LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3211, 10 June 1909, Page 1

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The theory examinations in music under the auspices of Trinity College, London, are to be held at St. Bride's Convent, Masterton, on Saturday next. The Very Rev. Dean McKenna will act as supervisor. The quarterly conference of, the Masterton Roman Catholic Deanery is to be opened at Masterton on Wednesday next. The Very Rev. Dem McKenna will preside at the Convocation, which will be attended by about twenty clergy, coming from such distant places as Nelson, Blenheim and Otaki.

A meeting of the Masterton SufiBranch of the Navy League was held ladt evening, Mr J. D. Cruickshank in the chair. A report was received from the Masterton District High School Branch, which showed this Branch to be in a most flourishing condition. It was decided that steps be taken to establish branches in the various schools at an early date Several accounts were passed for payment.

An Advances to Settlers Bill is to be introduced into the Victorian Parliament. It will aim at aiding settlers when they are suffering irom hardships, particularly during the period when they are struggling against the initial difficulties of settlement upon new land. It will provide for loans to Crown tenants upon easy terms, to assist them in clearing, ring-barking, fencing, draining, and ploughing their properties. The courageous action of Ethel Cooper, aged 11 . years, was the means of averting the drowning of the five year old daughter of A. Bremner, of Northam, Western Australia, last week. The child fell off some planking into a weir 6ft deep. Ethel Cooper jumped after her, and grasDing her as she rose the second time .told her to put her arms round her neck. The little one did as she was told, and her rescuer clambered along the woodwork and got the child out without further assistance.

It is stated that among other schemes of economy in the Government departments it is proposed to charge officers in residential country post offices a rental in futufe. In voicing his opinion on the matter, a country postal official stated that with a free house ha felt that if any person not in a position to help it, or living some distance away, came to do business out of office hours he fslt under an obligation to attend it. If he was to pay a rent, however, he would consider that obligation removed, and decline to do business out of office hours.

The monthly meeting of the Masterton Benevolent Trustees was held to-day, when the following were present:—Messrs R. T. Holmes (Chairman). Jno. Morris, J. C. Ewington and Mrs Keen. It was decided to write to the Hospital Trustees to the effect that the Benovolent Trustees did not admit liability for an account rendered by the Hospital authorities for discharged patients, the District Charitable Ail Board having instructed their Trustees that they were not responsible. The pay-sheet, amounting to £7O 14s 7d was adopted. It was decided to continue the telephone service to Solway Home. Two applications for admission to the Home were granted. Mr L. R. Wilsm has prepare 1 a return giving the replies he has i received to his advertisement for names of unemployed in Christchureb. The answers, says the "Lyttelton Times," totalled 156, and 79 of the men were married and had a total of 170 children. Twenty-three single men had either one or both parents dependent on them, and the remaining 54 had no one to maintain but themselves. There were 20 carpenters, 10 engineers, 5 painters, 5 iron turners, 4 each of blacksmiths and plasterers, and representatives of many other trades. Fifty of the men were general labourers. In cases the men had been idle from two to five months. The Angora goat is receiving very flattering reports from settlers in the north of New Zealand. On many holdings that have been infested by the blackberry pest this goat is regarded das one of the most valuable animals imported into the country. Useless territory by its aid has been rendered it tillable,and owners of country in the Tangihua and other districts can with its assistance win back valuable soil which is now claimed by introduced plants, and can increase their revenue by the sale of mohair. O.i.the Bickerstaff Estate, in the Kaipara district, the Government has a herd of pedigree Angoras which are doing good work, and are satisfactorily increasing, and at the Bay of Islands one firm of agriculturists is breeding on an extensive scale for market '

The problem of the influx of young people from the country to the town is one to which the Farmers' Union is evidently keenly alive, and, with a view to increasing the interest of i country children in their own natural surroundings, an essay competition ! was last year conducted by the "Farmers' Union Advocate" for children of primary country schools. The New Zealand grass grub, the atmosphere, the »■ soil, a dairy, bees, birds, and the horse were among the subjects upon which essays were contributed, and a considerable sum of money was subscribed to form a prize fund. Tke Dominion secretary of the union states that it is intended, if funds permit, to continue these essays, which have been found to be of immense benefit, and he is appealing to provincial secretaries to make the competition more widely known.

Devonport (Auckland) is suffering severely from a plague of rats. The next New Zealand lawn tennis championship will be decided at Auckland. The average rainfall throughout New Zealand during May was about 30 per cent below the nominal. The first theatrical performance in Australia was given at Sydney 120 years ago on Friday last. A band contest will be held at. Kaiapoi on October 12th, 13tb and 14th. A sum of £l9O has been guaranteed by residents. Accoiding to the "Marlborough Herald," there is greater need for bridges in that district than there is. for a lighthouse near Terawhiti. The monthly service of the Bide--ford Presbyterian church will be held on Sunday afternoon next at 3 p.m.. Mr C. J. Tocker will preach. Recently, says an English paper, there were staying at Monte Carlo at the same time twenty princes, ten princesses, and at least fourteen millionaires. A butter factory in the Stratford district which was offered 11 £'l for its season's output, but declined to sell, figures out its loss at about £5,000. It is very probable that another race will shortly be arranged between Whelch and Fogwell to take place on the Wanganui river in a few weeks' time.

In order to encourage the oil-boring operations now proceeding in different parts of the Dominion, and to give a start to a promising new industry, the Government has decided to offer a bonus of 3rt per gallon on the first 500,000 gallons of kerosene produced and refined in New Zealand. While driving a mob of 150 sheepat Levin, Mr Denton had the misfortune to have a large number killed by the traio, says the "Otaki Mail." He heard the express train whistle as it neared Levin, bat could not get. his sheep clear of the crossing be fore the train dashed by, which killed no less than 32 fine sheep beside injuring others. Sir Andrew Noble, presiding at the last meeting in Newcastle (England) of Messrs Armstrong, Whitworth and Co., said that the companywould shortly be able to complete four Dreadnoughts p9r aumum, with continuous orders. That was a productive capacity unsurpassed by any other shipbuilding establishment in. the world.

Alderman Abraham Leon Emanuel; J.P., of Portsmouth (England), who died in February, leaving estate valued at £34,368, bequeathed to the Portsmouth Corporation £1,500 to> form a "Wedding Gift Fund."" The income is to be applied to purchase' each year wedding gifts of furniture for three youn« women who have resided in Portsmouth for five years and who are about to be married. Preference is to be given to orphans, without religious distinction.

A fcire Police Corps has been formed in Gisborne, and the secretary recently wrote to the local Corps for a copy of their rules, which it was use in with the formation of the body. A letter received subse--quently by the Masterton Fire Police from the newly-formed Corps stated? that the rules forwarded had assisted* them greatly in forming the Corps, and that they considered the Masterton Corps tne leading. Fire Policeand Salvage Corps in the. Dominion.

The Masterton Mounted Rifles hel-jj their usual parade under Captain* McKillop, last evening, there being a. good attendance. At a meeting held* after.varda it was decided to hold the.parades fortnightly, and to hold a« N.C.O.'s parade on the Wednesday between. During the evening Staff:' Sergt Major Burr delivered a very instructive addres3 on shooting, range? finding and judging distances in unknown country. He also announced' that a practical demonstration would be held at Weraiti at the end of the week.

Mr Clement Wragge, speaking at: Christchurch recently, "sat on" the aneroid barometer. He said that he hated to see "these things" hanging in the hall in a mahogany case, with "Fair, set fair, dry very dry, rain," plastered round their dials. "Father goes and taps them in the morning after breakfast, and sayi 'I wonderwhat it will be today? Ahl rain!' But he's wrong, ladies and gentlemen, he's wrong. Trese things are no use, with their dials nicely numbered, in Australasia. They are unreliable. The mercurial barometer is the only one worth using." At the Wellington Magistrate's Court yesterday, Peter Williamson: Tait was committed for trial on a charge of assaulting David McCall and Martha Munday in a boardinghouse on May HBth last. Tait and; McCall quarrelled about a - letter the former had given the latter to deliver. Tait called McUall names, whereupon McUall struck-Tait who,. it is alleged, stabbed McCalll several times with a knife. Mrs Munday, the landlady, in attempting to separate the men, was stabbed on the leg.. Accused pleaded not guilty. There was a good attendance at tie. meeting of the Masterton Fire Police held last evening, and presided over by Captain Dixon. Constable Fielding applied for a two years' service bar, the application being granted. Other routine business was transacted. At the next meeting to be held on June 22nd, the drawing of tickets for Town Hall duty will take place, and the medals won by those obtaining the most marks for attendance will be presented. It is intended to ask the Chairman of the Trust Lands Trust to present the medals, and to invite the Secretary of the Trust to act as scrutineer in connection with the drawings. Judgment w.i; c?iven at Wellington yesterday by Mr Riddeil, S.M., in case of James Hani, charged with having used. Willis Street on April 29th last for the purpose of bookmaking contrary to the City by-laws. . The defence was that the money which had passed between the defendant and several men was money which was being repaid men who had borrowed small sums at various times. Defendant admitted that he was a bookmaker, but said he was also an employer in a coal business and had ordinary transactions in the street with some of his men. Detective Cassell3 described the accused as a "walking tote." His Worship entered a conviction and imposed a fine 7 of £3 and costs.

A sign of the times is the xeappearance of the bootblack on the Wellington streets. The Te Ore Ore Football Club intend to hold a social and dance shortly. The "Strathmore" farm as advertised for public sale by Messrs Harcourt and Co. of Wellington has been disposed of privately. U• £^ A new theatre is to be erected in Courtney Place, Wellington, for a Wellington syndicate at a cost of J north side of the street, and almost opposite the theatre known as His Majesty's. A conference of Maoris at Taupo decided that the time is not yet ripe for the individual Maori to conduct the administration of his own land. If the land has been cut up, however, it is held that the owners should then have all the privileges of Europeans. Mr J. T. M. Hornsby, instructor to the Masterton Y.M.C.A.'s elocution class, was tendered a fareweli social by the pupils of the class in the Y.M.C.A. Building last evening. There was a large attendance, and Mr J. H inter occupied the chair. The room was neatly arranged in drawing room style, the furniture bsing kindly lent by Me3sis G. Hyde and Co. Refreshments were provided by the ladies, and a most enjoyable evening was spant. Addresses were given by Messrs Hornsby and Donald, recitations by Miss Sutherland, Mrs JDupre (encored), Mis 3 Logan, Mr J. Cole, Mr D. B. Thompson, Mr Alrass, Mr G. Sykes, Miss Flanagan, Mr W. Kemp, Miss Evans, Mr Flanagan, and Mr E. R. Wilson, and a song by Mrs Dupre. A book guessing competition, the prize for which ■was donated by Mr G. R. Sykes.

C v was won by Miss E. Gillespie, while the nrisic guessing competition for Mr DonalJ's prize was won by Miss Richards.

A reward is offered for the return of a fur necklet, lost in Masterton some daya ago. First-class tea rooms in a large inland town are advertised for sale. Particulars are available at tne Age office.

Five hundredweight of good clean coal may be obtained from Mr G. Oliver, 62 Pine ! Street, for nine shillings cash. A splendid bakery business in

the main street of a progressive *' town is advertised for sale by Messrg Wrattea and Spence, Dannevirke. A tailor cut sac suit at forty-nine and sixpence' is obtainable at the Mastertoa branch of the New Zealand Clothing Factory. They are stylish suits made from dependable taeeds. Those who -purchase their boots and shoes from Messrs Finlayson and Son can rely on getting full value for their money. This firm has a reputation for handling only, the very best of boots and shoes, and as they buy for cash they are jL enabled to retail at very reasonable 4%prices. Their special importation of " winter footwear is a decidedly comprehensive one. in an advertisement on page 1 of this issue, Mr.W. Burridge, of the Eagle Brewery, notifies that hit, many customers will still be able to have their orders filled subseqent to the coming into operation of nolicense at the end of this month. His depot in Carrerton is now in order, and has been connected with the Exchange. Residents inthe no license 1 area will only require to send orders direct to him at Carterton, and he will do the rest. Jk Nominations -will be reccivedat the Education Board Offi'Se, Wellington, until 5 p.m. on Monday, July sth, for the annual election of one reprifrdtative of the above Board. The retiring member is Mr Buchanan, who is eligible for re-election. Should more than one nomination be receive] the electijn will be held on Monday, 26th July. Nomination forms are obtainable from Chairnv.n of School Committees, or from the Board Office. At the Tauherenikau Hotel sale yards on Thurdsay. ltth June, Messrs Dalgety and Co., Ltd., will offer for salj the whole of the highclass stud stock owned by Mr W. J. Nix. Particulars of the stock to be offerdd are given in an advertisement on page Bof this issue. Iff is quite unnecessary to make reference-to the quality of the horses to be offered, as Mr Nix's name as a breeder of superior stock is known throughout the Island.

" Havj you a Patent, or an Idea for a Patent? We furnish the money, you furnish the brains. If interested, communicate with the Patent Exploiting Syndicate, Post Office Box 495, Dunedin." —Advt.