LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9067, 16 April 1908, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Thcrs will be no publication, of the Wairavapa Age to-morrow (Gocd; Friday).

A number of dairy farmers in the Carterton district are procuring their winter supply of chaff from the South Island.

At the fortnightly pay night of the Workers' Mutual Benefit Building Society, last evening, the sum of £95 was paid in by shareholders-.

A Press Association telegram states that the Woodville Rifles will be well represented at the Easter encampment at Wellington.

Three teams from the Masterton Bowling Club will leave Masterton: on Good Friday morning for Pahiatua, where they play a series of matches.

The long 1 dry season, followed by recent rains and mild weather, has caused apple trees t<> blossom in various orchard?, and gooseberry and current bjshes are throwing out their spring *>uds. This is a bad augury for next season's fruit.

The following officers of the Agricultural Department have been notired that they will be retired on> superannuation on June 30th:—Stock Inspectors Mnore (Blenheim), Fullerton (Ashburton), Raymond (Bluff), A. Mills (Wellington), J. E. Thomson (Dunedin), Rabbit Agent McKellor (Invercargill), G. Ross Dairy Inspector (Palmerston North.)

A Press Association telegram from Feilding states that three shocks of earthquake were felt on Tuesday night. 'I he first shock occurred at B.IS p.m., tiie second at 9.15 p.m., and trie third at 11 p.m. The second shake iastc-d about fifteen seconds. At WoodviUe, cm Tuesday night, an earthquake was experienced at 9.14 o'clock. At Pahiatua a sharp shock was telt at 9.15 p.m.

Particulars of a conspiracy to swamp the Farmers' Union with farm labourers were given by Mr Kennedy at the Conciliation Board at Christehurch on Monday. Hestated that at one period it was proposed that the farm labourers should join the Farmers' Union in a body and take charge of things, but the labourers had thought that it would not be fair to the farmers after what the farmers had done for them. "It may not be too lat? for them to join, the Farmers' Unions," he added, to which his colleague, Mr Thorn, rejoined: "Oh, no, we pick our corapanv!"

There was a. good attendance of electors in the Kuripuni Hall,, last evening, for the purpose of forming a committee to assist Mr P. L. Rollings in his candidature for the Masterton Mayoralty. The chair was taken by Mr V C. E. D'aniell, who unred upon those present the necessity of taking a vigorous interest in the selection of capable men to carry out the municipal government of the town. After Mr Hollings had briefly addressed the meeting, Mr W. Morris moved that the whole of those present (some forty in number) form themselves into a committee to work in the interests of Mr Hollings, and a show of hands proved the meeting to be unanimously in favour of tha motion. Mr J. Smith was elected chairman of the committee. Mr Hollings announced his intention of delivering an address to the residents of South MasterLon on municipal matters on a date to be advertised later.

Mr C. F. B. Livesay, Architect of Wellington, has moved to moro convenient rooms in the National Mutual Chambers, Customhouse Quav, (adjoining the Head Office of the Bank of N.Z.) Addns:— P.O. Bjx 771. Telephone 2002.

There were no old age pensions granted in Carterton during the month of March. Mr E. McEwen was yesterday nominated,.for the vacant seat on the Masterton Borough Council by Messrs H. J. O'Leary and J. Hessey. The present Mayor of Pahiatua (Mr D. Crewe) has consented to again be a candidate for the Mayoralty. Cr McCardle will also contest the seat. "We are now experiencing splendid weather for farming operations," remarked a Masterton farmer to a Wairarapa Age reporter, yesterday. "Rape is coming on well, and altogether the outlook for the winter is not now as dark as it was some weeks ago." The Masterton division of the St John Ambulance Nursing Guild met last evening, and devoted some time to practical work chiefly in the direction of dealing with fractured lrnbs. In the absence of the honorary surgeons, the young members were instructed by the older and more experienced ones. The main roll in connection with the next general elections closed yesterday, and will be printed almost immediately at the Government printing office. There will, of course, be a supplementary roll, which will not close until the writs for the election are issued—about a month before polling day. At a sitting of the Police Court at Masterton yesterday morning, before Mr M. Caselberg, J.P., James McKee was charged with a third offence of drunkenness, being fined £l, in default four days' hatd labour, while a second offender, named Frederick J. Nicholson, was, for a similar offence, convicted only, arid severely cautioned. Mr Holmes. Engineer f in-Chief i of the Public Works Department, informed the Wellington "Post" that he is satisfied if the weather during the coming winter is not unusually bad that tin North Island Main Trunk railway will be open for traffic at the end of the year. He thinks the Makatnte viaduct will be finished in two months, and that at the end of this month the gap between the railheads will be reduced to nine miles. During tha quarter ended March 31st, the aggregate amount sued for at the Carterton M'.igistrate's Court was £514 15s 10(1; the total amount recovered was £267 19s 4d, and 62 plaints were entered. The number of distress warrants issued ,vas 3; number of judgment summonses, 7: number of orders made on judgment summonses, 2; number of summonses and other processes served by the bailiff and assistants within two miles, 39; number over two miles, 31; warrants executed, 7. The fee?, including licensing, amounted to £34 10. The criminal cases were as follow:—Assault, 2; illegal fishing, 6; police offences, 11; offences against Borough by-laws, 6. The Masterton Rifle Volunteers will parade at the Drill Hall this evening at 7.30 o'clock, for kit inspection. The baggage is to be at the Dirill Had not later than that hour, and the company will entrain at 10.1!) p.m. for to take nart in the Easter manoeuvres. The Ma-iterton company will be forty strong, and the signalling during the encampment, will be in charge of Corporal L Prentice. The following for the encampment, in connection with the Masterton corps, are announced:— Colour-Sergeant H. Morton to be Battalion Sergeant-Major; Quarter-master-Sergtant A. ') Levien to be Battalion 1 Quartex'-master-Sergeant; Sergeant H. Perry to be Colour Sergeant.

Shortly after five o'clock yesterday morning, a fire wag discovered to have broken out in a house in Albert Street, owned by Mr J. Tait, and which contained a quantity of furniture owned by Mrs Mcßride, whiich was to have been sold by auction to-day. The fire had a very strong hold before the alarm was given, and favoured by the wind, i't s-oon enveloped the whole interior, tha house being completely gutted, and the furniture destroyed. There was a eood pressure of water availably but the Fire Brigade could di little,, beyond saving the adjoining residence. The eause of the outbreak is ,unknown. The house was insured for £:>OQ. in the United office, tln> Not tht British holding a ri.sk of ■£'7s over tli'.! i'iiniiluiv.

One effect of. the closer settlement oif Notcu Ot.igo, says the "Oamaru Mail," lias been the multiplicity of the number of sheep brands and ear mai'krf. As regards the former, they can be easily arranged for; but the Government registrar of brands must be sorely put to now to find fresh ear i marks with which to enable the law to be complied with. Years ago. when the whole of the sheep in the district were owned by twenty or thirty settlers, there was no diffi- ■ culty whatever, but it is very different now when 1,200 ear marks have already been registered. When Uis rem.9 mbered that after all the ear of a sheep is very small, the difficulty will be appreciated. In five years the number of ear marks has been almost doubled.

The acuteness of the labour problem was pointed out by Mr Arch. Clark, chairman of the Auckland Industrial Association, on Tuesday. He said the prejudice against local industries had been to a great extent overcome, but they were faced with a great difficulty in connection with the labour supply. In the soft goods trade his firm alone could find employment from fifty to one hundred hands more. In consequence, of the shortage of labour, and much against the firm's will, they had to import goods which they could manufacture here to greater advantage, and possibly sell locally with greater profit to themselves, but they \ve"e not able to do so, because they could not get labour to manufacture the good 3 the public were crying out for. It was a very serious matter, and a question which the Association should take up.

Yvl y submit to ch 11 aching of nerve or muscle, or tho acute pains of neuralgia tool bailie or lumbago? Witch's Oil—that penetrating, soothing fluid —is a wonderfully quick remedy for pain. Witch's Oil destroys pain almost instantaneously. Quick in action and permanor.cnt in result?. WITCH'S OIL ttancU ii\ veiy fr.u.t ihilc as the King of lain. 141

Figures regarding rent and the cost of foodstuffs in the four cities of the dominion show that the cost of living is greatest in Wellington. , Reports from Hokitika state that an unprecedented crop of apples has been grown throughout that district this season. It is recorded that some specimens of the fruit exceed one pound each in weight. Owing to the "cutting" that is going on at Dunedin, a master baker in the city has decided to close down his business, he having found it impossible to work under Union hours, pay Union wages, and make a profit for himself. * At a meeting of the Otago branch of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Servants, on Sunday last, it was decided to ask that a special conference be called to deal with questions of control and publication of the "Railway Review," and reorganisation of the Society. It has been arranged that NewZealand shall he represented at a show of colonial grown fruit, to be held under the auspices of the Royal Horticultural Society, England, in June. The exhibit will be merely to prove what New Zealand can produce, for there does not appear to be any prospect of sending any regular supplies of fruit from the dominion for the English market. The contract system of threshing seemingly does not always give the utmost satisfaction to workmen, or even to owners of threshing machines in this country, says the Ashburton Guardian. Quite recently, a machine engaged in threshing gram' by contract in the Coldstream district was a doing so little work each day that the men were making barely enough to pav for their food, owing to the great length of the stiavv and the small qauntily of grain each stack yielded. Af ter giving the work a fair trial, the men objectju, auu the farmer was obliged to pay the machine owner and trie mill c taff hv the hour, in order to have the grain threshed. An advertiser wis'ies *to bu/ a section in a central position. An advertiser has for sale a camera tripod and photographic outfit. A reward is offered for the r< - covery of a chestnut horse lost from Oxford House" In another column Mr E. McEwen, a candidate for the vacant seat on the Masterton Borough Council inserts an address to the electors. A splendid block of 5,000 acres in the Taranaki district is advertised for sale by Mr Wm. Bruce, land agent, of Wanganui. In accordance with the Offertories Act of the Wellington Diocescn Synod, the offertories on Easter Day of St.Matthews's Church parishionej s will be handed to the Vicar. Particulars in respect of the illustrated address to be delivered in the Foresters' Hall, to-night, by Mr W. Gillanders, National Secretary to the Y.M.C.A., will be found in an inset circulated wi'.h this issue. Messrs Abraham and Williams, Ltd., Dalgety and Co., Ltd., and the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Co., Ltd., will close their offices from to-day at 5 p.m. till 9 a.m. on Wednesday next, for the Easter holidays. At the Masterton Auction Mar% this afternoon, Mr J. R. Nicol wiil sell, on account of the British Woollen Company, the balance of high-class drapery and clothing. As a clearance must be made, eveiy lins will be sold without reserve.

At their Renall Street yards on Saturday, 25th April, Messrs Abraham and Williams, Ltd., will offer at auction a large entry of draught horses on account of Messrs Dagg Bros., A. J. Welch, and H. and F. Evans. Full particulars appear elsewhere. Mr F. Rosson elsewhere announces ' that he has purchased the hair-dress-ing and tobacconist business of Mr J. Peters, next Prince of Wales Stables. The new proprietor has had considerable experience in some of the best saloons m the dominion, and it is his intention to conduct the business on the best possible lines. The Bush Districts Do? Trial Club will hold its annual meeting at Oringi station on and Thursday, May 6th and 7th. It will be seen from an advertisement appearing in another column that liberal prize money is offered in each class, and a challenge cup is to be given for the best team of dogs competing in classes 1, 2, and 3. Entries close with the secretary, (Mr W. H. Gaisford), at Dannevirke, on April 29th.