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Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9459, 31 May 1909, Page 4

Rangitikei County Oounoil meet on Saturday. The Wanganui Presbytery meet at Mar ton to-morrow. The adjourned meeting of Martoh Foresters will take place to-morrow evening. The monthly meeting of Marton Borough Oounoil will be held this evening. Tiie annual meeting of Manawatu Licensing Committee takes place at Marton on Friday next. At Reefton on Saturday a young man named O. H. Derbins was drowned off the Duller Junction dredge. John Tracy, a carter, employed by J. J. Oraig, died at Auckland Hospital on Saturday from inquiries caused by the fall of a heavy case containiug plate glass. The Auckland winter show concluded ~.j on Saturday, very large crowds attending day and nigjlit. The show has been an unqualified success, in ail" respects surpassing the most sanguine expectations. At Ashburton on Saturday, Isaac Baigent was committed for trial at the Supreme Court at Timaru on a charge of committing a criminal assault on Martha Alice Pennell, a married woman. Defence was reserved and ball allowed.

, The Paragon Dining Rooms, in Oourtney Place,, Wellington, occupied by Mrs Barrie, were raided by the police on Saturday afternoon. About one hundred bottles of beer, two gallons of whisky, and some gin were seized. Prosecutions will follow.

At a special general meeting .of members of the Napier Working Men’s Olnb a motion was carried authorising the trustees to borrow a sum not exceeding £4OOO by mortgaging the lands of the olnb, tbe money so raised to be expended upon the erection of the first portion of the new olnb building. At'Kaikonra on Saturday evening tbe mate of the s,s. Falconer was brought ashore by a local fishing launch suffering from a wound in the back caused by the accidental discharge of a pea rifle while shooting birds. The doctor ascertained the location §t tbe bullet and ordered the mate to the hospital. The launch Spec took him down to Lyttelton. When speaking to a Lyttelton Times reporter, Mr MoNab said he was very gratified at the manner in which he was supported by volunteers at all of his meetings. “It has been represented in some places,” he said, “that I am oondertining the volunteers. As a matter of fact, I am only condemning the system under which we ace compelling these men to work, and I am specially gratified to find every Auckland man standing by me. ” It is suggested that if the Opposition should propose that Mr Massed should attend the Imperial 'Conference, together with the Prime Minister, for the purpose of indicating a consolidation o| opinion on the question of defence, the proposal would be submitted to tbe informal meeting of the Legislature whiob Sir Joseph Ward will call, and would porbably not be opposed by the Government. It is expected that some practical aspects of the Dreadnought gift will be decided as a result of the Conference.

An exceedingly fanny story about the Post Office was told to the Postmaster-General by a country settler recently. An inspector of the department went oat to officially examine the working of an office not a hundred miles from Wellington, the name of which appears in the Postal Guide. The postmaster was at work in his shirt sleeves, and the “post office” appeared to be merely a candle box. This upset the official’s idea of propriety, and he urged the importance of having more appropriate facilities for transacting State business, ‘‘lf yon don’t shut op,” retorted the gruff amateur postmaster, “I’ll hit you over the head with the bally post office!”

Now and again there come from the Northern seas stories of lucky pearlers who stumble upon priceless pearls. These;'however, are few and far between, for the majority of these lustrous gems are'very small, and rarely exceed a few carats. But there arrived in Sydney the other day a magnificent specimen of a perfect “button” pearl. It weighs 38 carats, or 93 gains, and is one of the largest pearls ever found in Australian waters. It was found on March 30tb in the shell of a small five years’ mollusc, by the crew of the Sketty Belle, schooner, one of Captain George Smith’s .fleet of pearlers. Experts have ..valued , the gem at £SOOO. * A rather amusing incident happened at Blenbiem the other day. A Maori case was being heard, and *the evidence of one weighty witness was required. It* was a case of Mahomet and the mountain Lover again (remarks an exchange), only in this oase the Magistrate, Clerk of Court, crier, interpreter, counsel and witness were Mahomet. The too substantial proportions of the witness prvented him from walking into the Oornthouse, so the Court adjourned into the yard at the rear of the Government Buildings, whither the weighty witness was drawn / by his tardy steed. He sat In his trap, was examined and cross-examined, and went his way, while the officials returned into the Courtroom and proceeded with the case. Quite a crowd assembled to witness the curious performance. Interesting to ladles. Messrs Spence & Spence are now offering a bargain lot of fashionable coats, three-quarter and full length. Also some nice ready-made costumes in tweed and serge, Moreen petticoats and tweed and cloth skirts. All genuine bargains at the Bon Marche, FeUding,♦ For Chronic Chest Complaints, .Woods’ Great Peppermint Cure, Is 6J and 3d 6d.

The warship Challenger returned to ..Lyttelton from Akaroa on Saturday and leaves for Dunedin to-day. Friends are notified that the funeral of Mr William Newman, of Makowhai, will take place to-mor-row. Application for a new trial in the case Stringer v. John Norton, in which the jury awarded £3OOO danaag?s, was filed on Saturday. The application will he heard on June 9th. It is understood that the Auckland and Suburban Drainage Board has been notified by the Bank of New Zealand that the £IOO,OOO loan has been issued in London and closed with subscriptions at ‘'£127,000. The loan is to be 97% net in Auckland at 4 per cent. Amended regulations under the Education Act gazetted last week provide that no one who is at the same time the holder of a University junior scholarship or a senior National scholarship, or a Taranaki scholarship, shall be appointed as a pupil teacher of probationer,® or act as such in any school

The Dunedin Star states that the existence of the Flonfmillers’ Association will be decided to-morrow. All depends on one large South Canterbury milling firm, whoso agreement expires to-day. This firm declares it will not continue in the Association, and should this course be persisted in the Association will practically disband to-morrow. At the Assessment Court at Hamilton on Saturday the whole of the objectors withdrew as a protest against the alleged unfair treatment received. Subsequently, an indignation meeting was held when a telegram was forwarded to the Minister of Justice stating that the objectors left the Court because they felt they had no chance of receiving fair considera,tidn.

Bonner was always i considered a champion slogger, hot a skyer from Gregory in the teat match quite puts his performances in the shade. So at least we gather from a contemporary, which reports that “Gregory was fairly oanght by Thompson off a skyer. The fielder running from mid-on to short leg gave a first-rate exhibition lasting 75 minutes.” If such hits become general matches will last for weeks unless the laws of gravitation can be altered to meet the new development.

In reply to hostile criticisms on the new' Government House, Mr Campbell, Government architect, says the working drawings are not actually completed yet. The flat pictures on which the disparaging comment wafe based were reproduced from rough geometrical sketches. The purpose was to give a faint idea of the extent and general arrangement of the'buildings, but they could not possibly give anything like a correct impression of 1 how the finished structure would appear.

The Press states that a wellattended meeting, of the New Zealand- Flourmillers’ Association was held at Christchurch on Saturday to consider the question of continuing the organisation. The agreement among the different firms concerned expired three montils’fago, but it was decided to continue until the end of this month, when the question of the renewal of the compact would he discussed. It is understood that the attitude of a southern firm presented difficulties to'the continuance under the present conditions, but there is the greatest reticence as to whether the obstacles thus created were overcome by the deliberation of representatives present at the proceedings on Saturday. An unusual accident occurred in Christchurch municipal yards on Saturday. While the Council employees were dipping one of the large pipes being used in connection with the high pressure water supply into boiling tar, the block and tackle gave way, precipitating the pipe into the tar, which immediately oanght fire from the flames underneath, the vat. An alarm was raised, and a motor chemical engine from the Fire Brigade Station and a steamer and horse chemical engine turned out, the blaze being, extinguished by the motor chemical. Two of the Council employees were severely 'burned by being splashed with boiling tar.

At the meeting at Christchurch of the Canterbury Branch of the Farmers’ Union, the following was referred to thet Executive for further consideration That the* conference consider the Government ought to be urged to work with the central unemployed body for London to forward immigrants to the Dominion nnder their system of selection.” It was k agreed“ That the present system of laud valuation is unsatisfactory and often excessive, and the following remit from Oxford was carried :—“That the conference protest against the continuous advance in unimproved pvaine of lands by the Government valuers at the cost of improvements. ” It was also decided to ask Jthe Government to abolish the mortgage tax, A motion to alter the name of the Union to ‘ ‘ The New Zealand Farmers’ Guild, ’' or “The New Zealand Settlers’ Association,” was negatived. Mr Richard Evans was elected President, Mr O. F. Clothier vice-president, Messrs David Jones and Clothier delegates to the Dominion conference of the Union.

The busy season for the agriculturalist is at hand and those in search of Implements can be well supplied by Mr Edward Ohase at hia Orofton Agency. He is agent both fer the Massey Harris and Booth MacDonald farm implements. These well known firms turn out machinery which gives the fullest satisfaction to farmers as to reliability, strength and practical utility. The Maesey-Hariis cultivator is the latest addition to this class of implement, and Mr Ohase has received satisfying reports from time to time regarding them. One of the principal reasons for their great popularity is their ability to cultivate light or heavy soil uniformtly at any desired depth. The nine-tooth is a handy cultivator and is constructed on the same principle as the No. 7 cultivator, , which has 17 teeth, except that the pressure is applied to the sections by a powerful spring. The teeth are so attached that the cultivation extends behind the'ground wheels. The drills are made in different sizes and all up-to-date improvements are embodied in them. Mr Ohase will be pleased to explain these to farmers. The Booth Macdonald ploughs have won a great reputation and are too well known to need description, The single, two and three furrow levers are kept at the Orofton Agency as well as the Steel Queen disc and Parmiter’s 1 flexible steel harrows, Oarlyle field rollers and a large stock of . extras for all classen of implements.

Roderick McKenzie, of the Exoelsxor Hotel, Dunedin, was to-day fined £5 tor supplying liquor to an intoxicated man. The license was not endorsed.

Canterbury Fruitgrowers Association on Saturday evening passed a resolution in favour of holding a general conference of fruitgrowers at Nelson.

Mr MoNab, speaking to a reporter on Saturday, said that he was much gratified by his reception in the South Island, where his military training proposals had been enthusiastically received. Hia best meetings in the whole campaign were at Christchurch and Ashburton. In the North Island people took greater interest in his indictment of the volunteer system, while tho South Island was more interested in his remarks on reconstruction. Thus he inferred that people in thd South were in advance of these in the North to admit that the volunteer system had failed and desired to know the best system to supersede it. There has ' just been erected in Hawera Drili Hall a miniature rifle range from plans designed by Captain Morrison, of the Hawera Mounted Rifles, and approved by the Defence Department. The range is so constructed that two targets can be used simultaneously. ' .The ranges at the target end have protecting steel wings 6 feet long and 6 feet high, while the steel targets are faced with timber so as to keep the bullets from spalshing back. The marksman’s |shield stands be* tween the two targets. Each target will ba illuminated by a powerful incandescent gas lamp, suspended on so they can be lowerd or raised into any position desired. At the firing point there are two moudns constructed of wood covered with flax mattresses. To avoid trespassing beyond the firing point a rope has been stretched across the hall. There is a shaded light overhanging the mounds for the benefit of those firing. .