LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 602, 27 November 1909, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

As a result of the success which has attended the two spring shows held by the Horticultural Society, it is proposed to hold an autumn show next year. The Manawatu County Council notify that all rates remaining unpaid after Tuesday, December 21st, will be sued for without further notice.

Mr William Beach," the retired champion sculler of the world, visited Foxton on Wednesday and proceeded to Wanganui yesterday to inspect the sculling course there. He will return to Foxton 10-night. Mr E. Healey has just received a choice assortment of Pascall’s excellent English confectionery, also a consignment of beautiful perfumery suitable for Christmas presents. Inspection invited.*

Dolly Parnell, a chorus girl at Hicks’ Theatre, was married to Prince Nasir Ali Oban, brother of the Newab of Rampoore, at the Marylebone Registry Office. The bridgroom gave jewels valued at ,£20,000 to his bride. The Secretary of the Horticultural Society acknowledges with thanks the following donations : Mr John Robinson is, Mr A. Gibbs ios, Mr Geo. Coley is, Messrs Evans Bros, iced cake, and MrThos. Horton, Etd., i doz. rose trees.

The Mayor notifies by advertisement that at the request of the local tradespeople the statutory half-holiday next week will be held on Thursday instead of Wednesday, and that the shops will close at 12.30 p.m. instead of 1 p.m.

Mr Field, member for Otaki, has given notice to ask the Minister for frauds whether he will consider the question of acquiring several hundreds of acres of land near Otaki which the owners have expressed their willingness to sell and which is well suited for close settlement purposes. A meeting called by the Trades and labour Council at Christchurch for the purpose of forming a clerks union proved abortive. It was attended by seventeen clerks who negatived a motion that a union be formed. The clerks stated that they were capable of looking after their own interests, and that the majority of them were well paid and satisfied.

From the church notices it will be seen that the Rev. Geo. K. Aitken preaches in the Presbyterian Church to-morrow morning. As to-morrow is known as Temperance Sunday throughout the world the service will be in accordance with the world-wide movement. In the evening the pulpit will be occupied by the Rev. W. Ritchie, M.A.* The guessing competitions at the local Show resulted as follows : Weight of pig 93lbs, and the correct guesses were made by Messrs R. Fastou and -J. Smith ; Mr N. Martin guessed the correct weight of the lamb, viz,, Sslbs ; the bean guessing competition was won by Mr W. Owen. The naildriving competition for ladies was won by Miss Speirs out of 22 competitors. A three-inch nail was driven home in six hits.

When Mrs Nash (wife of Mr J. A. Nash, Mayor of Palmerston) came to Foxton this week to judge at the Show, she asked Mrs A. S. Easton to collect subscriptions in aid of the consumptive annexe of the district hospital, in which Mrs Nash evinces a great interest. Mrs Easton took the matter in hand with her wonted enthusiasm, and very few who visited the Show were allowed to escape without putting their names 7 down for a contribution.

The inquest at Wellington, concerning the death of Thomas Joseph McCarthy, of Masterton, who fell from a train at che Upper Hutt on Monday disclosed that in a pocket book found in deceased’s possession was the following statement: “I have had no money from loan companies for years, and I have paid twenty times over at 40 per cent for three or four months running. For a number of years I have done my best and served my life in misery. I have never had an idle day or any pleasure this 35 years. The lawyers have robbed me, and I never did a poor man out of a penny in my life.” As the analyist’s report was not received, the inquest was further adjourned.

Mr E. Newman’s special prize j of 10s 6d for the neatest garden 1 done by children was won by Master H. McDonald. The Rev. Mr Woodward, vicar of All Saints!, assisted by Mr Barnard, has conducted successful and well-attended religious services at the outlying flaxmills of late.

A Swiss wireless telegraph station is receiving messages from a radius of two thousand miles, including the mid-Atlantic and all parts of the Continent, and in various languages. King Edward has conferred the silver Polar medal on Sir Ernest Shackleton’s shore party, aud bronze medals on those remaining on the ship, including Captain England, during the Nimrod’s Antarctic expedition. The wholesale grocery houses of Wellington have decided to close for the Christmas holidays from Saturday (Christmas Day) to the following Tuesday; and at New Year they’will close on Saturday, Ist January, only. To-morrow is the day appointed in the local Methodist Church for the special thanksgiving offering, and what is known as '“Golden Sunday.” The offerings for th| are entirely devoted to thg_ sustentatioufund.* i Messrs Wilson and Hawkins turned out their first 20 bales of fibre yesterday at their Herston mill. The fibre is of excellent quality and some of it will grade fine. We wish the new firm every success and a prosperous run. An amendment of the Factory Act has been circulated. It provides very stringent regulations for laundries, obviously aimed at the Chinese. In laundries where two persons are engaged, whether employees or not, no work may be done between 7 p.m. and 7.45 a.m.

Mr C, Collius, of the Universal Supply Store, has one of his shop windows dressed in a somewhat novel fashion, representing a boat race. The scene depicts two scullers bending to the oars, mirrors serve to represent the water, and the banks are shown covered with shrubs, etc. It is attracting much attention.

To-morrow is Advent Sunday, and the services at All Saints’ Church will be in keeping with the season. The eight o’clock celebration of the Blessed Sacrament will be the first service of the new Ecclesiastical year. The services tor Advent are intended to prepare us for a devout and profitable celebration of Christmas and for Christ’s second coming.* The following prize - winners were omitted in our report of the Horticultural Show : Mrs T. Hunt, xst for fancy work ; Miss Reeve, xst for shower bouquet; Miss Ava Stiles, ist for hemstitched handkerchief (girls under nine); Miss Wanklyn, ist for carving; Mrs Dudson’s dog, ist prize ; Mr W. Nye ist and Mr A. Speirs 2nd, for gooseberries.

A number of exhibitors at the recent Horticultural Show have complained that they were unable to get back their exhibits after the Show as they had been taken away by persons unknown to the stewards. One exhibitor states that he does not intend to exhibit anything again unless arrangements are made to ensure each exhibitor receiving back bis own goods. A Glasgow doctor who recently made a holiday tour of New Zealand was so impressed with the beauties and prosperity of the country that be has since arranged to sell *his practice and settle in the Dominion, and not only that, but he has induced a land-owner friend to follow his example. The two gentlemen referred to are expected to arrive in New Zealand from Scotland at an early date.

Dr Cook’s appearance on his return from his North Pole excursion is described by Mr Harry Whitney. His physical condition is said to have discredited Commander Peary’s allegation that he had “never spent more than two nights away from land. Dr Cook was the dirtiest white man I ever saw,” said Mr Whitney, who, after the explorer bad rested, “worked on him tor nearly half a day with hot water and a brush.” He found Dr Cook “nothing but skin and bones,” and bad difficulty at first in distinguishing him from the Eskimos.

The Maoris who are appearing at the New York Hippodrome have been playing football and the results have not been pleasant to their opponents. While engaged in a game between a team of the Maoris and the employees of the Hippodrome, John M’Monigle, of Sheepshead Bay, was seriously injured. M’Mouigle was the Hippodrome quarter back. In the second half, he attempted flying tackle against Tuora, the biggest of the New Zealand Native players, and was thrown heavily. He was unconscious when picked up. Two other players were slightly hurt in the game. The Magisterial Court of Inquiry, which has heard the evidence as to the loss of the steam trawler Duco, gave its decision on Thursday, when Dr McArthur, S.M., delivered a very brief judgment in which he said his assessors ("Captain W. J. Gray and Mr J. M’Lean) fully concurred. The Court declared the Duco to have bten unsea worthy when she left for the Chathams on December 7 last. It considered that she was lost on the night of the' 7th, foundering at sea. It is understood that the company will ask for a re-hearing. The inquiry will in that case be before a Judge of the Supreme Court.

Railway excursion tickets in connection with the Feilding Races are advertised in this issue.

Standard V. and VI. won the attendance shield at the local school this week, with an average attendance of 93.9. Messrs Broad and Reeve, of Ofoua Bridge, have just installed a patent water scutcher in their Kiwi mill. It is claimed that this machine will do away with fly boys and that the fibre put through it will not require 11 the same paddocking as fibre treated the ordinary way, in fact all that it requires is drying, which in fine weather would take about four hours. Yesterday Mr Reeve showed us a hank which had been stripped, dried and scutched inside of four hours. The fibre was of a splendid colour, and compared more than favourably with that prepared under the old process.

A voice from the “ Strangers’ ” Gallery disturbed the calm of Parliament on Thursday night. The House was in Committee at the time on the State Guaranteed Advances Bill, when a visitor ejaculated : “ For what we get in Wanganui we are quite willing to pay.” There was at once a slight buzz of excitement. The Chairman of Committees (Mr Wilford) stared long aud solemnly at the group of strangers, and then whispered something to the Sergeant-at-Arras, who also gazed at the gallery. In the multitude of strangers, the erring one remained undetected.

A special meeting of the Borough. Council was held in the Council Chamber last night, for the purpose of considering the proposed purchase of the Gas Works, There were present; His Worship the Mayor (G. H. Stiles, Esq.), Crs Adams, Coley, Ross, Speirs and Stewart. Cr Speirs was voted to the chair, and the Mayor occupied a seat at the table. The reports from the auditors and Town Clerk on the Gas Proprietary books were read in committee and discussed at length, after which it was decided to adjourn the meeting until Monday evening next, at eight o’clock, and in the meantime to furnish each councillor with copies of the auditors’ and town clerk’s reports. The Bunnythorpe correspondent of the “Feilding Star” tells the following tale:—Sever?! farmers are growing maize fur green feed for the autumn, and one has had a rather unique experience in this departure. He had sown about half an acre of maize as an experiment, and in due time it came up very evenly, with the exception of a strip on one side of the patch,’ which seemed a failure, as no maize sprouted. As the time went on, however, he noticed that the barren patch was getting larger every day, and he thought a blight was taking his crop. One morning he was out early, and was surprised to see what he took to be a young rabbit busily scratching up the young plants. On closer examination he saw that it was a huge rat. He shot it. In two weeks the rodent had destroyed the crop on a piece of ground rooft. long by about 10ft. wide by tearing up the plants and eating the grain from the roots.