NEWS ITEMS.

Motueka Star, Volume I, Issue 40, 31 December 1901, Page 4

NEWS ITEMS.

During the hearing of evidence with regard to. old age pension applicants at Tepterfield (N.S.W.),- one tha tof James .Johnson—excited considerable attention. The applicant mentioned, resides at Wilson’s Downfall, and the police from the township stated that at one time be , was very wealthy, and during the palmy days of gold mining in Victoria he had his

horse shod with golden shoes. It is stated by .a. Gisboi-ne paper that about £70,000 has been lent in the Poverty Bay district under the Ad vances to Settlers Act during the past few’ years, - : Wild cherries are so plentiful in the Wairoa (Hawkes . Bay) district that they are being used to feed pigs. At Keihga, Poverty Bay, cherries are rotting owing to the difficulty of getting tliem to a market.

Among the most' persistent of the applicants for a place in the new contingent is a boy of 14 years of age. He is anxious to go out with the Eighth as bugler, and has been pulling every available “wire” in the way of-influence He secured a telegram "from his guardian granting him leave to go. Mrs Anna Taylor, who went overNiagara Falls in a barrel, according to latest advices is threatened with brain fever, and the doctors fear serious results.; Mrs Taylor received an offer of marriage immediately after her trip, which was taken in order to pay off' an old debt:

A most extraordinary case has been brought to light by the recent census ii\ Italy. The wife of a Turin laborer, who married at the age of 19, and :is now 59, and aas had 34 sons, of whom 31 are now living,.and : -are. at , home with their parents. A returned contirigenter informs" the Melbourne Argus that in _ the section to which he was attached ther e were 30-waggons, 23 of which were reserved for eiderdown, quilts, spring mattrasses and such' luxuries; the* officers.

/../That the rich old uncle. \v3lo ; jiephew oft* with a shilling and leaves his -fortune to charities; exists outside the realms .. dramatic, is proved by the will just published of .MryMatthew -Whiting, of Auckland, Wandsworth Common, -who died last September at the age of eighty three, leaving property to the value of over ■£lso’ooo, ; After providing forhis wife' by an annuity of ,£ISOO, and bequeathing several .legacies to friends, ! lie left one nephew one shilling, and the residue of his propertv, valued at about L120,000,.tp the . chief London hospitals. -Am absolutely diabolical chuckle went round the dining room of a leading Wellington Hotel at a little seriocomedy that eventuated therein lately. Seems . that a newly-made Benedict brought his wife fr6m the country to see; the sights-of Wellington. She was fond of honey* nnd her - ‘husband bad Bought, a pot for her own consumption, but it,, hid not appear on the ; table. “Where’s my honey ?” queried thehoneymooner of the waiter. The. waiter smiled and Said, “You mean the" little blackh.aired -one ? Oh* she don’t vvork here now ” It took several pots to restore. Mary's customary sweet-pess.-—Free Lance.-.v, ,- n The ( recent rains. in South ■ Canterbury will be too late to do much good to grain crops, but the creameries are receiving good supplies of milk. A lad escaped from Burharn Industrial School twelve months ago, and had never been traced. His mother has just received a letter from the boy, who says he is now. on a training-ship in London.

Miss Maud Beatty (Mrs. J. Milburne) so favourably, known in connection with the Pollard Opera Company, has concluded her., engagement with Mr Topi Pollard, and is about to proceed to/Engliind, where she has a'good engagement ,to appear in the provinces.

The chief provision in the Military Pensions Act, passed last session, extending the Act to the Sixth, and the Seventh Contingents, is one by which the annual allowance is to be payable to the niother of any officer, non-com-misSif ried officer, or private, who is not a widow, in an}' case where her husband is incapable through infirmity or incapacity of earning his livelihood. Last Tuesday’s Cheviot News says : —Several slight shocks of. earthquake were felt here yesterday. : ..We are getting so used to them now, that if we did not get two or three every day we should begin to think there was something wrong.

The Premier thinks that the Caversham election ought to be an object lesson to all parties who do not wish to have minority representation in Parliament. In this case, Mr Seddon points out, upwards of 3000 Liberals and Government supporters were almost having an Independent Liberal, who polled 1500. votes, elected to represent them.

The New 'Zealand Herald’s London correspondent writes u nder ‘ date November Bth :-—Mr A v J. Cadman and Mr -E. M. . Smith; h aye returned 4o Lontlon after a visit to Scotland. There they met-the expert of one of the largest iron and steel works in the North, who, Mr, Smith tells me, expressed: his astonishment at the capabilities of New Zealand ironsand. This gentleman told them he had to pay £6 10s per ton for Scotch cold blast pig, and that th e Taranaki ironsan d would Be far superior for his requiremeiits,_only it was necessary that they should give preference to the local production. Speaking in reference to obtaining the requisite capital to start the New Zealand works, Mr Smith remarked : - “ It is only a , question of arrangement between twp' "dr three l people,;.- They are willing to put the .capital into it, but of course , arrange-

ments have to hi. made/’ At 13/ Vic-toria-street, Mr Smith,- 1 showed; me a •coil of fencing wire which he : ceived, made from the sand, and some perfect patent fuel made from Westport and Nelsod slack , coal. The Dunedin Star closed its columns to all letters dealing with the merits or demerits, soical* political arid moral, of candidates for the Caversham seat —except in its advertising columns, at scale; rates. . . .

The agricultural statistics published in Thursday’s Gazette, show, that. as compared with last- pear the area sown or intended to be sown in wheat this season has decreased;by .42,269:--acres and oats by 88,5,86 acres. ; ..The quantity of wheat in hand is estimated at 1,256,047 bushels andi oats 1,685,879 bushels. t—-

The'extent to which some, of the bestjNnbri curios have "been .taken from the colbny led to dhe passing of the Maori Antiquities Act, which provides that no Maori antiquity --shall be removed from the colong. until it has.first been offered to the Government for sale. Customs officers arid police are empowered to seize and detain any Maori antiquity attempted to he removed from the colony ..contrary to the Act/and the Government is empowered to acquire Maori . antiquities on behalf of the" colony and provide for their safe custody/ ,

The Wellington butchers have declined tp reduce the/prich /of meat after New Year, the "wholesale suppliess considering it necessary tp keep * up the present rates in order re coup themselves for recent losses. Steps are to be taken to form a Horse-breeders’ Association .'in'Masterton. r : ; ' : •' ’ ' An " Employers’ Union has been formed at Oarnar u, ostensibly to fight the Factories Act.

A Waipawa settler*, whose clip of wool was on board the Waimate, -lost his entire clip once before iri the Magellan Strait. ?

The object of the Mortgages of Land Act, passed hist session, is to provide that such mortgages may be effected without the cost of expensive deeds and instruments. It sets out a form of mortgage which may be used" for the purpose, and directs how the renewal or extension of the currency of ■ a mortgage may be carried out, and how the interest of a mortgage may be transferred. ,' ■

No less than ten applications for dissolution of marriage .were before: Mr Justice Conolly during,' the Auckland sittings of the Supreme Court.- In all ten cases decrees nisi were granted. “Tommy, is your mamma at home ?” asked a lady caller coming Up the gravel walk. . Tommy, who was; peeping around the corner- of the house, gave a guilty start, and then replied, meekly : “That’s just what I wuz tryin’t’ find out. I’ve bin swim min’.’

The Gisborne Herald states;that: Mr Sims, of Christchurch, who' bhtamed a divorce from his wife omthe.grouiid of her elopmenfc with a high legal luminary, was married to a Christchurch lady last week. , * ■.

Authentic Medical Opinions worth knowing.— Dr Osborne says—“l use San-*" v der - and Sons Eucalypti Extract as a spray for nasal catarrh, low fever/ asthma,' etc, with great success. 1 find this-preparatiofi " superior to all others.”— Dr Stahl: “I have used various preparations:yo£. Eucalyptus, but I get better results from Sander and Sons Eucalypti Extract than from any others. —Dr Preston :“I never use any Eucalyptus-preparation other than Sander and Sons, as I found to be almost useless.”—Dr Hart : *‘lt £o»es without * saying that Sander and Sons Eucalypti Extract is the best in the market.”—ln influenza, all fevers, throat ahd lung troubles, diphtheria, diarrhcEa, . dysentry, kidney complaints, rheumatism, wounds, sprains, ulcers, etc:, it is invaluable.. See thatyouz: get Sandef and Sobs,’ atfd ' i%jd6t spurious preparations which are sometimes supplied by unscupulous dealers.