LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 494, 14 October 1909, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

A terrific hurricane in Florida and Cuba caused great devastation. Many small buildings at Havana were raised and many fatalities occurred. The damage is ,£300,000. Ninety-five vessels sunk off (lie coast. The town of Key West is practically wrecked, the damage being ,£400,000. Maitial law has been proclaimed as the mob was attempting to raid the food supplies. A man named Cyril Hill, a farm labourer living near Sandon, attempted suicide on Tuesday night by cutting his throat. He was taken into the Palmerston Hospital yesterday. His condition is serious. Hill is a stranger to Sandon, having only arrived there a couple of days ago from Opunake, where he had been working at a sawmill. He is said to have friends in Mastertou.

The total area of Crown laud in New Zealand still available for sawmilliug purposes, but not taken up is, 4,042,280 acres. Although this large amount of forest land is available for sawmilling purposes, a great part of it at the present time in close enough proximity to existing means of transport to render the utilisation of the timber a profitable undertaking for the sawmiller. In many cases, too, the proportion of milling timber of good quality and in sufficient quantity is not large enough to induce milling operations on a payable basis. For these and other reasons the Timber Commission represent that it is not in the interests of the that a sawmiller should be invited to purchase unmarketable timber when tendering at Crown sales, and every effort should be made to conserve the same market until a market is available for it. A beautiful assortment ot electroplate goods, brooches, engagement rings, etc,, at Parkes’ jewellery astablishment, Main St.*

A replace advertisement from Mr K. Healey will appear in our next issue. The United Irish Teague has cabled to Mr Redmond, Reader of the Irish Nationalists, that America will respond generously to an appeal for funds. The wives of the men employed in a factory at Triflis, Russia, have presented a petition to the manager begging that their husbands may be paid every month instead of every fortnight, so that they will indulge in only a single bout.

A Pahiatua sheep larraer says that although it is not generally known in New Zealand, at Home it is always considered that there is more mortality among lambs when docked about the time of the full moon.

Rady Plunket proposes to leave New Zealand on February nth, by the New Zealand Shipping Company’s Ruahiue, which will shortly make her maiden voyage from Rnndon. Rord Plunket will remain in the Dominion till May or June. How are the beautiful little New Zealand birds to be protected against the owls imported for the purpose of destroying feathered small fry ? It will be a pity if the fascinating fan-tail, the dainty tom-tit, and other charming denizens of the bush are doomed to extinction. The tom-tits are already becoming rare, Mr Massey proposes to ask the Minister of Education whether he is aware that by the operation of the Education Act Amendment of 1908, but contrary to the intention of Parliament, certain teachers have had their salaries reduced; and whether, if legislation is required, he will this session introduce an amending Bill to put the matter right ? The Napier Telegraph says : As showing the upward movement in wool the Tangoio Station clip, consisting of, roughly, about 20,000 sheep, has been sold privately for is a pound all round, and 8d per lb for locks and pieces. Another well-known station owner with a larger clip has refused ixd.

A leading Auckland laud agent told a Herald reporter that his firm could do with 250 houses of. four or five rooms. Targe numbers of married people in the city are residing in hotels and boarding houses and in sub-let houses.

Ideut. Shackleton lectured before the Danish Geographical Society, and received the Society’s gold medal. Queen Alexandra was present. The King of Denmark conferred upon lieutenant Shackleton the Commandership of the Dannevrog Order. Mr T. Tanner moved at the last meeting of the Hawke’s Bay Education Board, in accordance with notice given, that a circular be sent to all head teachers calling their attention to the facilities afforded in the ordinary course of instruction for the teaching of temperance principles.—After discussion the motion was carried.

Archibald Muir appeared before Mr A. D. Thomson, S. M., in Palmerston Court on Monday, charged with theft from the National Mortgage and Agency Co., of cheques to the value of about The accused pleaded not guilty, and was committed to the Supreme Court for trial- Bail was allowed, self in a bond of ,£2OO and two sureties of each. The Public Service Superannuation Act came into force on January Ist, 1908. During that year 6551 members of the service who were eligible on January Ist joined the scheme, their annual contributions amounting to ,£75,924Others who became eligible during the year and joined numbered 995, their annual contributions being Pensions for 18s rod per annum were granted during the year. The total assets of the fund on December 31 last were ;£7i.998.

The annual accounts of the Dominion- show that the Governmenl's expenditure in connection with the visit of the American fleet to Auckland (not including paid as a subsidy to the Auckland Reception Committee for general entertainments, etc.,) amounted to ,£5760, some of the items being as follows : Banquet to the Admiral and officers of the fleet, ; military review, President Roosevelt, ,£122; decorations, flags, and illuminations,

M. Briand, the French Premier, speaking at Perigueux, announced a bill for the pensioning of female workers and peasant women. Associations of capital and labour raised new problems. Trade unions had no more right than individuals to impose their will to the detriment of the community. He did not believe that the conflict of capital and labour was bound to be eternal. He looked for some form of profit-sharing to provide a solution of the problem. He debated the desirability of maintaining or abolishing the scrutin d’arrondissement, which was valuable while the republic was establishing itself, but which latterly had developed narrowing and excessively local influences. The Republican party must free itself from parochial interests. The Ministry would not remain in office if it were beset by petty intrigues. Messrs Ross and Co., of the Bon Marche, Palmerston, have an announcement of interest to buyers of drapery, in this issue, in connection with their importations for the spring and summer seasons. A particularly extensive show of dress goods Is now being made, to which attention is invited.A dvt.

Mr Braik, chief inspector of the Wanganui Education Board, is inspecting the local school to-day. The Chinese Consul is receiving invitations to deliver lectures in different parts of the Dominion. It is possible that he will visit Foxton at an early date.

Railway excursions are advertised elsewhere in this issue in connection with the Wellington Races at Treutham on the 20th and 23rd iusts. The friends of Mrs T. Hunt who has been seriously ill at her mother’s (Mrs Hamer’s) residence will be pleased to learn that there is a decided improvement in her condition.

Eabour Day passed off very quietly in Foxton yesterday. All the business premises closed for the day, and the town presented a quiet appearance, A number of sports attended the Otaki races held at Eevin.

Forty-seven Chinese students, selected from 500 scholars in all the provinces, are starting for the United States to study at various colleges. Their expenses are provided from the unexpended balance of the Boxer indemnity. By an explosion in the Otira tunnel works on Tuesday, W. Dick was killed and three others— W. Rushton, J. S. Jones, and E. Gambirazzi—were more or less seriously injured. Dick leaves a widow and child, for whom the greatest sympathy is fell. The total quantity of wheat and flour afloat for the United Kingdom is 1,585,000 quarters, for the Continent, 1,885,000 quarters. Atlantic shipment, 271,000; Pacific shipments, 100,000 quarters. The total shipments to Europe for the week were 1,680,000 quarters ; Argentine shipments, nil. The Rev. A, G. Robinson, recto r of St John’s, Coventry, made some very caustic remarks on ladies’ hats at an Oddfellows’ flower show in the town, “ Despite the all-round excellence of this show,” he said, “ I see many more brilliant displays than this. I have only to climb into the pulpit to see sights which beat this into a cocked hat,” A friend on a visit to Yorkshire caught a chill, and was confined to bed. His hostess thought to give her sick visitor a treat during his confinement, so she baked a Yorkshire pudding and took it upstairs. “ Just try that,” she said : “ it’ll shift yer cowd.” Then she left him. Going up some time latter she inquired: “Well, ’ave ya etten it up ? ” “ Etten it ? gasped her visitor. "No; I’m wearing it on my chest! ”

The fine collection of pictures in the Auckland Municipal Art Gallery has just been added to by the two notable paintings purchased in London this year under the terms of the Mackelvie bequest. One of the new pictures, “ Free Traders,” is by Mr Andrew Gow, R.A., and the other is “In the River Bed. Upper Wye,” from the brush of Mr H. W. B. Davies, R.A. Both were exhibited at the Royal Academy this year.

The Dunedin correspondent of the Lyttelton Times telegraphs that a second selection of cadets tor the Union Steam Ship Company’s training ship Dartford, numbering thirteen, has been made. Some of them joined the ship at Wellington and the rest will go aboard at Lyttelton. Of the thirteen, two are from Hobart, one from South Australia and one from Sydney, the rest* being New Zealanders. The total number of cadets will now be twenty-five.

Persons passing the local Chinese store have been attracted lately by weird noises, which, from the opposite side ot the street, sounded like a mixture of cat calls, bagpipes and the clanging of gongs. Upon investigation we ascertained that Mr Chung Wah is not going to allow certain local phonograph dealers to ■ have a monopoly ot this sound in Main Street, so he has procured a large instrument which churns out records of Chinese opera ad lib.

“ What is the difference between wages and salary?” asked Mr Justice Sim during argument in the Arbitration Court at Auckland, as to whether tug and dredgemasters were Harbour Board officials or workmen. The assistant Crown Prosecutor replied that it was a moot point, upon which little light had been shed by judicial definitions. The Judge caused a smile to flit across the sternly-set faces of argumentative counsel by remarking that “ wages ” at any rate appeared to carry a wide definition, for “ the wages of sin is death.”

The most thrilling act at Wirth’s circus at Kilmore (reports the Sydney Daily Telegraph) was one that had not a place on the programme. It was an animal act, the participants being a lion and a kangaroo, and proved fatal to the Australian. Something had evidently put the lion in a’bad temper. He growled savagely at the end of his performance in the animal cage, but his keeper, who was as cool and determined as he, sought to turn the angry beast into its own cage, opening from that in which the performance was given. The lion, evading the keeper by a swift movement, made a rush at the kangaroo. The kangaroo got in some powerful kicks on the body of his assailant, but it could not throw him off, and soon gave up the struggle. It died shortly after, as the lion had buried its fangs in its flesh. Several persons made a hurried exit from the circus tent while the unequal combat was in progress, and it was a relief to everybody when the animal cage was removed from the arena.

A. R. Stace, of Aokautere, oneof the oldest settlers in the Fitzherbert district, died suddenly yesterday. It appears that Mr Stace had risen as usual about six o’clock that morning, and proceeded to light the fire and prepare breakfast. He had gone outside evidently to get some water, and while there had expired suddenly. Death was due to heart failure. He was 63 years of age, and had resided on the banks of the Manawatu river for between thirty and forty years, being one of the bestknown settlers in the district. The late Mr Stace was a brother to Mr Walter Stace of Te Matai. He leaves a widow and three children (Mrs Anderson, of Stratford, Miss Ktbel Stace, and Mr Ernest Stace).