LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3102, 27 January 1909, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Masterton District High School I will re-open after the long vacation | on Monday morning next I ' At a special meeting ot the Mas- | terton Borough Council, held last eveninar, Thursday afternoon was again fixed as the statutory half-holi-day for shops and offices for the ensuing year. The progress of various country road worns is" relieving very appreciably the congested state of the unskilled labour market at present. Yesterday, also, a gang of eight men left for lea station to work on a road contract. There were a number of claims for rates included in the eases set down for hearing at the Magistrate's Court to-morrow. A vigorous campaign against defaulters is to | be instituted by the Council, and a large batch of names of su".h ratepayers has been prepared, against whom proceedings will be instituted if further default is made. The work authorised by the Borough Council at last meeting at the septic tank has already been put in hand by the Borough Engineer, Mr W. T. Mansfield. It will probably be about five weeks before the Engineer will have the outfall in the condition he desires it to be for the purposes of ejecting a perfectly innocuous effluent.

White Muslin Frocks witii daintv trimmed blouses and tacked skirts at 15s 6d, 18s 6d and 21s. White Lawn Dress Skirts, smartly made, at 6s lid, 9s Gd and 12s 6d. White Underskirts, 5s lid to lis 6d. These prices are not an indication of tlio value of the goods. I am clearing these lines —whilst summer lasts—at prices much below usual. You should come and inspect them for yourself. —Mrs Matliewson, Melbourne House, Lambton Quay. Wellington (opposite Bank of S"ow Zealand).

Mf il, Jones, senior, of Matarawa, was thrown from a cart on Saturday. was much bruised and shaken, I "and. is suffering greatly from shock j to, the system.

Although the building trade in the town area is not extra brisk in Masterton at present, a local architect informed an Age reporter yesterday that a number of new country residences are in hand or in prospect, besides additions and alterations to others.

Entries for the Masterton Show will close on Saturday next with the Secretary, Mr G. R. Sykes. So tar there has be?n a very satisfactory number received, and thsre is every promise of the Association having another high-class exhibition, in point of both number of entries and quality of exhibits.

Mr vv. P. James, S.M., stated during the hearing of a commission case at fiketahuna on Monday last, that a notice in a window was sufficient introduction provided it could proved that such notice was instrumental in bringing the parties together and a sale of the proper:y subset] ently followed.

The Executive Committee of the Anniversary Day Aquatic Carnival and Evening Entertainment will meet to-morrow evening, when the secretary (Mr A. K. Johnston) will present an interim balance sheet. The expenses of the two affairs (including prize money) is not expected to exceed £SO, and if anticipations in this respect are realised the profit in the gatherings will be about £52,

According to the remarks made by a Masterton resident to an Age reporter yesterdav, the havoc done by wind to oat areas in parts of the Lower Valley is very grent indeed. "I saw one field of about •fifty acres," said the resident, "and as it stood in atook it was a sorry sight, the wind having apparently thrashed every grain of seed out. There will be a goodly area not thrashed at all on this account."

In a rafie match at Alfredton on Saturday last, between the Alfredton .and Tararua Rifle Clubs, the former won by 59 points. The scores were: — AJfredton, 656 points; Tararua, 597. The principal scorers for Alfredton we^e: —C. Bentori, 98; C. Kebbell, 86.; W„ Algie, 84; G. Benton, 83; aodforTara.ua —0. A. Olsen, 87; A. 0, Petersen, 86; J. Peterson, 84 ; and W. Mason, 73.

Amongst those awarded silver medals offered by the Associated Board of the Koyal Academy of Music and Royal College of Music to those candiaa;es at the local centre examinations who gained highest honours marks in each grade were: — Muriel Cooper. Masterton, (pianoforte 136 marks, teacher Mr A. B. Wallace, Masterton); and Phyllis P. Hanify, Masterton, (pianoforte 136 marks, teacher St. Bride's Convent.)

A very successful meeting of ladies an connection with the Masterton South Brass Band Bazaar was held on Monday night in the Boxing Hall, Dixon Street. A large amount of business was transacted. A strong committee of ladies and men are working hard to make the bazaar one of the best ever held in Masterton. Both the Town and Drill Halls have been engaged for the bazaar, and the general arrangemencs have been largely attended to by Mr G. Gray.

The arrest of a youth named Keeble for being drunk while in charge of horses and cab occasioned eorrie mild excitement in Queen street yesterday morning. Constable Doyle arrested accused while the latter was on the cab, and after he had attempted to drive off and leave the constable standing on the road. The assistance of the Court bailiff {Mr H. Bennett) was eventually obtained, and Keeble was taken to the lock-up struggling violently, after having given the constable a severe Kick in the face. A repirt is to be brought up for consideration at the next meeting of the Masterton Borough Council of a conference regarding the ladies' swimming i;aths between Dr. W. H. Hosking and the following Council delegates The Mayor and Crs J. Prentice, A. Haughey, J. C. Ewington and J. Elliot. The conference was held on Monday evening in the Borough Chambers, and at it details of a scheme were gone into very fully. The Council meets in open meeting on Tuesday evening next.

The Wairr.rapa School Committees' J Association was to have held its quarterly meeting last month, but on account of December having been found in the past to be an awkward month for delegates to get away, the meeting was not calkd. The Association will now not hold its next meeting until March, when it is intended by ths Executive to enclavour t ) stimulate more interest in the affairs of the Association than has been shown in the past. The question of holding an Education Conference at Mastcrton is not going to be allowed to drop, and at the March meeting this matter will again he brought up.

A Masterfcon resident who forwarded samples of asters attacked with a blight to the Stock Department for an opinion has received a letter from the Inspector-in-charge on the subject. The letter states that the disease is the "aster wilt," which is closely allied with the "sieepy disease" of tomatoes. The disease appears to be widespread, and I being a root fungus nothing can be done to save the plant. The best course to adopt is to dust the ground round the plants with powdered sulphate of iron, to prevent healthy plants from becoming infected, and generally to check the spread of the disease. Badly affected plants should be dug up and burnt. At the close of the season it is recommended that the soil where the plants grew should be sprayed with a copper sulphate preparation, ono in twenty-five gallons.

Fair Faces Fairer.—Ladies troubled with growth of hair oil face, neck or arms can permanently remove it by using "Violet Snow Cream." It acts directly on the hair roots, and destroys their life. "Violet Snow Cream" is splendid for Blackheads, Wrinkles, Sunburn, etc., and is a guaranteed cure for superfluous hair. Obtainable from H. T. Wood, Chemist, Mastertnn, for 4/6, or send postal note direct to Hem«ley Burnet, .Hair Specialist, 46 George Street, Dunedin (All parcels . sent in plain wrappers), Hemsley Burnet's Hair Restorer for Grey Hair, 4/0.

The school of agriculture is being held at Greytown this week, A movement is on foot arnongsfi-. residents of South Featherston obtain an improved mail service. The Native Land Court is sittingat Greytown. Twenty-two- thousand' acres of land are to be dealt with. Mr M'Causiand, of Feilding, has bought Mr D. J. Lovelock's poultryfarm at Clarevjlle for £2,000. It. incl,it!es thirty acres of fx'eehold. The practice ot "Lauda Sion" will be held on Friday evening next instead of Thursday. A full attendance' of singers and orchestra is requested,, as it is intended to produce t h e cantata in February. After this week: practices will be held in the Church* when the pipe-organ will be used. The handsome silver cup offered by the Hawera P. and A. Society for 1 the best exhibit of New Zealand i cheddar cheese, which has been won by the Dalefield Dairy Company three years in succession, was on Saturday presented to the factory manager, Mr M. T. West, by the chairman of directors, Mr A. Knutsen, on behalf of the company. The production at Masterton of ! the comic opera "Pinafore" by local ' juveniles, the eldest of which will be - ' 16 years of age, will probably take place in about four months' time.. ' Mr G. Gray has already obtained the services of sixty children for the production and rehearsals will be ' commenced shortly. It ia fourteen years ago since Mr Gray T in conjunc--1 tion with Mr J. Kearsiey,. now of Levin, staged the same opera with a juvenile company in the old Theatre .Royal, Masterton. A strange variety of weed, of the thistle family, was brought into the local stock office yesterday for classification. The thistle resembles common variety in one respect only,, in that it has an elongated shaped head, wtiioh blooms the sametint as the sm?ll thistle, though in the centre first instead of at the top. It has practically .no leaves, the bloom only being surrounded with a series of cup-shaped thorny spikeleaves, and the bloom is at the head of long slender strong stalks. Thesample has been forwarded to the Wellington Department. The White Star liner lonic arrived at Wellington from London yesterday with nearly 700 passengers on board,, of whom 549 were in the third-class. Of the third-class passe ger.- 39f>> were assisted immigrants. o.ie hundred of the totf L passengers, were: children. According to dedkratiens made to the High Commissioner, the immigrants come amply provided with capital, one of them bringing £2,000 and another declares an income of £3OO a year.. The occupations are described as: —- Farmers 78, farm labourers 25, domestic servants 54, and dairymen,, gardeners, fruit-growers, and house- ! keepers. Twenty-five husbands already in the Dominion will berejoined by their wives, who have? come out in the lonic. The foolishness of paying compensation claims in a lump sum way commented on by the chairman of theDunedin Benevolent Trustees ore Monday afternoon, when dealing with the case of a woman whose husband had been killed, and when was now m need of relief. When-, she had the money, the applicant's; mother was willing to have herdaughter live with her, but the money having been spent—probably more through improvidence than extravagance—tha mother would have her daughter no longer, and the daughter, though practically an invalid, had to take a house for herself and her children. The chairman suggested that it would be much better to have trustees appointed in compensation casts, so that the money could be paid in instalment". An Austrian, Richatd Singrnondy, is the inventor of a new kind of window glass, whose chief peculiarity is that it prevents the passage of anout nine-tenths of the heat of the sun's rays. It is well-known that ordinary window glass allows nearly all the heat derived from the sun to pass through, but ihe other hand intercepts nearly all heat from nonluminous sources, such as a stove, or the heated ground. This is the reason why he.st accumulates under the glass roof of a hothouse. If covered with Szigmondy's glass a hothouse would bt come df cidedly a coldhouse, as the heat could not get into it. One adrantaga claimed for the new glass is that a house whose windows were furnished with it would remain delightfully cool in summer. But in ; winter perhaps the situation would not be so agreeable. Indeed, the panes would have to be exchanged for others of ordinary glass, since no> sun heat could enter.

A writer in the "Coast Seamen's [ Journal" of November 25th says:—I "The Port of Conneaut, Ohio, is. probably the fastest unloading port, in the world. The record for unloading in-n ore from the vessels trading to that port is, to mh outsider, unbelievable. On Dock No. 4 are fourlarge Heuiett machines, run by hydraulic power, and four 'electric Crown' machines, also run by hydraulic power. These machines unloaded the steamers William E. Cory, Jas. B. Wood, D. R. Hanna, and Loftus Cuddy, all inside of IS hours, and although the exact tonnage is not given none of these vessels had less than 10,000 ions on board. The steamer Geo. W. Perkins, with 10,475 tons of iron ore, came intu Conneaut Harbour to discharge. In just five hours from the time she entered the harbour she was unloaded, coaled, and provisioned, and outside the breakwater, en route for Lake Superior. The steamer J. P.Morgan, with 11,463 tons on board, is perhaps a better record. She was unloaded at No. 4 dock in the very remarkable time of four hours 40 minutes. The secret of success in modern busi- [ ness is to do perfectly the thing you setout to do. The Dresden Piano Company, Ltd., know all about pianos. It has collected all sorts of curious and valuable information them. It vera- home has no piano it is so much Jess a home. You can get one so easily that, year will scarcely realise that you are paying for it. Mr M. J. Evookes is manager for the North Island—if you communicate with him, or witli the company's local representative, Mr T. £. Hunter, lie will put you in the right away. Effervescent Saline, purifping, refreshing, invigorating to all who suffer from sickness, headaclie, sluggish liver, etc. Price, 2/(3, H. T. Wood, Chemist and Pharmacist (by exam,J, Masterton.*

The membership of the Napier Working Men's Club on December 31st last was 1,209, comprising 141 life, 705 ordinary and 363 country members. At a wedding in Colac, Southland district, there were 103 persons present. Of that number the names of 75 bore the prifix "Mac," and 43 were McKenzies, the bride and bridegroom "being both "Macs." The Cor.ciliation Commissioners will exercise jurisdiction in the following districts: —Mr Hailey in Wellington, Hawke's Bay, Marlborough, Nelson and Westland; Mr Triggs in Otago and Canterbury; Mr Harle Giles in Auckland, Poverty Bay and Taranaki. Mangaweka, on the Main Trunk line, is making a bid to become a town of.some importance. The Bank of New Zealand is putting up a bank building at a cost of something like £3,000, and the local authority is about to spend some £4,000 on a water and drainage scheme. Some enormous cabbages have been discovered in Otaki by a representative of the local paper. They were grown by Mr George Powell, and the largest one, when weighed, turned the scales at 41£ lbs. Another, trimmed, weighed 391bs, and many others were almost as large. Nominations for various offices in the Manawatu A. and P. Association close on Tuesday, February 9th. The following officers retire in accordance with the rules of the Association: —President, Mr F. W. Arbon; Vice-Presidents, Messrs J. Harkness, S. R. Lancaster, E. Short and W. T. Wood; Hon. Treasurer, Mr J. M. Johnston; Committee, Messrs M. Cohen, E. J. Wilde, J. O. Batchelar, S. C. Jouineaux, H. M. Simmonds, C. A. J. Levett, J. A. McCrea, H. Gillies, K. Dalrymple, J. Balsillie, T. R. Hodder and A. Sutherland. As a cont-ast to the condition of J affairs prevailing in the shipping trade at Auckland a few months ago, when several direct cargo steamers were lying in port unable to obtain freight for Great Britain, the Auckland "Herald" mentions that space on all the outgoing steamers for the next few weeks is fully . booked, and there is difficulty in finding room for all that is now offering. Wool, meat and butter are being sent Hsm? in record quantities. The season has been a most favourable one.

The matter of playi"g tennis on Sunday was briefly referred to by the Rev. E. Kobertshawe at St, John's Church, Dannevirke.on Sunday evening. He state that a complaint had been made to him that the local courts had been used all the morning, which ite understood was Contrary to the rules of the club. Speaking as a clergyman, lie thought there was no more harm in playing a game of tennis on Sunday than there was in reading a novel. But he considered that people should consider the exa nple they were setting the younger generation. and be more careful what was done during the hour-3 of public worship.

It was not with the intention of "having a good time" that a minister of the Gospel, who was visiting Oamaru, discarded his conspicuous broadcloth, and, attiring himself in less recognisable garments, sallied forth one evening in search of sinners —or, rather, sly-groggers, remarks an Oamaru paper. Having been told that they did exist, what better way of combating the evil than by being brought face to face with it? But it would bp unfair to say how the gond man was ensnared by the wile? of the te rpter; let it be sufficient to state that he was eve- 'ually put in the way of buy ; ng whisky in Thames street at 10s 6d per uottle. Notwithstanding the evils consequent up in no-license, the visitor in question was favourably impressed with Oamaru under the new regime.

Will stoats tackle human beings wi.ho.t provocation? asks the "Bruce H"iald." Mr A. Annicich. of Akatore, it adds, says decidedly yes, and tnis is his experience: With his son he was hoeing turnips, and had laid down his hoe when he saw a stoat hopping over the drills towards him. He made no move and waited, when the stoat sprang at him, but he kicked it off. It then made up the ridge, with the lad armed with the hoe in pursuit. It turned on him, and he aimed a blow at it and broke his hoe handle. It then got into a hole, but before doing so turned round and threatened its pursu-rs. (t was dug out and despatched. It was a large male one.

The Post Office authorities have deemed it desirable to impress upon their telephonists the advisability of courtesy, say 3 the London "Daily Mail." In the official "Post Office Circular" is a long notice, headed "Standard expressions to be used by telephonists engaged on trunk work." In the preamble it is set forth:— "In order that abrupt and uncouth expressions may be avoided in the telephone service, telephonists employed in trunk exchanges ars in iuture to make use of the following expressions in connection with thtirwork, and supervising officers should impress upon the staff generally the necessity of adhering to the authorised form of words." Entering into details, stress is laid upon the advisability of using the word "please" wherever it can 'ie conveniently introduced. If a subscriber has been kept waiting for more than the regulation time the telephonist should say "Sorry to have kept you waiting." At the end of a call the telephonist is urged when notifying a subscriber that his three minutes are up to suggest that he should tak® another three minutes. Messrs Hansen and Co, General Mcr chants, Shortland, Thames, N.Z., say—- " From our experience in selling Chamberlain's Colic, Cholera, and Diarrhoea Rem edy, we are satisfied that a few doses of it is sufficient to cure anyone suffering from colic, diarrhoea, or pains in the stomach." For sale by al' chemists and storekeepers Back up a sewer ann you wili poison tne whole neighbourhood, clog up the liver and bowels and your system is full of undigested food—which sours and ferments—this means indigestion, headache, bad breath, yellow skin, and everything that is horrible. Chamberlain's Stomach and Liver Tablets quickly stop fermentation in the stomach, and they make the liver lively tone up the bowels, find set the whole machinery going. For sale by all chemists and iorekeepers.

A telegram from Munich gives details of what is described as "the first catastrophe of its kind on record"—the collapse in a busy street of a lady of fashion as a consequence of the heaviness of her hat, says the Berlin corrpspondent of the London "Daily Mai!." Under the weight of a gorgeous creation nearly three feet in diameter, the lady, the telegram says, sank helplessly to the pavement, and only recovered from her swoon after being carried to a shop and relieved of her headgear.

The Woodville correspondent of the "Hawke'n Bay Herald" says that the Auditor-General has returned the county balance-sheet with tags disallowing expenses paid to councillors for travelling to Wellington on county work, and to the representative on the Charitable Aid Board, also the payment to the Woodville School Committee for the of a room for technical education purposes.

1 Generally, said one of the speakers j at the Musicians' Cungress in Auckland, the temperament of the young New Zealander was so peculiar and different from that of Europeans, that he was convinced th».t not even j the glamour of a conservatoriuin woul i have suffisient attraction to induce him to sacrifice sport in the interests of music. That New Zealanders were not tssentially musical people was frequently shown by the scanty support general!/ accurded great artists. This need only be conj trasted with the support of any varl iety show or melodrama. For spme time a party of scientists (in the employ of the United States Government has been engaged in measuring the height of clouds with the aid of photography. Simultaneous pictures of a cloud are made by two cameras placed 600 feet apart and comected with telegraph wires. From the amount of displacementt of the cloud caused by viewing it alternately from each end of the 600-foot base line, its height can be calcuated. Some of the "mackerel-sky" clouds photographed were seven and a quarter miles high. The loftiest cloud whose elevation was thus measured belonged to the type known as cirrus or "curl-cloud," the height being a Htctle more than seventeen miles.

A young couple who were driving on Sunday afternoon along the Bendigo Ropd from Cromwell had a marvellous escape from instant death, states the "Argus." Approaching th 3 Firewood Creek bridge the horse jibbed and began to back toward* th 3 river bank, which goes sheer down for 150 ft. The man got out and attempted to lead tha horse across the bridge, but finding the animal beyond control, called on his companion to jump, who did jii.st iu time to escape being precipitated OR to the rocks below. Thehorieandtrapw.il' over. The trap was smashed to matchwood, but the liorse, strange to say, escaped with a few cuts and bruises. A London correspondent writes as follows, under date December 11th, 1908:—"For many years there has been a feeling among New Zealand producer* of duster and cheese that improvements could be effected in the handling and distribution of dairy produce in this country." This week p. preliminary meeting was held in London in order to secure the object stated. A committee was appointed to draw up and submit to a future meeting regulations for the benefit of the colonial trade. The proceedings were private. but it is understood the feeling of the meeting was that there should be no attempt to fix prices for dairy produce." The report of the United States Commissioner of Pensions says that the total num:er of pensions on the rolls of that country on June 30th last was 951,687. During the year 54,3i6 were c ropped from the rolls, and 36,682 added, making a net loss of 15,664. Of those dropped from the rolls 34,333 were survivors of the civil war of 1862—5. There are now 628,084 survivors of that war on the rolls. Some 188,445 widows of soldiers already have taken advantage of the law passed at the last session of Congress increasing to 45s a month the pensions to widows. The actual expenditure for the year on account of pensions was £31,230,989, but on account of legislation increasing the rate to individual pensions, the annual value of the roll at the cloie af the year was £3 9 ., 537,123. This .expenditure is the largest in the history of the Pensions Bureau.

A young; lady seeks position as nursemaid or light general. Messrs Abraham and Williams, Ltd., make additions to their Pabiatua stock sale for February 2nd. A married couple with first-class references seek position on station. The man is used to stock cr agricultural work and has good dogs. Messrs Chamberlain Bros, announce that they are prepared to purchase chaff, hay, straw and all j classes of grain. Mr Reihana Boyes notifies that he will resume tuition on the violin and mandoline at his residence, No. 9, Miriam street, on Monday next. Miss Evans, L.A.8., of R.A.M., T.C L., announces that she will resume teaching of pianoforte and harmony on Monday, February Ist, at her rooms above the Wenvoe Tea Rooms. Messrs Dimock arid Co., Ltd., notify that Monday and Tuesday, February Bth and 9th, are the next days on which pigs will be trucked at Eketahuna and Mauriceville, respectively. Mr W. E. Beere, veterinary surgeon and equine dentist, notifies that he will be in Masterton till | Saturday next, and may be consulted at the Prince of Wales' stables or at the Coronation Coffee Palace, near the Railway Station. Miss V. Hampton, teacher of the pianoforte and the theory of music, notifies that she will resume her classes at No. 5 Exchange Buildings, on Wednesday, February 3rd. Miss Hampton will be at her rooms to enrol new pupils from 3.30 to 4 p.m. on Thursday, February 4th. A resident who saw the "Red Mill" Company playing at Palmerston North on Monday night, states that Messrs John Ford and Fred Leslie kept the audience in roars of laughter all through the performance. Miss Ivy Scott and Mr Charles Loder .were also capital^