LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9092, 19 May 1908, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Owing to the supervisor of Worksop Dredge having been otherwise engaged, the first wash up of the dredge has been delayed longer than was anticipated. A telegram received in Masterton yesterday stated, however, that the wash-up will take place to-day.

The animal meeting of the Masterton Morris Tube Association will take place to-morrow evening, when the syllabus for the season will be drawn up. The members of the Association anticipate that there will be an increased membership this season. Several fine trophies are in hand for competition.

m he converting of the Masterton branch of the Fanners' Union into a district branch means that the following branches —one at least practically defunct—will be absorbed in . the new organisation:— Rangitumau, Opaki, Kopuaranga, Stronvar, Te Ore Ore, and possibly Kaituna.

The Masterton Bowling, Club has closed its green for the season, after a very favourable summer and autumn, probably the longest in the club's history. When the curtain is rung up again on bowling next season members will have two very fine playing areas instead of one. The new portion has been taken up and rolled with the utmost care and skill by the custodian, Mr W. H. Penby, and should be one of the best greens in the district. The old green is now receiving a new topdressing, which should also improve it considerably for play next season. The compilation of the history of the Masterton Trust Lands Trustees is a work which Mr R. Brown, to whom it was entrusted, is finding very interesting. Mr Brown anticipates that the work will be completed by about the end of the year. Ho leaves for Wellington in a few days to make extracts from various records there, and to procure copies of photographs and pictures relating tc the history. One photograph of old Masterton,, which Mr Brown hopes to procure a copy of, is exceedingly intßresting. and the compiler status that the iffastratjons will form a feature of the work.

A very attractive programme is announced tor a meeting at< the Methodist schoolroom . to-morrow evening. Adivesses will be delivered by the Kevs. C. E. Bfiecroft, W. J. Williams, and Mrs Williams. It is not often that such high officials in the Methodist Church as the President of the Conference and District Chairman visit a circuit at the same time. This will occur to-morrow evening, whilst Mrs Williams (Sister Olive) has earned for herself a high reputation in the south as a speaker. Mr S. H. Ralph will have charge of the musical arrangement", and refreshments will be provided. A collection will be taken up in aid of the Circuit Fund.

A member of the holiday committee of the Wairarapo Association was spoken to yesterday by a Wairarana Age reporter in regard to the question of the closing of business premises ir. Masterton for a few hours OP Saturday to allow employees to witness the football' match against the English team. The member spoken to said that so far the Committee had not been officially approached, and that though the time was now drawing vcj'ry clos?, probably the committee would, ifdsked, recommend the granting" of a few hours' holiday for the purpose stated, as it is probable'the match will mean that business will be very shek in town during; tlte- progress of the game.

A very satisfactory report was read at a meelvngof. the Wairarapn Amateur Athfefcfc Club held last evening. The treasurer iMr J. V. Darroch) fitr the- recent social, heir] for the purpose of raising; funds to liquidate the club's outstanding liabilities,, stated that th" handsome profi't of £l3 had been the result of the social, which wis sufficient to> p\v the -vhol • of the Club's debts, except a pmall amount payable for prize-money.' Mr D<rroch said this exc»l*eut result had been achieved 1 through the energetic assistance of the ladies committee which provided the refreshments at the social', and to the generous support of the public. The ladies committee' was accorded a hearty vote of thanks.

Nlo< creditors put in an appearance at the first meeting in the bankrupt estate of John G. Hayes, labourer, heldi yesterday afternoon before the Deputy Official Assignee (Mr VV. B. Chetmells). Bankrupt submitted a written statement showing that he came to Masterton two and a-half years ago, possessing then as his sole property four calves and one horse, with a few pounds in cash. The-rest of the statement was a record of sickness a.rl misfortune, one son eight years old dying, bankrupt and his wife being ill at periods, and another son suffering from an eye affection. A writ of nulla bona had been returned by a bailiff 'put into ♦ho house with a distress warrant. Bankrupt had been sued by various creditors, but though he tried to pay off debts by instalments from time to time, pressure at last compelled him to file. Cross-examined by the Deputy Official Assignee, bankrupt s'rid he was employed by tho Borough Council, earning £2 10s per week. He was paying 12s per week rent, his life was not insured, nor was he in a lodge. He had four children, the eldest being sixteen years of age. He could make no offer to his creditors just now.

The Masterton Mounted Rifles will hold the first of their fortnightly dismounted parades in the Drill Hall to-morrow week.

A meeting of ratepayers will be held at Lauadowne, at 3.30 p.m., on Wednesday, May 27th, to consider the loan proposals for the Opaki and Lansdowne water supply.

The oratorio, "Christ and His Soldiers," the production of which was so creditably carried out by Knox Church choir last week, will probably be repeated in about a fortnight's time.

Local Friendly Society co-operation is developing apace. 1c is probable that a combined social gathering under the auspices of the whole or the Masterton Lodges will be held shortly.

The Wairarapa Drovers' and Shepherds Union lias decided to hid an industrial dispute. This decision has been arrived ac t>y the Union in consequence of the recent aborcive ference Detw-een the Union delegates and the employers.

Mr J. McGregor, senr., mentioned at the meeting of members of Knox Church, last evening, that the iirst Presbyterian Church in Masterton was established thirty years ago, and was built of split slabs with a bark roof.

Sportsmen continue to obtain good bags, particularly of duck. Swans are reported to be very plentiful on tne Wairarapa Lake, a large number oi Mastertonians having had very good luck on the lake, pukeko being also numerous.

The quarterly meeting of Stonehenge Lodge of Druids will take place this evening, when some important business in connection with the Lodge is to be transacted. The wnole of the Lodge trustees intend to be present.

It was decided at the meeting of parishioners at Knox Church, on :vionday night, to appoint a comwaya and means to go into tne matter or procuring funus with wnkn tu carry out the scheme adopted in connection witn tlw alterations' and improvements to tne church.

The following team will represent the Mauriceviiie Kifle (Jluo in a match against the Pose and Telegraph Kitted, at Maurkeviiit:, on Monuay, May 25ch: —Captain VViiton, Kittemen i<'. Kumtner, A. JLarsen, 0. Brooks, (J. blewett, A. Dagg, a. M. Koae, T. Brencniey, Jbi. ti. Uagg and K. Dagg. iUuiergencies liniamen W. Tapun and jfcttigrevi.

A final meeting of the committee of Friendly Society representatives and ladies wih be held in the Dominion Hall on Wednesday evening to arrange details of the procession for the Hospital Sunday Demonstration. Arrangements up to the present are very tar advanced, and a procession of a magnitude rarely seen in Mastercon will form part of the proceedings. '

No intimation has so far been received by cue local volunteer authorities as lo the date this year oi the holding of the district scnool of instruction in Masterton. Last year cue school was attended by a large number of officers and non-commis-sioned officers, and the work none nas borne good fruit, according to a local military authority. A minor examination for officers was held in Maaterton last w<;ek.

The bkating rink recently started in the motor garage buildings in Chapel btreet is proving a great succedd, '.anj every week showd an increased attendance. The management have just had the floor further improved, and it is now in perfect oi-l.hi: ic has been found necessary to purchase one hundred and fifty pairs or extra skated, which will ue available this week. Arrangements are being made for holding a skating carnival early next month.

The ordinary meeting of the Oddfellows' Lodge was held in the Foresters' Hall, last evening, Bro. Buxton, .N.U., presiding. Une new member was initialed and one iriend proposed. It was resolved that all mumpers meet atthe Lodge room at 12 o'uluek on bunuay in connection with tne Hospital duiulay Denions'.ratiou. A tier iroucine business' had been transacted, tne Louge went into committee to arrange xor a social to be jj'beld in the Drill Hall on Thursday, June lnh.

The eroction of a new fire-station in iVlasterton tucn as tne Fire Board hopes to see provided will be an architectural addition tr> the town of tome importance. Conversing on the prospects of the building being obtained an Age reporter wad informed by a member of the Fire Board yesterday that everything depended upon the passing of the estimates by the Minister. The borough's share of the'estimates is £550, which is likely to be much les& in the future. Should the estimates be sanctioned, (.here is little doubt that the new station contemplated in Chapel Street will be erected.

The Executive of the Wairarapa School Committees' Association, which, embraces a jurisdiction of thirty-two committees, does not intend to let the matter of drainage in country schools rest at its present point. It may be remembered that the Association procured a .promise from the Health Department that experiments on the septic tank principle would be carried out at Taueru and Mauriceville West schools. This promise, made several months ago, lias not been fulfilled, it is said on account of'the District Health Officer (Dr J. P. Frengley) being of the opinion that these localities are unsuited for the principle. Several members of the Association do not share the Health Officer's view, and at the annual meeting of the Association, which will be held in about three weeks' time, the matter will b;e again brought up.

Early yesterday morning Prank Mahon, bracernan at the Grand Junction Mine, Waihi, while helping to start the big fly-wheel of the air compressor engine, was suddenly caught up by the wheel, and whiiled round, death being instantaneous. The potato crop in the Spring Creek district, Blenheim, is even worse than last season, although blight is not so prevalent. The average crop per acre lyill not exceed three tons. Some of the farmers are dispensing with hand digging and using the plough instead. Mr Thomas Mackenize, M.P., informed bis audience at Goodwood oh Friday night that since he returned to New Zealand from England eight years ago he had received more money for advising London firms and some colonial firms on questions affecting the products of the dominion than he had received by way of honorarium in the Parliament of this country.

In his reserved judgment in the case at Wellington, in which the Home Instructor of the Technical School was charged with assaulting a boy by beating him .with a cane, Mr Riddell, S.M., held tbati there was an excess of punishment amounting to assault, but riot sufficient to warrant a conviction against defendant. The latter, however, was ordered to pay the costs of the prosecution, amounting to £3 ISs.

Sensational rumours have been in circulation during the past few days in Mangaweka r with reference to the reported find of gold-bearing quartz.' From inquiries made the "Settler" understands the recent heavy flood in the Kawataw river brought down a lot of boulders from) the Kuahine ranges, amongst them being some fine specimens of quartz. It was in one of these the gold was found. A Mangaweka syndicate is\ being formed to send out a prospecting party early in the spring. An unusual and unequal contei t took place recently in Hawera,. where stone is being broken for the metalling contracts. A stone napper, named J. Whitcomoe, for a wager, endeavoured to< Lrsak a two-yard' heap of metal in 'less time than three other napners, all experienced hands at the work. The three men broke' their heap in two hours and ten minutes, and their opponent then required about a quarter of an hour to finish his metal. Another stone-napper who witnessed the contest saW it would undoubtedly have resulted differently if the quantity of metal tobe broken had. been three yards instead of two. '

The decision of the Government to establish female labour bureaus in each of the /four centres of' the* dominion has been received with) something akin to consternation by Dunedin labour agents whose busi- , ness is principally associated with' female labour The recently-amend-ed scale of charges, it is contended; has in itself been sufficient to cause a serious diminution in business, to' an extent, in fact, as to cause four agencies to discontinue business within the last few months. The latest decision of the Government, Dunedin aerents. regard as certain to prove, distinctly disastrous to them. The scarcity of female servants? causes .business- to be limited enough as it is,, without their having to face such opposition as is* to be set up. Protestation on their part they consider quite useless. ,

There appears to tie a dearth of journeymen hairdressers in Dunedin at present, savs a local paper and it is understood that the position is likely to become acute. Several have left the trade altogether ix\z the last few months, and more contemplate doing so. An authority informed a reportpr that: the wages were so small and the hours so long that many tradesmen found, they could better themselves in other walks' of life. Fifty shillings a week for 52 hours' work was hardly an inducement to the ambitious, and as to the hairdres* sing trade being recruited from the local youths, boys were hardly likely to work till 8 o'clock at night when in ; other callings they would ; be free at 5 or 6.

Mr W. H. Cruickshank, land and' estate agent, offers for exchange a' desirable property at Manaia.

The Wellington Piano Company inset particulars of their easy time payment system. The Company's instruments cm be seen at the "Academy," Mfnstjrton.

Mr Folev, Sheriff of the District Court, notifies that jurors summoned for the trial of criminal cases will not be require'! at the sitting of the District Court. Those jurors summoned for civil cases are, however, required '

The Mayor (Mr P: L> HollingsV has convened'a: meeting to be held 8 o'clock,, to-night, to consider the desirability of holding a public holiday between 2 p.m. and 5 p.m., on Saturday next, on the occasion of the visit; of the British football team. Messrs McLeod' and Young advertise particulars in connection with their agency for-Graphophones. The Book Arcade premises will, as welt as being a stationer's and bookshopy be fitted up as a phonograph saloon. Catalogues of machines and records, will be sent out free upon application.. Patrons'can rely on hearing the very latest in records if they will visit the saloon.

The Union Steamship Company liave declared an interim dividend of g| per cent, for the half year. The "Gore Standard" says that ;sheep*stealing has been rife on several runs in the back country recently. The police are understood to be making inquiries. A Chriatcburch citizen, fond of statistics, has taken the trouble to cakulflte which is the cheapest town in the dominion. He made a list of household ;ommodities, which in ■>F)unecliri Jio found came to £l. In Auckland the bill came to 19s lOd; ■in Invcrcargill to £1 Is; in Wellington to £1 25% in Christchurch to £1 .0s 6d; and in Napier to £1 4s. He therefore awards the palm to Auck- • ,Jand, with Dunedin a good second. The scope of the motor car grows with the years. So far (says the ■ "Southland Times") no one has covered the distance between Invercargill and in one day of ■ thirteen hours, but Mr G. W. Woods • and Mr W. A. Prlntz. of Invercaigill, are satisfied that they can do it, and they intend to try when spring makes the roads better. Meantime, in Mr Printz's 25-30 horse-power —Tniapell car they have driven from JDunedin to Invercargill (over 145 miles) in shrs 45min. There are About ten miles of shockingly bad along the route, and the time is most creditable—possibly it is a record for the trip. The South Melbourne Magistrate's • Court recently ordered Albert E. Bird, aged 76, a champion pedestrian of former days, to be sent to gaol for Six months. The old man was -charged with vagrancy, and the magistrate said that, unfortunately, there was no place to send him to but gaol. Mr Bent, the Victorian Premitr, in a speech the same day, said there Was no necessity to send the old man to gaol. It would cost less to maintain a man out of gaol than in it. There was plenty of money in the 'Treasury, and the surplus was big enough, and the country generous enough to keep the poor fellow to whom he referred out of gaol. Parliament would not for a moment wish to send to gaol an old person just because he was poor. Subsequently Mr Bent said he would see about : having Albert Bird relased at once, and would arrange for the oUI man being paid a compassionate allow- •- ance. The construction of a ship canal from Georgian Bay, by way of the French and Ottawa Rvjrsto Montreal, is under the consideration of *""the Canadian Government/ It is contended, however, that the distance by such a canal to Montreal from the upper lakes would be only seventy miles shorter than by the Huron, Ontario, and St. Lawrence route; that there are some sixty foet more of a rise to overcome by locks; that the rocky formation of,the coun- • try will make the canal unsafe for naviagtion; that a ship will take from eight to nine days to transverse the distance from the French River to Montreal and return; that the-canal will cost from 120,000,000 dollars to* 150.000,000 dollars to con-' that little else but grain could be depended upon to seek the route; that this traffic must be taken at the expense of the St. Lawrence route; *md that no reasonable toll which could be imposed on, .all,possible traffic would pay the cost, of maintenance and interest on capital. Here is a curious case of mistaken identity. Those who saw "The ! Mummy and the Humming Bird" will nnc have forgotten Mr W. H. • Varna's realistic bit «f work as Guiaeppe, the deeply-wronged Italian. While the enmpany were in the Empire City a letter arrived through the "post at the Opera House addressed •'Guiseppe." The letter is in Italian, and this is hWSignor Borzoni translated it for Mr Varna :-"273, TaranStreet, Wellington. Dear Bepp.i, --V/e was glad to see you in your ; play last night, and knowed you at once by your voice, and was glad: to think we'd found out where you war. ' We git a letter from mother often, and she always talks about you, and reckons you'll come home when nobody's thinkin' about you. She Fays you dog, and pig, and the donkey never forgeti you, and sends their '*best love Brother Soltanais in, Melbourne, Australia. His address is, I believe, Melbourne Place, Sydney. *'€o'me to dinner to-morrow, and if you ain't comfortable at your lodgings we can make you comfortable with us. Come io-morrow before dinner. —Your affectionate sister, Argioline "lUaeili."