accustomed has our Southern Administration been to unprofitable railway projects and to the spectacle of costly lines that do not pay, that the instantaneous success of the Main Trunk is ascribed by the bewildered Mr Millar to its “novelty,” says the Auckland Herald. It does not occur to him that the Main Trunk pays because it was needed, and that if the Government confined itself to building much-needed lines in the North —at the same time opening the locked-up lands so clamoured for by settlers—it would find every line paying from the beginning. The Hon. Jas. Carroll, interviewed by a Poverty Bay Herald reporter in Gisborne, predicted a heavy, fighting, wrangling session. “Firebrands” that have been returned will, he thinks, have to live up to their reputation, whilst the Opposition declarations that they were going to make things merry carried, he supposed, a certain amount of purpose. The session will not see any special native legislation, although legislative adjustments to meet requirements and facilitate the working of the machinery of his department will probably be brought down.

A few weeks ago we made note of the fact that the Chinese residents of the Dominion did not allow their sick and aged to become a charge upon the State. The paragraph was written as the outcome of some remarks made at the Hospital Board meeting in April, when a clergyman applied for a Celestial to be admitted. At yesterday’s meeting the chairman reported that the' man had been admitted, and had died in the hospital, being about 70 years of age. His countrymen here paid the account for maintenance, and insisted on paying the full charge, refusing to avail themselves of the cash discount allowed for prompt payment. The European who looks with contempt upon the almond-eyed Celestial might paste this in his hat. Excheng.

The action of the Treasury in taking advantage of minor irregularities in the application for certain small loans to delay granting them, was severly condemned at the Kiwitea County Council meeting on Saturday, especially when such irregularities could have been corrected with practically no loss of time if the Department had promptly called attention to them. The loan for fencing the Kawhatau cliff is a case in point; all that was needed to render the proposal correct was the initialling of the signatures, the dates tor the payment of interest having been altered by the Department. A delay of many months took place on this account, and a life was lost through the work not having been carried out as intended.

“ Zamiel ” commenting in the Auckland Star on the accident to a young lady who. broke her arm during a set of Lancers at the Kawhia Hospital ball, says:— Lancers as perpetrated nowadays are simply an outrage on civilisation, and an insult to intelligence and self-respect of every man and woman who takes part in them. In the nursery or at a girl-and-boy tea party, romping of that sort may be tolerable. But quite apart from actual danger, the charging and plunging and scrummaging bully-ragging that go on unchecked and unabashed under the delusive title of dancing in our ballrooms to-day is simply a disgrace to the society that tolerates it and everybody who takes part in it. I trust that somebody during the coming season will move for the final abolition of Lancers by the strong arm of the law.” Dick and Jack Artist we have heard, Rode to fame on the trusty Red Bird ; Now Jack tends his plows and punches his cows, While Dick’s pace in a skiff’s not deferred.

Mr Walter Trafford, Pharmaceutical Chemist by Exam., High-street, West Maitland, N.S.W., writes:—“l have had over 20 years active and practical experience in leading English and Colonial Pharmacies, and am convinced that of all the numerous cough medicines, none has given greater satisfaction than Chamberlain’s'Cough Remedy, I invariably use it in my own family and have derived such benefit from it that when 1 am asked to recommend a good medicine I unhesitatingly recommend Chamberlain’s Cough Remedy,” For sale everywhere.— Advx. .1, sK.*

An advertiser requires washing by the day.

The local School Committee will meet this evening. Madam Melba will be 44 today.

Mid-winter sale at Gf. H. Stiles on Saturday, 22nd May. Save your money for this sale.—Advt. Redway’s clever vaudeville company will appear in the local Public Hall on Saturday evening next.

Mr Renz, the well known beetarmer, of Masterton, secured 28 tons of honey from his bees this season.

The Secretary of the Awahou Football Club desires to publicly acknowledge donations from Messrs R. H. Baillie and W, Dalzell.

We again remind members of the local Horticultural Society of the meeting to be held in the Secretary’s office this evening.

Mr C. Adiu advertises for information that will lead to the recovery of a lost light bay draught horse, star on forehead, which strayed irom Johnston Street about a fortnight ago. Rewaid. Mr P. H. Hickey, late of Blackball, has resigned his seat on the Management Committee of the Waihi Miners’ Union, and has withdrawn his no.mna ton for the position of president. Rather than disclose the fact that she wore a wig, a woman whose hair accidentally caught fire at a friend’s house in Marseilles, allowed her face and neck to be badly scorched before she tried to extinguish the flames.

A Palmerston correspondent informs the Dominion that an effort is being made to form a shipping company in Palmerston North, The object is to secure a steamer built on similar lines to the s.s. Himalangi, and to run between the West Coast, Wellington, and Foxton.

The tremendous rush of sheep and rabbits to the Mataura treezing works is making things very busy in the Falls township, and has used up all the surplus labour (says the Gore Standard). An unprecedented supply of rabbits is coming forward, the fine weather having made trapping and carting easy.

The name of the unfortunate man who met with an accident on board the scow Echo on Tuesday morning is Moore. We were informed by Captain Fletcher that Moore had not signed on as one of the crew prior to the mishap. Cap-' tain Fletcher accompanied Moore to the Palmerston Hospital on Tuesday afternoon, and did all in his power to make him comfortable. . The Dunedin magistrate declined to make an order in a debt case against a man who stated that he earned £2 2s per week. Out of this he paid 4s for rent. He had a family of seven children and a wife to provide for. The eldest child was nine years old, and the youngest nine months. The magistrate (reports the Evening Star) remarked that the man was a useful member of the State.

A wooden building has been erected at the back of Government House in Wellington containing a Chamber and suite of rooms for the legislative Council. Substantial alterations are being made in the room used last year by the Lower House. These, with other additions and alterations, suggest that Parliament will find itself located there for ten years or so to come.

The gross revenue from the public and private lighting venture of the Wellington Corporation for the twelve months ended March 31 was ,£44,321, being an increase ,£i554 oyer the previous year. The working expenses were £ 25,018, or £2262 more than last year, principally through extra rentals and rates. The net surplus on the year’s workings amounted 10^4272. It is the practice with some newspapers in the Dominion not to publish the names of inebriates brought before the Court for the first time, nor of those against whom prohibition orders are granted, unless an application be accompanied by unusual circumstances. Many good reasons may be adduced for adopting this course, but at Blenheim the other day Mr T. Scott-Smith, S.M., expressed the opinion that the interests of law and order would be served by the full publication in the press of the names of prohibited persons, and he further suggested that the public should be empowered to advertise the names. His Worship evidently thinks that if this plan were pursued there would be fewer prosecutions for breaches of prohibition orders. An astounding story was recently told at Bristol of a baby being attacked by a large whilst lying in bed, and seriously injured. The child, only a few months old, is the daughter of an artisan named Wiltshire, of Commercial road, Bedminster. She had been sleeping in the mother’s arms, and about 3 o’clock the latter, awakened by a terrified scream, was horrified to see in the dim light a rat biting at the child’s' face. The nose was found badly gnawed and the baby will be disfigured for life. The father immediately took the child to the hospital, where the injuries were dressed. In an adjoining room five other children were sleeping, but they had not been visited’ by the unwelcome rodent.