LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Te Aroha News, Volume XI, Issue 1714, 13 February 1895, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Te Aroha Town Board give warning to the owners of unregistered dogs that unless the fees are paid before the Bth of March they will be prosecuted without further notice. „ ' At a meeting of'the School Committee held in the school-house on Monday evening last, it was agreed to vote for Messrs Woodward, Badford, and Mrs Thomas, as being the best of the candidates for a seat on the Education Board.

The dates on which the Annual Sheep Fairs of Messrs McNicol and Co., and W. J. Hunter, is drawing near. Each year the sales -are becoming more popular, and judging from the number, and first-class quality of those already entered this year’s sheep sale should surpass all others in excellence.

The Thames Advertiser sets itself up as a model paper under its new. management. It ip a remarkable fact that when the Thames Navals won the last rifle match against Te Aroha, that free and independant journal devoted about half a column to' areport of the match, but now |that the tables are turned and the Thames severely?, defeated not one word is mentioned. We cannot understand the Thames Star having fallen into the same error, surely they must have known the result Of the cont-st, i The programme of the Te Aroha Jockey Club is now published, and will be found to contain the usual attractions of that, day. The nominations close on Thursday, the 31st inst, The sale of priviliges will probably take place about the 3rd of March, due notice of which will appear. ; A meeting of the Committee of the Hot-: ticultnral Society was held in the News Office on Monday evening last, nearly all the members were present. Considerable discussion took place re judging dairy ooWs and pony jumping competition ; eventually it was decided that permission be obtained from poundkeeper to use the pound for the purpose of judging these items. Mrs Blericowe & Mr Hansen offered prizes for a horse jumping competition for ladies, the committee accepting their offer with thanks, so that our lady friendswill now have a chance of displaying their horsmanship. Extra special prizes have-been offered by Miss Kenny and others for fancy work, etc. Messrs Bunciman, Sharpe and J. r Bobson have very kindly consented to act as judges in the various classes. .* ~, ~. !

Suggestions have been made for the adoption in England of wooden houses as country residences, on the Swedish model.; It is claimed that they can be brought from Sweedenvand put together at half the cost of a very ordinary brick building. The grasshoppers, which have increased by millions about Somerville (Vic,) within the past few weeks are now attacking the orchards, and where they have been for a few days is plainly shown by the trees, which are entirely stripped of both leaves and-apples. The residents state that it is many years since they have had this pest in such large numbers. : , / ’ Mr Percy Snewin, the Te Aroha Town Clerk, has a notice in another column intimating that all rates must be paid before the 28th inst. Failing which 10 per cent, will be added, and legal proceedings taken to recover same. We advise delinquents to pay up. • !;•

A series of lawn tennis matches began yesterday between representatives of the Te Puke and Tanranga Clubs, and will be continued to-day. So far the Tauranga players' appear to have the best of the game. : ' ' An order lias been granted at Melbourne for staying proceedings in the petition for winding up the estate of-Alfred Shaw and Co„ in order that a meeting of shareholders arid creditors may be held to consider a scheme of compromise which provides for the payment of debts in twenty half-yearly instalments of one shilling each. :.

A reporter for one of the np-conntry Australian papers gives a taste of his quality in his account of the local show. ‘The judging in the thoroughbred and hackney classes,’ he writes, ‘ was fairly successful, the least noteworthy mistake made by the judges being in the class for pony stallion under 14 hands. There were five or six exhibits, the award going to the ugliest animal in thering. The pony was a white one, with white eyes and a head like a cement barrel with a couple of the staves bulged out, and elicited, the observation from a bystander that ‘ lie would be a werry nice pony if his head was cut off,; .The : judges, however, selected this extraordinary freak of nature for the first prize.’ How this candid critic got ori ’afterwards with the judges and the owner of the ‘ freak ’ is not yet related. 7; ; !

; The foundation stone of the Morrinsville Church will be laid by Mr J. Horrell, SenrJ, to-morrow, afternoon a 4 o’clock., ..The service will be very attractive,' as hymns and psalms will be sung by the choir, and Miss Boberts is expected to sing a sacred solo. An address will 'be delivered by Archdeacon Willis, and Mr W. S. Allen, of Aunandale, has also been asked to speak ori the; occasion. Light; refreshments will be provided gratis for the visitors after the ceremony is over. Should a sufficient •number wish to go from Te Aroha Messrs Smardon and McKay and Mr Gallagher will run special brakes, and the small fare of half-a-crown will be charged for the double journey. For other particulars refer to our advertisement columns.

This district is fast becomming an agricultural one, and with the’opening up of the lands in and around Te Aroha it is pleasing to note the products of the soil. These will be in evidence at the coming local Horticultural: Show. With some of our larger landowners the’raising of livestock is claiming close attention. We noticed some exceptionally fine bullocks shipped by rail on Monday, and by to-day’s train other consignments will follow. These beasts come principally from the runs of Messrs Goes Bros., E. F. Koche, E. Y. Cox, and Mr McNicol.

Auckland folk are not to have all the fun of railway excursions, such being rather frequent of late. The railway authorities are now turning their attention to the country, and cheap trains will run to the city for the country people’s benefit. Next Wednesday (February 20th) au excursion train will leave Te Aroha for Auckland at 550 a.m, and will return the same day. Besidents of Te Aroha and district will note that the fares are reasonable, viz., 10s 6d first and 7s 6d second-class.

Things worth knowing —Men’sColonial, suits, 21s; trousers, 6s lid; cricketing and tennis clothing, cheap, and in great variety Colonial tweeds from Is lid yard; boy’s serge and sailor suits, 7s 6d; tweed suits, 7s 6.1; washing drill do., from 2s 6d. Straw hats, grand selection of new. goods; men’s and boy’s shirts and underwear, very cheap. Men’s suits to measure, 35s to 455• trousers 12s 61, first-class fitting. Address:—NEW ZEALAND CLOTHING* FACTORY, 158 and 160, Queen-street, Aucklind. Sole Agents for F.ismargk Sewing Machines, 2s 6d a-week, time payment.—Advt.

The Northern Drapery Company are evidently intent upon pushing an aggressive policy throughout the Auckland province. They already have branch establishments at Cambridge, Hamilton, and Te Awamutu all of which work in conjunction with the central business in Auckland. The above firm do a strictly cash business and are therefore in a good position to sell cheaply. An advertisement in another column calls attention to a few of their cheap lines, while many, others may be seen on application at their shop in the Te Aroha Town Hall. ‘

We (Bush Advocate) learn that as the result of a compound test held at the Umataoroa Dairy Factory for three days the milk supplied by Mr K.Wille’s Jersey cows has made the record of 5 per cent of butter fat from aherd of seventeen cows, the next being 3,6 per cent. After 3.6 per cent the price per gallon rises at £d for every three points, so that Mr Willie is making a name for himself with his valuable Jersey cattle. ... The election of Bishop Cowie, of Auckland, to the position of Primate, the highest office which the Anglican Church of New Zealand has to-offer, will meet with the approval, not only of the members of his ;own Church, but also of Christians of every school of.thought;.and the unanimity displayed by the Synod in selecting him by a substantial majority of each order on the first ballot must have been very gratifying to the Bishop himself.

; diphtheria is prevalent at Gisborne, The public school has been closed. The School Committee have resolved to enter upon a scheme of technical education, in addition to ordinary;school work, ; It is proposed to teach boys carpentering, type-writing, etc., and girls cooking The Committee are endsavouring to obtain a small annual grant from the Government in aid of the project, bn the basis of J 5 for £ raised locally. 1

Says 1 a London cablegram: The Danes are selling butter at any price, being determined to oust the Australian article from the market, and are making preparations for a long struggle! The greater part of the butter by the Oroya is being stored, but some of it was sold ,at an average of 91s The glut in the market is increasing. ; , There is a ‘ strong man ’ in Wellington now who places a 2001 b hard stone on his bare head and: allows blacksmiths to try and break .it (the stone) with 15lb sledge hammers. He stretches himself on head and heels on two chairs, and allows them to hammer similarly at a heavier storie lying on his chest. Another feat is breaking a taut inch rope with four blows of a finger. The December issue of Night and Day is one of exceptional interest, and its widelyvaried. contents well illustrate the numerous lines of effort which Dr. Barnardo’s Homes now take up. In the opening article Dr Barnardo runs a friendly tilt with Lord Meath, the Bishop of Wakefield and others, who have recently advocated the establishment of a Special Home for feeble-minded boys. Dr Barnardo’s. experience, on the contrary, leads him to urge strongly the claims of boarding out as the best method of dealing with the feeble-minded. Another branch of social economics is dealt with in an article entitled ‘Facts versus Theory,’ which defends the operation of Free Shelters carried on under a careful system, against certain criticisms of the ‘ C.O.S.’ As Dr Barnardo has given through his free shelters over 110,000 nights’ lodging and 160,000 free meals, he speaks not as one without authority. We notice an announcement -of a cljildrdh’s .entertainment in connection wdh the ‘ Young Helpers’ League ’ for 12th January, in the Boyal Albert Hall. An interesting article analyses the emigration work ,of the year.; 724 trained childr 6tC have .boeri sent to Canada, bringing the total number of emigrants from the Homes up to 7,295, of whom it is claimed that over 98 per’cprit. have been Successful. ‘PersonaUNotes ’ are illustrated, as usual, from photographs, and furnish a mine of interesting" matter to watch the development of social efforts for the upraising of the sunken. We notice that the needs of the Homes are this Christmas more than Usually urgent, and contributions sent in to 18, Stepney Causeway, London, E., will be equally opportune and helpful. Nearly 5,000 boys and eight new candidates are admitted daily. - An Austrian gentleman cycling in Turkey states*“ Sleeping at a village inn one night, he was foolish enough to leave down stairs his. bicycle, which became an object of speculation to the meinbers of the entire population of the villlage, who had' never seen such a thing before. In their perplexity they fetched the, village priest, who inf stantly pronounced the bicycle to be the instrument of a sorcerer, come to.wreak ruin and destruction upon the country at large, and upon that village in That was enough lor the villagers; seizing their axes they chopped the bicycle into little bits, mounted the stair case and smashed in the door of the room where the rider was sleeping, and that gentleman would have had rather a bad time if he had not escaped through the window and made off.” AU 'A; -A"- • j

The Temuka Leader is responsible for the statement that a number of advanced •women ‘ ladies in pantaloons’ have pitched their tents in the bush at Peel Forest where they disport themselves in real unconventional -style far from the haunts of men, although a few select members of the male sex are admitted within the sacred precints. An old Peel Forest resident, says he went to have a look at the encampment, and avers that he, found, the campers; male and female (the ladies in reform attire playing leapfrog over each other’s shoulders. This is advanced enough certainly.

New stalactite caves have been discovered about six honrs’ ride from the famous Waitomo Caves. Tne Government Surveyor at Ortorohanga says they are ‘in some respects better than the Waitomo Caves.. For one thing, they are larger, and two of the rooms are really magnificent looking just the same as a dome of a large theatre. The stalacities and mouldings are right round the domes. One room in particular is a study for geologists, the dome and sides being studded with large oyster shells and clam shells. It looks just the same as Mosaic work. The stalactites and stalagmites in the first two. rooms (which are about 200 ft long, 40 or 50ft broad, and about 70ft high) are in a : splendid state of preservation, and must remain so, as they are out of reach of any person. The other smaller rooms are much the same as those in Waitomo. There are some remarkable Welsh settlements in Patagonia. The first was founded on the Chubat River, with the object to escape from contact with the Anglo-Saxon and preserve the Welsh tongue. The colonists had a hard struggle at first, but their numbers have now increased to 3000, and they are' rapidily prospering. Extensive works have been undertaken, including the erection of three bridges and the construction of an irrigation canal at a cost of <£4o,000, at the expense of the colonists; The Colony is undsr the Argentine Government but as a railway has been made into the territory, the Walsh are not enjoying the seclusion from align influences which they once desired.