LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9598, 18 September 1909, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Government offices throughout New Zealand will be closed on Wednesday, October 13th, being Labour Day.

A general meeting of members of tb ■ Carlton Cricket Club will be held in the secretary's office, on Wednesday evening next, at 8 p.m.

A contemporary states that a Moutoa flaxmiller recently offered lis scutchers contracts at 28s per ion and millhands contracts at 4b per ton on the green leaf, but tl ese were refused.

Mount Ngauruhoe. is still fairly active, and from the plains it can be noticed by those who watch the mountain closely that the northern edge of the crater is gradually falling in. There is a very great alteration in this way since the mountain first became active.

The number of men registering thempelves on the unemployed list at the Auckland office of the Labour Bureau is gradually decreasing. During the winter the numbers registered amounted to 280 a week, but last week there were only 126 callers. Of these 33 were married men, with 98 dependents, the remainder being single men. The Rev. D. Meadowcroft, of Melbourne, will preach in the Congreational Church to-morrow morning and evening. The evening service will take the form of a service of praise, when instead of the usual service the Rev. gentleman will discourse on "Hymns and Their Authors," and the congregation will sing the with.

An interesting wedding took place at Irthlingborough, in Northamptonshire, recently, the contracting parties being a Miss White and a Mr Lillev The bride was attired in white silk, and carried a bouquet of white lilies. The bridesmaids, all bearing the name of White or Lilley. had white dresses and bouquets of white lilies, while the white straw hats were trimmed with white lilies. On Tuesday next, being S. Matthew's Day, special services will be held in S. Matthew's Church. The Bishop of Wellington has promised to be - present, and will be the preacher at both morning and evening services. The neighbouring clergy will also take part in the services. The Carterton and Greytown choirs have signified their intention of assisting with the singing in the evening service for which special music has been arranged. So far , nothing has occurred, writes the Auckland "Herald's" London correspondent, ol August 6th, in connection with the threat by a disappointed office seeker to do personal injury to Sir Joseph Ward. The man has been under observation by Detective Cassells, but so far has not been hovering about the precincts ol the Hotel Cecil, or appearing at the functions at which Sir Joseph has been entertained.

A literary and musical treat will be afforded to those who visit the congregational Church on Monday evening, when, under the auspices of the Institute, a lecture will be given by Rev. D. Meadowcroft, of Melbourne, on "The Life and Works of Lord Tennyson." The members of the church have arranged a programme of musical items that have become memorable through their association with Tennyson's soulful poems.

A special meeting of the Trustees of the Masterton Cemetery was held yesterday afternoon, in the Secretary's (Mr J. C. Boddington) office. There were present:—Messrs E. Feist (chairman), J H. O'Leary, A. R. Bunny, David Donald, and P. Gordon. The matter of having a number of pine trees cut down and cleared away was discussed, and on the motion of the chairman, aeconded by Mr O'Leary, in was decided that the work be done to the satisfaction of Mr J. C. Ingrain, the custodian.

The losses incurred in connection with the cashing of forged totalisator tickets is no small item, according to the evidence given by a totalisator proprietor before the Supreme Court at Auckland Since the beginning of the year tickets, amounting in value to hundreds uf pounds, had been passed on the Auckland racecourse, and in the ex- | perience of (he witness, all at the "late" window. In connection with one meeting alone the loss was £BS. Every precaution appears to be taken to prevent fraud, by numbering and stamping: all the tickets a few minutes before each race, but with all that criminal ingenuity triumphs. Some of the "faked" tickets placed before the Suprsme Court were hard j to distinguish from the genuine article. I

A conference of lire boards will be held in Wellington in the early part of the session, for the purpose of discussing amended legislation removing the present difficulty of raising funds for the purchase of sites and the erection 01 new stations.

In the shoot-off between Messrs W. Drummond and G. C. Summerell for the United Club's A class trophy, last evening, Mr Drummond succeeded in winning the prize by 2 points, the scores being 31 and 29, respectively.

The Masterton Amateur Theatrical Society had a most successful rehearsal of the piece "Trial by Jury," in the Town Hall last evening. Tha orchestra is a particularly strong one, and the various parts were handled in a most effective manner.

A skip of 4.000 miles is the portion of the "Jack and Jill" Pantomime Company, which left Wellington yesterday for Perth, without a single intervening performance. They reach Sydney on the Tuesday, travel straight through to Adelaide, where they catch the West Australian steamer on the 25th, and opens in Perth on October Ist.

Certain apparatus recently installed on the platforms of stations on the Wellington-Wairarapa line has created some curiosity. Many people believe it is an appliance for the receipt and delivery of mails while trains are passing through. It is, however, the usual tablet give-and-take machine, which has been in use on the Main Trunk line and on the New Plymouth branch. It appears that if small birds can be got to line up in the early morning for a feed of gram it ie possible,, with a cartridge of fine shot, to do some execution among them. A farmer in North Canterbury, who, when feeding his fowls, makes a line of grain near them for the sparrows, has succeeded in getting eighty sparrows with one shot from the shelter of a macrocarpa fence, says the Christchurch "Press." The birds thus accounted for realised 5s at the price paid per head by the local body of the district.

There was a large attendance of interested spectators last night to witness the practical' demonstration of the usefulness of the Minimux fire extinguisher. The travelling representative, Mr Matthews, had a pile of boxes saturated with tar and kerosene, which made a very satisfactory blaze. The application of the liquid from the Minimax, however, very speedily reduced the blaze, and before th; charge was more than half used the fire was completely extinguished. The spectators were welt satisfied with the demonstration.

Reserved decision was delivpred at the Magistrate's Court yesterday morning, in the case Thomas Henry Pawcett v. Francis James Shu te, respecting a claim of 426, being the' purchase money of a cow alleged to have been in calf and bought from dtferidant by plaintiff. The presiding Magistrate, Mr R. H. Turton,, stated that the evidence was so absolutely conflicting that hfe was unable to decide whether there had been any misrepresentation or not, or again, if there had been misrepresentation, whether "it had been wilful or otherwise. He therefore entered a nonsuit against plaintiff, with costs.. Mr 0. Pragnell appeared or defendant, and Mr G. H. Cullen for plaintiff.

A case of considerable interest to business people and trades unionists was decided at the Magistrate's Court, Napier, on Tuesday, when a local tradesman was, says the "Hawke's Bay Herald," £7' 10s for a breach of the tailors' award, the charge against him being that he had failed to instruct a boy in a trade to which he had been apprenticed. As the requisite two days'notice, of defence had not been given, judgment had to be entered against the employer, although he was present and desired the case to be heard, claiming that he had employed the boy for general purposes, and not as an apprentice. Against this contention the inspector of awards. Mr Gohns, put in a letter in which the defendant promised to teach the boy the tailoring trade during a specified period.

Opium in machinery was recently shipped from Hong Kong to Manila,, says, a report from Port Darwin. It arrived secreted in nine pieces of machinery. An examination revealed that the drug was secreted in machinery expressly made for the purpose of smuggling, and not for ordinary purposes to which machinery is put. Nine pieces consisted of four steel shafts, four cast iron columns, and one band winch. The shafts were 14ft long, and provided at each end with steel. The opium inside the shafts measured 4in in diameter, and were the exact size of opium tins. Collars screwed on at the ends effectively concealed everything that might be placed inside the hollow tube, and owing to tbe great weight of the shafts themselves, the presence of anything concealed inside would not be suspected. Opium to the value of many thousand dollars, and also a great quantity of cocaine,' was discovered inside these specially constructed pieces of machinery. The investigation now proceeding into the matter will, it is reported, implicate several well-known Eastern, businessmen in a gigantic smuggling scheme.

The Dog Show at the Manawatu and West Coast A. and P. Association's Show, Palmerston North, is undertaken by the Manawatu Kennel Club, and the exhibits are supervised by a number of well-known fanciers. Some 167 classes are provided. Challenge prizes will be awarded to deerhounds, greyhounds, Scotch and Skye terriers and bulldogs. Exceedingly good prizes are offered in the challenge classes, up to £2 for first withojt reservatio", While all classes range up to £3 for first prize with certain restrictions. Special prizes have been presented for competition by the Palmerston North Coursing Club, the Irish Terrier Club of New I Zealand, the Scottish and Skye Ttsr- ' rier Club of New Zealand and the British Bulldog Club. The Show judges are:—Mr J. Horrax for collies, bullgdog and hound clase; Mr P. Hunter, for setter, pointer, spaniel and other varieties, and Mr R. G. Makin, ali terriers. The appointments are of a high order and a big display is anticipated. Further information will be forwarded on application to the Manawatu Kennel Club Secretary, box 85, Palmerston, North.