LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9547, 20 July 1909, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Two earthquake shocks were felt in and around Wellington at about 10.30 o'clock on Sunday morning. A case of scarlet fever as been admitted to the Sduth Wairarapa Hospital from Greytown. There are now five cases from Carterton, and one

from Greytown in the fever ward,

Mr Nottage, of the Department of Agriculture, will give a lesson in pruning and spraying fruit trees on Thursday afternoon at 2 o'clock in Mr A. Hathaway's orchard, 59 Cole street.

The Y.M.C.A. Debating Society requests all parsons interested in elocution to attend a meeting at the Rooms on Wednesday night at 7.30 o'clock, when arangements will be made for forming an Elocution and Literary Class.

A special meeting of the Directors of the Workers' Mutual Benefit Building Society was held last evening, all the Directors being present. The Treasurer reported that the subscriptions were coming in very freely, and it was decided to hold a ballot instead of a sale for £3OO, free of interest on July 29th.

The usual meeting of Endeavour Lodge, I.O.G.'JL, was heJd last evening, Bro. McLean, G.T., presiding. Routine business was transacted. One candidate was proposed for membership. Bros. Anderson, Gilbert and Collier delivered short addresses. At the next meeting nomination and election of officers will take place. ,

A concert and minstrel entertainment in aid pf St. Matthew's Club will be held on Tuesday, July 27th inst. A splendid programme has been arranged, and given fine weather the entertainment should be a great success. The minstrel troupe is being trained by Mr G. Branson, the comedy parts being taken by Messrs H. Hall, VV. Parker, F. W. Todc!, and D. Walsh.

Mr C. C. Graham, S.M., gave judgment for defendants at Masterton yesterday morning in the claim of Thos. J. Dwyer, trainer, Maaterton, v. Charles and Harry Benth, plasterers, of Wellington, in which plaintiff claimed £3l for expenses alleged to have been incurred in training the racing pony Mutiny, under a partnership agreement. The case was heard at a sitting of the S.M. Court at Masterton a fortnight ago, ant's evidence having been taken in Wellington. Costs amounted'to £3 149. Mr C. A. Pownall appeared for plaintiff, and Mr P. L. Hollings (acting for Mr Dunn, Wellington) for defendant.

'lne Wellington branch of the Navy League has at present 147 adult subscribers. 123 associates and 83 members of the women's section. Bee-keepers at Rongotea are making great preparations for the coming season, some ot them increasing the number of hives by 50 to 100 per cent. The popularity of New Zealand as a destination for emigrants was very evident recently, when a West of England boat was clearing from the Mersey for Wellington, 23 stowaways were discovered on board. At the Christchurch Magistrate's Court a policeman was severely crossexamined concerning his methods of judging the speed of motorcars. The defendant motor car driver explained to the constable that the sound of the car engine was not an infallible guide. "I have known small cars to make a great deal of noise when only moving slowly," he said, with the air of one, long experienced, clinching an argument, but the constable, with effective irrelevance, retorted : "And I've known chaff-cutters making a lot of noise and not moving: at all.'* The Court relapsed into smiles, and the motorist quickly passed over that point. The outlook in the Auckland butter market is satisfactory, and it is understood that stocks are holding out sufficiently to ensure that wholesale prices will not rise to a higher level than at present. The nominal wholesale quotation is Is OJd; and retail prices extend to Is 4d. Although no figures are available there is reason to believe tnat there is sufficient butter in cool storage to keep pace with current demands until the new season commences. Leading wholesale firms do not complain of shortages as to the coming season. The province gives promise of exceeding last year's butter output. There are numerous openings for new factories, but even if financial stringency should prevent the establishment of these this season, the increase in cream supplies to factories already in existence should materially increase the total output. Something in the nature of a. bitter cry goes up in the "Milton Mirror." The complaint is asjtothe scarcity of boys and girls to work at the Bruce Woollen Mills. "It is strange," says the "Mirror," "that amid all the hue and cry of unemployment throughout the Dominion the manager of an industry such as the: Bruce Woollen Mills should be almost; in despair what to $6 on account of: the scarcity of boys and girls to ekecute ihe work. This state of affairs, has existed for some time now, ; welearn. In conversati6n, .she minager,. said the position" was bad enough' just now, but in the course of a few months, or the arrival of new machinery, when he would require 40- to 50 more lad and lassies, he was of the' opinion that unless there was a decided improvement he would have to j let the machinery lie

An interesting comparison of th£ physical developmerit of ths average trained athlete in England., America and New Zealand was given by Mr F. A. Hornibrook in the course of a lecture at Christchurch. The fig ures for English and American ath letes were based on tables pre pared by Mr C. E. Hey wood, of Birmingham, while those for New j Zealand were prepared from tbs>. measurements of some of men trained by Mr Hornibrcok.. The average weight of the Nc w Zea—landers, whose ages raifged from, twenty to thirty, was 1431b. height •sft B.2inch, chest girth 35.2 il. and lung capacity 274 cub in. The figures, for English trained men betv;:en tillages of twenty-five and thirty-ffve-were: Weight 1361b, height sft 7uv chest 34.4 in, lung capacity 238 cubin. For America between the s»me ages the figures were Weight T3S' lb, height sft 7.2 in, chest girths 35.9 in, lung capacity 250 cub in. Following are the representative? to tKe conference of New Jockey Clubs, which opens at Wellington on Thursday morning:—Auckland R.C., Hon. E. Mitchelaon and G. W. S. Patterson'; Auckland coun-* try clubs, Messrs E. W. Adison and W. H. Herries, M.P.; Canterbury Jockey Club, Sir Georga Clifford apd Mr F. H. Pyne; Canterbury countryclubs, Mr H. D. Vavasour; Dunedin Jockey Club, Hen. G. McLean, M.L.C., and Mr P. Miller; Otagocountry clubs. Messrs J. Latham and G. M. Prictor; Hawke's Bay Jockey Club, 1 Hon. J. D. Ormorid, M.L.C., and Mr U. Hunter; Hawke'sBay country clubs, Messrs E. J. Gothard and John McVay; Wanganui Jockey Club, Messrs E. A. Campbell' and H. M. Speed; Wanganui country clubs, Messrs D. Buick, M.P., and. E. Goodbehere; Wellington Racing Club, Messrs J. W. Abbott and W. H. S. Moorhouse; Wellington country clubs, Messrs W. E. Bidwill and; 0. C. Cooper; Taratiaki Jockey Club,. Mr, C. M. Lepper; Taranaki try clubs, Messrs E. R. Mcßae and R.«H. Nolan; Grejmouth Jockey Club, Mr M. Hannan; Greymouth country clubs, Messrs J. Colvin, M.P., and C. hood Williams. The latest development the chain letter habit in Auckland has taken the form of, an attempt to frighten young children. Sheet? of manuscript, headed "endless prayer chain," have been in circulation and girls of a tender age seem to have been sineled out by the addresse, who, of course, is anonymous. The sheet is headed with a short prayer, quite harmless in itself anc to it is appended a statement that; this "prayer was sent by Bishop recommending it to be sent to nine persons," each of whom in turn is desired to send it to nine other persons, and so on, and infinitum. If the matter were permitted to end at this there would be nothing to takeparticular exception to, and a silly and apparently meaningless joke' might be left to take care of itself. The evil, however, is in the tail of the letter, ivh'ch has given alarm to a number youthful recipients. This sets forth that she who,attends to the/equest to re-write the 'pray r and despatch it to nine others will "be delivered from every calamity," and ".receive some great joy"; but. on the other hand, that "she who will not send it will be affected by misfortune," and that "one person who paid no attention met with an accident." A writer in the "New Zealand Herald" expresses an

opinion that if the person who is dissemisating this sort of literature met with the misfortune to be caught and ducked in a horse pond the earnest prayer of a number of indignant parents would be abundantly a ered.

It ia the intention of the Salvation Array authorities to erect a shelter in Auckland to accommodate one hundred men. A farmer at Dunedin, prosecuted for neglecting to cut thistles, said ha had made every effort to get men 1.0 do the work, but had failed. Mr Kenrick, S.M., remarked it was an extraordinary thing that men could not be got to do this kind of work after all that had appeared in the newspapers concerning the number of unemployed. In the course of his remarks at the opaning ceremony of the Rangiora Show, recently, the Hon. T. Mackenzie incidentally stated that New Zealand annually imported £IBI,OOO worth of fruit, including £30,000 worth of apples and £30,000 worth of tinned fruits. "Surely," he said, "there is no reason why this fruit should not b9 grown in the Dominion.",

A man whu was,-being proceeded against in the Au<ikland Police Court for failure to maintain, stated in his defence that he was a carter, and had only had 18 hours' work since June Ist, although he had taken every opportunity to obtain it. He added that there were married men who had had less. The wet weather, he stated, was the chief cause of the slackness. The Court held that in the absence of rebutting evidence it was bound to accept this statement.

A resident of Suva, Fiji, writing to a friend in Christchurch, says:— "Suva is at present in the throes of uncertainty and ,expeclancy in regard to mining. Prospecting for gold, copper, and other minerals is going on. Several syndicates have been formed, but so far no definite information is available. If gold is found and proves payable, well, there will be no holding the tropical isle. Several gold ores have already been procured; but as to whether the quantity ia there remains to' be proved hv the prospecting parties who are flow out. '

In consequence of the Christcnurch Tramway Board having made Cathedral Square the central terminus for all trams, traffic is becoming congested, and the City Council ,have decided to disallow cab and carrier stands in the Square, and have fixed other sites". The carriers are very wrath over the matter, and held a neeting on Saturday night to protest against the removal of the stands. It was decided to take legal advice as to their rights to the Square and take action if the advice warrants it.

A marine of huge stature, with the grit of the bulldoe breed nature, was crossing the street, near Circular Quay, Sydney, at an early ho»r one miming last weak, looking for the fight which is necessary to the constitution of the Navy (says the Sydney "Daily Telegraph"). A passing tramcar.was the nearest approach h 0 CQUId discover to a hostile Dreadnought, so he immediately gave the order "Prepare to ram." He then proceeded to carry it into effect. Striding jjp to the headlight of the car he struck it a blow which stove in the thick glass protecting it. He continued to punch the lamp until his knuckles were cut and bleeding Jjadly* Then a constable arrived on the scene, who, after escort ng him to the Sydney Hospital, wher? h'B injured hantfs ward treated, Conveyed him to tne WatdU Police Station, whera hjd fighting spirit was allowed to (ml down.

A repoH has reached Olessa fion Tiflis of the wholesale murder of the princaly family of Dschavakhoff at Dsever, a village in the Geri did* trict, where Prince Dschavakloff owns a very extensive estate. It is stated that the mansion was entered shurtly after surdown by armed robbers, who proceeded to butcher the whole household. The Prince and Princess Dschavakhoff and their daughter, aged about fifteen, the Dowager Princess (mother of -the Prince), and seven servants were all killed with revolver shots, and in every case the assassins were not satisfied that their terrible work was properly accomplished until they h»d stabbed their victims with long Caucasian kinjals. The amiunt of booty carried away is not known, but the mansion was stripped of all portable valuables, and a large amount of money was taken from the Prince's cabinet. The police have so far no clue to the authors of the affair. / The inconvenience caused by the loss of the mails which went down in the wreck of the Penguin was very great at the time, and even now (remarks the Picton "Press") in&tances are coming to light showing that misunderstandings have arisen owing to\tne fact that letters carr u by ( the steamer on her ill-fated jdurney failed to reach their destination. At the last meeting of the Picton Hospital Board, the secretary stated that several Sounds settlerrs had received reminders to pay their hospital rates, the amounts of which had previously bee", paid to him (the secretary). He was at a loss to understand the Valuer-General's reason for issuing the notices, but, on looking into the matter, he found the solution was a very simple one. The letters notifying the ValuernCJeneral of the payment of the rates had never reached him, but had gone down with the Penguin. Mr Clement C Wragge, speaking to a Press representative regarding the meteorological service in Nev Zealand said the Dominion occupied one of the best positions in the world for such a service. He went on to say that tha United States spent £300,000 er annum on its service, Dut in New Zealand the work could be very efficiently done for £2OO "And it should be done," he said. "If I were your meteorologist I should have forecasts sent to all the business centres, the light-bouses, and above all to the ports and the agricultural areas. This would be easy and accurate with the great mass of information available at j your weather office, which, however, lhave not. I would supply three forecasts, one each for the north, the middle and the south portion of New Zealand, the latter including Stewart Island. 'Then I would have forecasts in the interests of shipping, agricultural and pastoral interests especially. Flags of different colours would indicate what tha weather was to be from, say, your post office, and signals or sign would be attached to the vans of the mail trains for the benefit of those in the country. That is what they do in the United States." For Influenza take Wood.,' Groat Peppermint Cure. Never fails. 1/6 aid 2/6.

There are, according to a statement made by the Rev. W. PoweJl, at Christchurch, 700,000 lepers in India. As to the cure of the disease--"the most cruel disease that humanity has ever suffered from" —the only hope of medical science was in radium; but radium was at present so expensive that the Government of India could not hope to purchase it even fur the unfortunate lepers. The plan 3 for the fortification of the Panama Canal are announced. A significant feature is that the mos/t powerful batteries will be placed at the Pacific end. Three great batteries* will be planted on the island fifteen miles off shore, supported by other batteries at the Pacific mouth of the carol, and a secondary battery srix miles inward will command the Pedro Miguel lock. A military post will be established at Culehra. On the Atlantic side batteries of sixty disappearing guns will be constructed or the hills at El Boeho Point, covering the sea entrance. The total cost will be £1,500,000. Mr Dickinson, the War Secretary, submitted the plans personally to President Taft, who expressed himself as pleased.

/In the United States there are at the present time 253 factories en- | gaged in manufacturing motor cars. According to the general manager of the American Motor Car Manufacturers' Association, there will be approximately 75,000 motor cars turned out in American factories during the present year, and the total valuation will be not far from £25,000,000. In the year 1898 there were only 25 concerns making cars in that country. The capital invested in the automobile business then was not more than £400,000, while now. with kindred trades, salerooms, garages, etc., it is close to £40,000,000.

Mr W. Morris, a candidate for the vacant seat on the Masterton Borough Council inserts reasons in support of his candidature.

The Mastrton Branch of the New Zealand Clothing Factory announce a few special attractions for this week. Particulars and quotations appear elsewhere.

At the residence. No. 39 Albert street, on Thursday next, Mr. J R. Nicol will sell on account of Mr Livermorc, the whole of his household furniture and effects. Particulars will be issued^to-rnorrow. Messrs W. B. ChenneUs and Co. have been instructed to offer for lease the Empire, Queen's, Occidental and Central Hotels, Which are now vacant. All the properties are centrally! situated and suitable for clubs, boarding-houses or business premises, Full particulars of terms and rent will be given on application. The candles and soaps produced by Price VPatent Candle Company, Lt are rightly classed as amongst the best in the world. All grocers and storekeepers in the Wairarapa stock them. In a paragraph advertisement appearing elsewhere interesting particularsare given in reference to the prizes' gained for their products Price's Patent Candle Company at the principal International Exhibitions during the last half century.

Shrewd capitalists are buying into property in the Auckland province, where lan 3 values are reasonable and the chances of; improvement certain. Messrs Hipkins and MsdiU, the well-known SStaitj agents of Auckland, are selling property freely just now. Mr Madill, who is a practical and Successful farmer, has a thorough knowledge of the country in the Northern province, and clients buying through his firm can r«ly on getting honest advice and every protection. Particulars of numerous properties which tiey have for sale are advertised on page 8 of this issue.-

One of the finest motor-cars that has yet reached Masterton is at present on view in the Central Garag \ having been imported by Mr F. Warren Fowler, td the order of a Wairarapa client. The general appearance of the car is attracive in the extreme. The body is a Mullinder painted green, and it is uphostered in real leather, and beautifully finished. The car has a low tension magneto, four speeds, multiple disc clutch, electric side and tail lamp s ", electric horn and a wondorfully pimple ssnHe lever control, and' a very accessible engine Ir. fact it embrace o all the latest improvements known to car science. Mr Fowl n r will tv 3 pleased to show the car to nnvone interested. Customs and Forwarrtmsr A emit* —J J. CURTIS & CO.. Customhouse On y Wellington, will clear your goods and | forward to you, or you may consign gonds | to them, and they will forward to their i ultimate destination. Moderate charges. 3