LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 826, 14 April 1910, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

All accounts owing to the Herald up to March, 31st, have now been rendered, and an early settlement of same would be much appreciated by the proprietor, T. Osborne, a young man whose parents are residing at Clarke Hill, Victoria, died suddenly at Methven on Tuesday. He was apparently in good health on Monday. At Masterton, on Saturday, Kate Neilsen, a boardinghousekeeper, was lined for selling liquor—a glass of whisky and a bottle of beer—in a No-License area.

Mr Mouusey, auctioneer, reports a very successful clearing sale on behalf of Mr L. W. Wilson, yesterday. Everything, except the property and buggy was quitted. Mr Mounsey hopes to dispose of the property by private sale today. The case against H. S. Muuro, hotelkeeper, of Foxtou, for an alleged case of permitting drunkenness on the premises, was concluded at Palmerston on Monday. After hearing the evidence of defendant, Mrs Muuro, Messrs A. Robinson, D. Macdonald, and Dr. O’Brien for the defence, the Magistrate, Mr A. D. Thomson, dismissed the case.

The Clandeboye Estate, near Temuka, South Canterbury, which was acquired recently by the Government for closer settlement, has been already inspected by a number of intending applicants from both islands. The land is intended for dairying, and for this purpose it is admirably adapted.

Mr Podmore has made several sets of light grappling irons which he has kindly donated to the public and to be used in cases of drowning. The grapples will be hung on the boat shed and are easy of access should they be required. Mr Podmore’s thoughtful and generous act is highly commendable.

Dairy farmers in different parts of this district are growing maize for summer feed for stock, and what is left over is converted into ensilage for winter feed. A magnificent crop was grown at Mr Feild’s farm, Ohakea, the stalks averaging Bft. The crop covered an area of about three acres. The cows relish this form of diet very much, and it is said to greatly increase the milk supply. The body of a man was found floating In Lyttelton harbour Tuesday morning. It had evidently been in the water many weeks, and it is surmised that the body was that of a man drowned while bathing. There has been no recent accident of the kind at Lyttelton, but it is suggested that the body may be that of the second of two lads named Lee, drowned on the New Brighton beach on Feburary 6,

A quiet wedding was celebrated at Norsewood last Tuesday week, when Mr Carl August Johansen, of Foxton, was united to Eliza Nelson. The ceremony was performed in the Eutheran Church by Pastor Legard. After the ceremony, the relatives and friends of the bride and bridegroom were entertained at the residence of the bride's parents. Mr Johansen intends to take up his residence at Norsewood at an early date, whither the best wishes of his Foxton friends will follow him.

The Rev. Mr Mason, the Auckland water-finder, finds that radium as well as water possesses a mysterious power over him. He states that, having been able to borrow a small particle of radium from a doctor in the Wairarapa, he was able to prove that this substance exerted a peculiar effect on him. When the radium was buried in a garden in a position unknown to him, he was able, by walking over the surface of the ground, to discover its whereabouts by experiencing the same sensation of attraction exerted over him as in the case ot water flowing.

Mr Edward Newman, M.P., who resided at Kati Kati, in the Bay of Plenty, when he first came out to New Zealand thirty years ago, has been revisiting the district and gave his impressions to a New Zealand Herald reporter. “One can travel for miles between Tauranga and Rotorua,” he said, “ without seeing either cattle or sheep, and it is not worthless country. Most of it is light laud, but it grows clover well, and if cleaned and laid down with suitable grasses would carry stock, especially store, cattle. If after reserving sufficient land for the native owners to farm, this land were surveyed into suitable areas, and placed on the market on a lease with the right to purchase tenure, in a short time this vast district would become'a hive of industry. But no tenure without a right of purchase will secure the settlement and improvement of much of the second-class country,”

Id the Bay of Islands a chance of making money out of buried wealth is talked of, and the story is a rather interesting one. In the old days (says the Auckland Star), when the Bay of Islands was the chief coaling centre for all the big ocean vessels visiting New Zealand, all kinds of vessels would berth at Opua, It was a common thing for ships to carry freight from overseas to the Thames, and then, having disposed of their cargo, proceed to Opua to take in a fresh cargo of Kawakawa coal. Before leaving the Thames, they would take in ballast, and the most used was mining tailings. Thousands of tons of Thames tailings were therefore carried to Opua, and dumped out at a certain spot under the lee shore. Since those days a better method of treating ore has been brought into operation, and a good deal of what was copsidered waste ir the old times }ias been re-treated at the Thames, and worked aj 4 profit. The question now a: ises as to whether it would be worth recovering the huge pile of matera 1 at Opua, and again treat, g u under modern methods iu search of gold.

Mr Parkes, he locai wardmaker and jeweller is ope' ‘ Li u; 1 a splendid assortment ol gold, silver and electro-plate good:' suitable for presentations. Wd'ch the window displays.*

At Sydney, on Saturday, Tommy Burns defeated Bill Lang in a boxing contest for the heavyweight championship of Australasia in the twentieth round, on points. Fifteen thousand people witnessed the fight. Queen Alexander sent a letter to General Booth on the occasion of his birthday (he was Sr on April roth). Her Majesty wished the general every blessing, and hoped he would long be preserved to continue his good and valuable work in God’s service.

Speaking to a Southland Times reporter, Mr Hanan, M.P., stated that the Laud Bill of last session would not be brought before Parliament again, and he doubted very much if there would be another Land Bill in the coming session.

The dredge to be used In connection with the drainage construction work for the Moutoa Drainage Board arrived at ( its destination yesterday. The Preestmau grab was taken out to-day and it is expected that a commencement will be made with the work to-morrow.

In sentencing a female prisoner in Wellington for breaking and entering and theft, the Chief Justice remarked that in all his experience - this was the first woman who had pleaded guilty and been set before him for sentence. Fortunately for the good name of New Zealand there were less women criminals than in most other countries.

A bogus heir—a Sydney fitter named Arthur Marshall, who represented himself in Dunedin as the heir to a rich uncle in Scotland, and ordered a champagne supper at Paris House for forty of his Scotch friends, to celebrate his accession to wealth —was sentenced to six months imprisonment with hard labour.

The Westminster Gazette congratulates New Zealand on Sir J. Dickson-Poynder’s appointment as Governor, and describes him as a politician with a liking for independent thought, and as having shown capacity for hard work as a soldier, as a member oi Parliament, as a county councillor, and as a landowner. The paper adds ; “ His temperament should appeal to political colonists.” Maoris must have quaint ideas of billiard-markers, evidently thinking they are walking banks. One dark-haired native, going by the sobriquet of “Midnight,” strolled into a saloon in Greytown a few days back and played a game, which he lost. He calmly presented the marker with a cheque for with instructions to “ take is fid out of that !”

The mere fact of a man having attained eighty years of age does not always prevent him from performing feats of endurance that might well tax the power of some of the younger generation. Recently Mr T. Warner, of Masterton, cycled to Morison’s Bush, a distance of about twenty miles, in a little under two hours. Not a bad record, surely, for a man who is eighty years of age, and who did not learn to ride a cycle till he was seventy.

It was agreed at a meeting of the London County Council Education Committee to amend the regulations as to corporal punishment in elementary schools. The open hand, it is proposed shall be used only by the mistress on the arm or the hand in the case of infants. Corporal punishment must never be inflicted on the face or any other part of the head. Children under five years of age may be sent home instead of being caned.

The settlers in the Onewhero districts are suffering from a variety of pests, caterpillars, grasshoppers, crickets, and last, but not least, the Californian quail, which are so numerous that many people consider poison to be the only way to reduce their numbers. On some of the bush “burns,” says a correspondent to the Auckland Herald, they are like poultry in a farmyard, and the feelings of men who are sowing mixtures containing a large amount of clover at is per lb, may easily be imagined, as the quail leave very little behind them. The proposal to make this year a close season is viewed with alarm, and it is understood that the Government is to be again approached on the matter. Rabbits, also, hitherto quite unknown in this district, are this season appearing in alarming numbers. If the settlers make a determined effort now to shoot and poison them it would save them endless trouble in the future. In spite of the pests, feed is very plentiful, stock look well and creamery suppliers express themselves well satisfied with the season’s output.

It was reported last night that a shot had been fired at the Palmer-ston-Foxton train, and on enquiries being made this morning we were informed that when the train was between Himatangi and Motuiti a man was noticed standing in the middle of the road, alongside the line facing the engine, and, as the train approached, he appeared to present a revolver and fire. Our informant states that the flash was seen and the report ot the weapon distinctly heard. On arrival at Foxton a search was made to see if any trace of a bullet'having hit the engine could be found, and on the cab a mark was discovered which may possibly have been caused by a bullet. The police were immediately informed of the occurrence and are making enq ui ties.

For all complaints of the Throat, Eungs or Bronchial Tubes, TUSSICURA is the sovereign remedy.

The Land and Income Tax Department gives notice that returns of laud must be furnished not later than ist May.

We are pleased to notify our readers that the Rev. G. Y. Woodward will conduct his religious instruction class to-morrow morning at the Public School instead of the Anglican Church as formerly. At the local Police Court this morning before Messrs Stiles and Henuessy, J.s.’P., William Cameron, charged with drunkenness was convicted and discharged and a prohibition order granted against him for twelve months.

The Foxton Broough Band notify elsewhere in this issue that it is their intention to conduct a series of public dances during the winter months, in the Masonic Hall, commencing to-morrow (Friday) evening, and continuing every Friday.

Elsewhere in this issue the Manawatu Auctioneering Company announce, that acting under instructions from Mrs Gupewell, proprietress of the Manchester Boardinghouse, Foxton, they will sell absolutely without reserve on the 20th instant, the whole of the furniture and household effects. The goods are in first-class order and the auctioneers are instructed to effect a clearance.

As a result of the petition read at the last meeting of the Moutoa Drainage Board from several ratepayers in the district that the creek known as “ duck creek ” be either filled in or a floodgate erected in order to prevent the water coming up the creek and flooding the adjacent lauds, the members of the Board inspected the locality the other afternoon and decided to instruct the engineer to take the levels and furnish a report on the best way to prevent a recurrence of the nuisance.

The item of chief interest in the April Review of Reviews for Australasia, just to hand, is a splendid character sketch of Admiral Fisher, who has just retired from the headship of the British Navy. The history of the mouth is illuminuing, giving a capital bird’s eye view of the world’s doing. The magazine contains the usual fine epitome of the contents of the leading reviews of the world. Some of these are of special interest. The photos of the Paris flood are exceedingly interesting. The skeleton of Persimmon, the Derby winner, has been placed in the Natural History Museum at South Kingston. This institution has already a remarkable collection of the remains of famous horses, thoroughbreds and otherwise, and the information it is able to afford is of value to breeders as well as to scientists. The collection includes the skull and skeleton of Stock well, and also of Ormonde who has been stated to have been the nearest approach, from the breeder’s point of view, to the perfect racehorse yet recorded. In striking contrast to these are shown the skull and skeleton of Blaisdon Conquerer, the famous shire champion, and other specimens representing various breeds.

Nominations for the borough Racing Club’s Autuml? Meeting to be held on 4th and sth May close with the Secretary, Mr L. Griffiths, at Blenheim, on Saturday next. The stakes on the open events have been considerably increased from last year’s amounts, and the inducement therefore offered to North Island owners to pay a visit to this popular gathering, is greater than ever before. The course has received considerable attention during the last ten years, with the result that what used to be one of the worst courses in the Dominion is now one of the very best, and at the present time is stated to be in almost perfect order.

In our advertising columns will be found a notice from the Fur Trading Company, of Wellington, offering to buy rabbit-skins in any quantities. We are informed that these skins are worth at present about 2j4d per pair, and will advance as the winter goes forward. As many ol the trappers and farmers have a certain amount of skins always on hand, and many sportsmen throw away what rabbits they do not require for consumption, we think they will find" it to their advantage to send them to Wellington. Poisoned rabbits also, instead of being allowed to go to waste can be made profitable to the farmer and squatter. We refer our readers to our advertising columns for particulars.