LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 1677, 20 February 1917, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Interesting reading matter appears on pages 1 and 4 of this issue.

On Friday last, at the Napier Cemetery, the funeral took plaee of Mr T. Ready, a veteran soldier and a very old New Zealand identity. Tlit* deceased, avlio was 02 years of age, was a member of the 43rd Light Intantry, and took part in many engagements in (be Maori War, including the storming of Gate Pa and other actions, under General Cameron.' He later joined the Armed Constabulary, and served on both the East and West Coasts under the lute Col. Whitmore. After leaving the service be for some years acted as road overseer under (be Provincial Government.

The old motto, “Never venture, never succeed, - ’ avus somewhat forcibly impressed on a number of young men at Napier, says the Herald. One young man was so confident that he avus not fit for active service that he had never offered his services to the Government. A mate chaffed him about this, and he decided to go up before the Military Service Medical Board. He is still wondering bow he passed the medical test with Hying colours. Another volunteer, avcll known in tennis and hockey circles, avus examined and “turned down” on account of heart trouble. Needless to say, he is greatly disappointed.

Call in at Walker and Furrie’s when you require anything for cleaning or cooking purposes. All household lines stocked and excellent value given.

The ordinary meeting of the local State School Committee will be held at 8 o'clock to-night.

A meeting of managers of the local Presbyterian Church will he held at 8 o’clock to-morrow (Wednesday) night. A meeting of the Moutoa Drainage Board will he held on Thursday, 22nd inst, at 7.45 p.m. Business: Drain cleaning, and general.

The writ for the Hawke’s Bay election has been issued. The election takes place on March Bth. The writ is returnable on the 17th.

The annual picnic in connection with the local Presbyterian Sabbath school will be held in Mr 0. Robinson’s grounds. Lady’s Mile, on Saturday next.

The Rev. W, Rowe and Mr J. Chrystall will represent the Fox (on circuit at the annua! Methodist conference, which opens at Wellington this week.

Mr W. H. Field, M.P. for Otaki, hits intimated his intention of being present at. the Palmerston Chamber of Commerce's conference on hydro-electric power this week.

A man named Christie, a member of the reinforcements, who was brought to Christchurch to answer a police charge, created a sensation when the Maori entered the harbour last Saturday by jumping overhoard. The alarm was given, and the steamer put back. A boat was then lowered. The man was a strong swimmer, but was overtaken. He had a lifebelt under his coat.

Fd'l'orts are being made to perpetuate the memory of Captain Fryatt, of I lie s.s. Brussels, who was shot by the Germans after gallantly defending' his ship from a submarine attack iu the "North Sea. The matter has been taken up by the Imperial Merchant Service Guild. It is proposed to erect a statue of the brave sea captain and to establish a fund for the relief of captains and officers in the Merchant Service, and their dependents who may bo suffering' as ihe outcome of the war.

“I think some of those gentlemen who play bowls could be belter employed in making cases in which to pack parcels for the men at the front,” said the Mayoress (Mrs C. H. Burgess), when addressing the meeting of the Women’s Patriotic League at New Plymouth on Tuesday evening last. The supply of cases, she said, was exhausted, and cases would have to be made. The material could be supplied. A number of handy men were required to make them, and if they would come forward their services would be appreciated.

In the course of his lecture to the Philosophical Society at Palmerston last week, Mr M. A. Eliott said that in the sixties and seventies in New Zealand, sheep had increased so rapidly that there was no means of dealing profitably with the surplus stock. Boiling down for the sake of the tallow was the only outlet, and large numbers of sheep were often sold for (id to Is per head. Sheep were grown solely for the wool, the carcase being practically of no value. Indeed, it is related that the surplus Hocks in some, districts were driven over the cliffs into the sea, this being the only practicable means of getting rid of them. Even forty years ago it was not an uncommon thing for prime legs of mutton to be sold for (id each. Mr C. J. Monro states that in Nelson he remembers a line of 1,000 prime wethers being sold for £3O for the lot.

Mr E. Newman, M.P., wrote to the Minsiter for Public Works recently urging that in any hydro-electric scheme receiving his consideration the requiremenls of Manawalu and Kangitikei should not be forgotten, and in reply to these representations he has received the following reply from the Don. Mr Fraser; —“I am in receipt of your letter of the sth inst. re hydro-electric power in the North Island. I never told the representative of the Evening Post that the hydro-electric scheme for supplying Wellington would only go as far as Palmerston North. 1 told him that it would supply Ihe south part of (he North I:-land, probably as far north as Ohakune, and to the westward towards New Plymouth, which, of course, would include Palmerston North. I added, however, that 1 could not speak definitely on the subject until I had received Mr Parry’s interim report. I hope to get this in the course of a week, when it will doubtless be made public.”

A valuable and historic heirloom, consistiii"’ of a solid silver tea and colicc service, has been received by •Mr W. A is] a hie, Pitt Street, Auckland, from Barton’s Hank, Loudon, The service, which contains over 300 oz. of solid silver, and is beautifully embossed with intricate designs, was entirely hand-made in the year 1750. The inscription engraved on the plate is as follows: — “Presented by the noblemen and gentlemen of the Mary-la-Bonne Cricket; Club to Benjamin Aislabie, Esq., as a token of their esteem and approbation of his long and unwearied assiduity in promoting the national game of cricket, 1838.” Mr B. Aislabie and Mr Lord were the founders of the Marylehohe Cricket Club, popularly known as Lord’s. Readers of “Tom Brown’s Schooldays” will remember that the author immortalised Mr B. Aislabie as (he popular captain of Lord’s, whose team beat the Oxford team captained by Tom Brown. Under the terms of a will the plate is handed down to direct descendants of the late Mr B. Aislabie.

Why bother making cakes .when there is such a good assortment at Perreau’s

Mr W. Petrie is at present in Foxton relieving Mr J. Stewart, the local hemp grader, who is away on his annual leave.

The death is announced from Invercargill of John Graham Gow, formerly Trade Commissioner, aged 07. The deceased was appointed Trade Commissioner by the Seddon Government, and in that capacity visited South Africa, Canada, and other parts of the world in the effort to promote trade on he half of Xew Zealand.

There is a rumour current in legal circles that Sir John Denniston, who has been on the Supreme Court Bench for 28 years, contemplates retirement into private life soon. When seen by a representative of the Lyttelton Times, his Honour stated that, while he was looking forward to a lime of freedom from work and of leisure, he had no immediate intention of retiring.

The nnnd) discussed question of a water supply for Foxton was touched on at Friday’s special meeting of the Borough Council, when it was decided to again visit the source of the proposed supply from Shannon, and this morning the Mayor, Crs. Coley, Freeman and Henderson, and the Town Clerk left for Shannon for this purpose.

A special meeting of tlit* local Borough Council was held on Fri - day evening to further consider the lenders Tor the (-(instruction of a concrete tank al the gas works. A lender from Gisimrnc, which had been delayed through tin 1 stoppage of the mails al that town, was considered, and after discussion it was decided that lire tender in question, that of .Messrs .McDermott and Kennedy, at fbOi. he accepted.

“\ou are more of a fool than a knave," said Mr .Justice Edwards at the Supreme Court, Wanganui, when a young man who had uttered a cheque at liaefihi came before him for sentence. The prisoner had increased the value of the cheque from £(i to i’Ki by the simple method of one stroke of the pen, and without any alteration to tin* writing in the body of it. “It discloses the action of a person little bettor than an idiot." added his Honour, “but the most amazing thing is that the cheque should have, passed any bank ollicer,"

The death occurred at Palmerston North yesterday of Mr Henry .Stephens, an ertswhile well-known resident of Foxton. The deceased, who was 74 years of age, had been in bad health for some time. The late Mr Stephens was for many years enginedriver on the Foxton(on Palmerston North branch railway, and during that lime resided in Foxton. On retiring from the railway service he removed to Palmerston North, where he lias resided ever since. The deceased leaves a widow and one son to mourn their loss. The funeral will take place to-morrow afternoon, leaving his late residence at 12 o’clock for the Church of England, Foxton, arriving there at 1.30 p.m,, and thence to the Foxton Cemetery.

Tile recent (lax-swamp lire at Wliitmmui will represent a loss in the Dominion revenue of anything from £14,000 to £1(1,000. About one hundred acres of millahle leaf was destroyed, and it is estimated that it would cut at least 30 tons to the acre, so that the quantity burnt would not be less than 3,000 tons, if, this were milled it would produce upwards of 350 tons of hemp and somewhere in the vicinity of 50 tons of tow, which at the prices at present ruling would represent a sum as mentioned above. When it is taken into consideration, that this lire is only one of a number that have occurred during the past few seasons, it will be seen that fire amount lost to the Dominion as a whole, and this district in particular, from this source is a, very large one indeed.

We are becoming used these days to hearing of marvellous ’feats accomplished by airmen of the Allied nations, and of some of the enemy’s (liers, too; but an exchange tells of what would come as surprising news to many —the accomplishments of a Chinese airman, a young man of 30, the son of a rich Shanghai merchant, 'dying somewhere in rranee. It seems lie went to learn. Hi'big before the war, and as soon as war was declared he offered his services to the .French Government, and was sent to Argonue. Decently lie was returning from a scouting expedition, and was attacked by six German airmen, but,despite the fact that the canvas of ins wings was holed like lace, he got: safely hack. ■Since that experience, he has been, in several actions, and has to his credit the bringing down of two German machines.

The war is not without its strange phases, and perhaps one of tho most remarkable is the great increase in the appetite of the Swiss people, judging from the imports of food thither. An Italian statistician belonging to the Milan Chamber of Commerce has discovered that whereas before the war one kilogramme of macaroni or of vermicelli or other Hour paste preparation was sufficient to lust three Swiss citizens a month, the same number now require four times as much farinaceous food. So too, with tinned foods, fresh fruit, coffee, and cocoa. Especially since the closing up of the Roumanian market to the Central Empires Switzerland has increased her imports of Italian fruit from live vans to 20 vans per day, while the imports of French Gruyerc cheese and of chestnuts for food purposes .havQ more than doubled.

Butter has reached a record price in England, realising 228 s per cwt. It is possible that Mr John Chrystall, an ex-Councillor, will be a candidate for the Mayoralty at the forthcoming election. An engineer on the American steamer Mongolia states that while in Plymouth he counted 187 captured submarines, including the Deutschland. Captain Koenig and the crew of the Deutschland are in gaol. The Central News’ Geneva correspondent reports that a lady who dined with Count Zeppelin says the Count admit led that Zeppelins were no longer useful because the British had discovered effective means of combating them. We are in receipt of the first issue of “John Bull Register,” a monthly journal, printed and published by the John Bull Newspaper Proprietary, Ltd., Wellington. The objects of the venture are: To cultivate as widely as possible an official combination among buyers and sellers to deal with no goods that can either directly or indirectly be traced to enemy source-; to disclose those sources frankly wherever possible; to cultivate a strong spirit of trade Imperialism, and in every way to further the trade interests of the Empire as opposed to the farreaching commercial machinations of Germany and her Allies. Fvery care is being taken to ensure the utmost accuracy in the intimate details which the journal aims at securing in regard to “operators and operations” in foreign goods, etc. if the first issue is a criterion of what is to follow, then we strongly recommend it to every business man and loyal citizen of the Empire.