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Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIII, Issue 9057, 23 January 1908, Page 4

% The report of Foxton races and of the second day of the Trentham meeting appears on page 7of this issue. A Taihape telegram states that the six roomed house of Mr James McDonald at Taoroa ;has been burned. The owner was absent and nothing was saved. It is believed the place was insured. As there was only one nomination for the vacancy in the Mayoralty of Marton, caused by the resignation of Dr. Sherman, there will be no contest, and Mr John McEldowney has been declared duly elected as Mayor. Mr J. R. McLennan, of Waituna, left yesterday on a visit to Europe. At the picnic yesterday it was decided to send him a telegram expressing the good wishes of the members of the branch for a pleasant journey. It is one of the driest times experienced at Apiti during several years and as the creeks are nearly all dry water is becoming scarce for cattle. In one creek near the township, which was stocked with trout dent recently in walking over a short length counted no less - than 60 dead fish, several of' them of a large size. Owing to the great need of x’aiu the sale there oh Tuesday was very dull. H Yesterday the West Coast Battalion of volunteers turned out for field manoeuvres in the vicinity of Turakina. The Wanganui pbrtion, comprising three companies, under Captain Harper, detrained at Turakina and proceeded up the Makirikiri stream to meet the southern portion, which detrained at Gower’s road, Bonny Glen. The southern portion, under Major Hughes, also consisted of three companies—Royal Rifles, Marton, under Captain Batten merston North Rifles under Captain Mounsey; and Palmerston North Guards, under Captain MoMurray. Some useful work was done, officers and men gaining valuable instruction in attack and defence. Lieut. - Col. Watt, Y.D., acted as umpire and Surgeon-General Skerman and Captain McDonald, of the General Staff, Wellington, were also present watching the proceedings. After the manoeuvres the whole battalion marched into Turakina for tea, and entrained there for their respective headquarters. ■ It is now in full swing, the colossal summer sale at the Bon Marche. All classes of summer goods are now being sold at greatly reduced prices and surplus stock is marked down regardless of cost. Messrs Spence & Spence guarantee big savings on all purchases made during the sale,*

Mar Jf-’Harding, licensee of the Black Horse Hotel, Addington, was fined £5 yesterday for selling liquor after hours, and her license was endorsed. In the final match of the polo tournament at Miramar, Manawatu proved successful, beating Wellington B by 8 to 4. Passengers through the Manawatu Gorge brought news that about a mile on the road side was burning. Small bridges had been burned, and slips were coming down, so that the state of the road, already a disgrace to the county, in unfortunately worse. At Whangarei Magistrate’s Court seven young men, all of Auckland, were charged with playing a game of “Two-up” in the Sanatorium grounds, Kamo, on January 9th. One was discharged and the others were fined £5 and costs, with the alternative of one month’s imprisonment. A Stratford correspondent informs us that Drum-Major Rolland, the veteran drum-major of New Zealand, who has seen over thirty years service, is shortly leaving Stratford, where he has been living for some months, to take up his lesidence in Marton. He will doubtless receive a hearty welcome from Marton bandsmen. ‘ ‘ There is no comparing Ireland to any other country in the world,” said a witness in the Canterbury farm labourers’ dispute. He asserted that a man could* “have a better time”,.in Ireland than in New Zealand. 51 He was an Irish emigrant who had been induced to come to the Dominion by an agent with a pamphlet. “The wages may not be better,” he added, “but a man in Ireland can work when he likes and leave off when he likes.” We regret to annouce the death of Mr Alexander Bruce, which took place at Feilding yesterday. Deceased, who was 63 years of age, was one of the earliest settlers in the Sandon district. Subsequently he removed to Mingaroa, near Halcombe, where he was engaged in farming. 11l health caused his removal to Cambridge, Waikato, from whence he went to Feilding, where he purchased a house a few months ago, but was not long spared to enjoy it.

At the meeting of New Plymouth Library Committee recently £there was the usual discussion on the preference of the public for novels rather than serious works. The Rev. Mr Lewis, however, disputed the assertion that the modern book was uselses and trashy.' He said that there had been published during the past twelve months at least twelve masterpieces which had called forth unstinted admiration of the most responsible reviewers. We confess to curiosity as to the titles of the masterpieces referred to. Mr Jack London, the well-known American author, and his wife, arrived at Tahiti in their yacht, the Snark, on December 23th, the voyage having been made from San Francisco, calling at Honolulu en route. On reaching Papeete, Mr Loudon was recalled to San Francisco on urgent private business. The Snark remains in the Tahitian group till Mr London’s return in the Mariposa ' from the Californian port. Then the yacht will leave for the Cook Islands, Samoa and Tonga, proceeding thence to Sydney, Melbourne and Tasmania, and afterwards coming to New Zealand, calling at Bluff and the usual ports up to Auckland. Mr G. A. Gamman writes us: — “Your report of fire is incorrect. The timber destroyed was nearly half a million feet of picked timbers and £lO worth of belting is all that was saved. The mill was the latest we had erected in that district. Mill and stock was insured for £3OOO and the total loss was probably £4500. The mill was owned by G. A, Gamman & Co., not Gamman Bros., who own No. I mill in the Dannevirke block. I am writing this from the train going through, from Wanganui to go into the tire business.’’ [We regret the errors in our account and fehauk Mr Gamman for the correction.] The honour of possessing the oldest player and the heaviest player in the recent bowling tournament at Auckland fell to the Greytown Club. These were respectively Messrs W. O. Williams and William Udy. Mr Williams is 81 years of age, and, in the • opinion of an Aucklander, he can show some of the youngsters a point or two in putting a bowl. There are some cynics who aver that in bowling phraseology a < man is a youngster at fifty, but this is not what the Aucklander meant. Mr XJdy, who turns the scale at nineteen stone, has been an athletic giant in his day, and nolds a New Zealand record as one who played in senior championship Rugby until he was well over 50 years of age, and who, moreover, scored a try with five men on his back when he wrs a grandfather.