The Motueka Star PUBLISHED TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS. “Te Ora Mota Iwi.” FRIDAY, AUGUST, 29, 1902.

Motueka Star, Volume III, Issue 109, 29 August 1902, Page 3

The Motueka Star PUBLISHED TUESDAYS AND FRIDAYS. “Te Ora Mota Iwi.” FRIDAY, AUGUST, 29, 1902.

The question of forming a River Board in this district for the proper conservation of the Motueka river has Been discussed on many occasions durt.he past year,: both privately and during the sittings of tne Motueka . Borough Council and the Riwaka Road .Board. There is a consensus of opinion t‘.ait sooner or later the tendency of the river to encroach upon private property on both sides will have to be tiiecked by some comprehensive scheme, but n > united action in this direction hash. e i taken. Repairs have been effected and groins put in with money raised privately, and from public and semi-public bodies, supplemented by subsidies from the Government. At the present moment those in authority 1 a Wellington are being asked to place two sums of money on the Supplementary E fclinutos to be spent on the banks of the river on the Motueka and Riwaka sides. Whether the requests will he acceded to is questionable, unless the settlers interested are willing to form a River Board to control the rivet aud equitably administer the money. That the Government Jis prepared to assist in river protective works under certain conditions is evident from the following extract which we take irom Hansatd of the sth of August: Major Steward (Waitaki) asked the Minister of bands, Whether, seeing the serious damage which has been caused i-ecentiy by floods at Willovvbridge, Waihao, Morven, and Waikakahi, and that such floods have been largely caused by vhc choking up of the river-bed by gorse, broom, etc., and, further, that still more serious damage is threatened, he will at once cause steps to be taken to have the riverbed of the Waihao cleared of all such obstructions both above and below the bridge ? This was really a more elaborate statement of part of the previous question. He would like the honourable gentleman to say definitely whether the Government ought not, in his opinion, to give some as- : sistance to the settlers if they formed themselves into a River Board to clear the river of gorse, because the obstruction caused by gorse was perhaps the principal reason for the flooding, Mr Duncan (Minister of Lands) saidthe Government would render assistance if the settlers formed themselves into a River Board and put a feasible scheme before the Government. If they were prepared to assist themselves the Government would assist them.

In reply to another question put, 1 the Minister of Bands said;-—“The is could form themselves into a. Board to make the necessary works; otherwise, if the Government undertook the works generally it would take an enormous sum to confine the rivers and clear the gorse from. them. It would amount to thousands of pounds and over.” Interested seVideos locally have, in the petition forwarded to Government, asked f .>r £BQ.Q-£or the protection and diversion of the river on the western side, certain persons agreeing . to find an additional £2.00 to complete the work, Tbst Motueka Borough Coun-

Qil and the Riwaka Road ..idso. .applied ~fqr subsidies, ,*p already staged,-; :io Yiesr.,of the :fa«t. River* Commissioners, in.,, their* t report, presented last year, strongly advocated: the formation, of a ;: Rivev, Board,, we, : are inclined yfco the, belief that the Gov ernment will refer petitioners to the said report and ask them to dp their duty. The system of .spending money which, has obtained in the, ~past is) wi:ong, because willing sujbserijbei-s assist ,i n. protecting property of neighbors who decline,.generally from motives of meanness, and : selfishness,• to contribute. ; ; ! If .a Board assumed control of the river the charge for its conservation would be born by rate,payers generally instead of , a limited number,being penalised,; as is the ease when there is no properly constituted authority in, existence. * The ordinary monthly meeting of the MbtUeka School Committee will be held nexf Monday evening ‘ "As there is no business to be transacted, there will be no sitting of the Motueka Licensing Committee on Tuesday, the 2nd of September. The Motueka Wharf Board will meet on Tuesday at 2 p.m when Mr H. Everett, the lately elected member of the Waimea County Council will take his seat. To-day we had an opportunity of inspecting some photographs taken in Motueka by Mr W. E. Brown on Coronation Day. The groups represent the Motueka Mounted Rifles, Oddfellows, Foresters, School children (two positions), anu “Kruger and his body guard.” The whole of the photographs are excellent specimens, the groups, more particularly that of the Mounted Rifles, being distinctly shown. We predicta ready sale, especially as they are commemorative of a unique historical event, celebrated in Motueka with as much enthusiasm and loyalty as in any other portion of the King’s dominions. Copies may be procured at Mr A. Manoy’s store. We are informed that a challenge to a friendly shooting match has been issued to the Motueka Mounted Rifles by a number of civilians. The match will take place shortly.

With reference to the ball to be held this evening, a specialnotice is inserted to the effect that should returned troopers who have not received complimentary tickets are requested to obtain the same from the Secretary, Mr B. Manoy. Mr R. D. Wallis, of Bower MOll tere, not fies tint he has for sale two cows, calving. X!— Tenders are invited in this issue for the erection of bank premises for the local Branch of the Bank of New Zealand. Plans and specificatiolis may be seen on application' ‘to the local manager, Mr Syrnes. Tenders will be received up to noon of Saturday, the 6th of September ; to be addressed to the Bank of New Zealand, Nelson.^V” A slight.error crept into our report of Mr Horatio Everett’s remarks at the supper given by Mr and Mrs Sylies' at the conclusion of the last performance of “Esther.” The speakerreferred to the fact that the toques worn )>y the male performers were .designed ~bv Mrs Symes, to whom credit was due. The ladies and gentlemen who took part in the cantata procured their own costumes. A meeting of the directors of the Motueka Fruitgrowers’ Co-operative Society was held last evening, when plans for the new factory were submitted. They, were app oved of, and it was decided to invite tenders for the e recti mof same, to be sent in to the Secretary, Mr G. H. Budden, by five p.m on Monday, the Bth of September. WADE'S WORM FlGS—the Wonder\ful Worm Worriers—a?-e altvays effective. j is boxes everywhere.

- i , The newly formed; Ping Pong Club ; will be opened on Monday evening, in the* old Institute Hall when all persons . who. wish* tjO ,become . members are invited to attend. A table has been 'procured,'together- with other appliances. ;• ••

It is-scarcely necessary to remind the public of the, .Ball tp be held in the Institute to night Amder the auspices of. the Motueka Mounted Rifles. This annual .fixture is always a. red letter day for those who enjoy o good dance. The hall has been tastefully decorated and everything has been done to ensure s sociable and enjoyable evening.. . ( . . ... - _ .q

A very fair audience • assembled at the Institute on Tuesday , evening, when Hull’s Biograph Company gave an entertainment.,., The pictures ex-. hibited wrere new and included life like representations of battle and other* scenes in connection with the late, war in South Africa, the King and Queen,, •Pi ince and Princess of, Wales, Cecil, Rhodes etc., the whole.of which were received with marked favor by the, audience. Selections, comic and sentijmental, were also rendered by the gramophone ; the best pai-t of the evening’s entertainment, however, was the veatriloqual part, which Mr Wilson carried out in capital style, his manipulation of the six figures evoking hearty' laughter and justifying the reputation he has gained in other parts of the Colony. The proprietor of a menagerie in New York keeps c&god together a lion, a tiger, a wolf, and a lamb, which he labels “The Happy Family.” When asked confidentially how long these animals had lived together, he answered, “Ten months ; but the lamb has had to be renewed occasionally.” The White Star liner Cedric- was launched at Belfast. She is the largest steamer in the world —7ooft long, 20,970 gross tonnage, and accommodates 3000 passengers.

A romantic wedding has taken jglaca at Wichita, Kansas. The bride was Miss Woulsfy, daughter of a wealthy farmer, a .dfTose possible loss of s r 'o acres of wheat urged li in to offer his daughter as a prize to the young man doing the most work in specified time. A fa rm hand mimed Rod way won the prize. Ln three days he cut with a self-binder 100 acres of wheat, outworking his dozen or more rivals. He won the girl easily, and she announced her willingness to marry solely upon his prowess in the harvest field.

A second hand furniture dealer living in the Rue Beauregard, Paris, went on July 5 to the public auction rooms to pick up a few bargains. Among his purchases was a dilapidated mattress, which he proceeded to repair as soon as he returned home. To his surprise he found concealed in it bonds and bank-notes to the value of £12.000. The mattress had belonged to an old man who had died in apparent destitution. The honest dealer at once handed the treasure over to the nearest police commissary. . An Alburv visitor to Melbourne recently was infamously imposed upon as soon as he stepped out of the train. A man who said he was a detective arrested the unsuspecting traveller as an accomplice in what he termed “that Sydney affair.” The fake detective took his charge to a waiting room, and after searching him through decamped with £2, which he found in his victim’s pock ets.

Regarding the earnings of sheareis John Hickey writes to an Australian paper:—“l am ,v a shearer and have been fifteen* years’at the r game, and have;shorn all over-Queensland, Ne'w South Wales, Victoria, and New Zetrland. This season I commenced shear■ng in the middle of Bebruary, and up. to- date I have already shorn 10,379 iT * ' sheep at £1 per 100—£103 15s, lOd —and 1 expect to shear 10,000 inore before Christmas: My expenses, to ihife l for boat and trhin fares, libtel, and incidental expenses*, tucker’ and cost ,c,f, tools at* sheds, -amount to 839 • . 10y, leaving me a halaneb of L 64 5& 10d. .and ,1 expect to add'-£.7o' mitre’’ to tKis before ..the end of the season. ' I ain ,just ap .ordinary strong averagb shearer who, can shear 150 to 170 a daV in cutting 71b or 81b of wool, and fi-pm : 10p to 150 in sheep cutting over that, weight.* * 'My earnings for the last three seasons have been : 1899, 23,1 £3B shepp, £235 7s 7d ; 1900, 22;976 sheep,, £229 15s 2£d ; 1901, 23,142 sheep, £231 9s sd.- Any-average team of men can average 100 per man a day in the average shed.”

An inquest was held at Kensington recently on Mary Edwards, a servant, who was called on to sing at a Salvation Army meeting, and she had got through the first line of the hymn—- “ When on earth life is ending”—when she fell backwards into witness’s arms, and soon afterwards died. A doctorstated that he had made an autopsy, and found that continuous tight lacing had constricted and malformed the stomach. The corset impeded the action of the heart. The jury return ed a verdict that death was accelerated by the heat and tight lacing.

The death is announced at Rochester of Mr George Thomas Crook, formerly inspector of machinery in the Roval Navy: Mr Crook, who was seventytwo years of age, was kiiown in the service as‘the man who sat on the* safety valve,” for his plucky action during the Egyptian war of 1882. He then, at the risk of his own life, adopted the heroic expedient indicated in order to raise sufficient steam to lift ashore at Suez, by means of a ricketty crane, two locomotives Which were urgently required on the Egyptian railway. Wednesday’s New Zealand Times says :—The appearance of a locomobile in the streets of Wellington yesterday attracted a great deal of public attention. The motor is propelled by steam, and travels quite noiselessly. Mr and Mrs Henning came through from New Plymouth, via Wairarapa, on the machine, and have had a very enjoyable trip. Their most trying experience was in crossing the Rimutaka in the teeth of a north-west gale, but the locomobile stood the test extremely well. Mr and Mrs Henning had an adventure on reaching an unbridged creek in the vicinity of Kaitoke, owing to their machine jamming amongst the boulders in the bed, and then threatening to float down stream. Mr Henning was obliged.-to jump overboard and remove the stones before the locomobile could be induced to make for dry land again. Coming down the Wairarapa Valley, the car ran at a speed of up to thirty miles an hour, but along the Hutt road the pace was very different, although many teams were passed resting on that thoroughfare. Mr Henning projects returning to Auckland by way of Nanier. About 1150 flags have been presented by the Education Department to public schools, including 86 to native schools. Maria, if this drought continues we shall We to sell real milk.” “Oh eavens, Thomas. I ’ope it wilßtiever come to that.” *** Subscription to MOTUEKA STAR • Three Shillings and Sixpence a Quarter which may begin anv time