LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9668, 16 December 1909, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

., I Members of the Masterton Ladies' Swiramifg Club, and all women interested in swimming who wish to join, are reminded of the annual , meeting to be held in Dominion Hall this evening, at 8 o'clock. Mr H. J. Evans, an Auckland observer, reports that he located Halley's comet at 11 o'clock un Tuesday night by mens of telescope witfy a 3inoh object glass. The comet was muving rapidly towards Aries. The Te VVharau telephone line recently underwent the unpleasant operation of having to succumb to the enforcement of departmental regulations, telephonic communiation being cut off for over a week. Yea terday, however, saw t'.ie line once more brought into use. An extraor itiary meeting of the shareholders of the wellincton Farmers' Meat Company, Ltd., has been convened by the Directors to take place early in January next, when a number of special resolutions will be J submitted to the meeting for adoption. A copy of the dredge-master's report of the Masterton Gold Dredging Company for the week ended November 28th is to hand from Mr John i Hessey.J The report states that there has been no alteration in the nature of the ground. The prospects were good all along the face, the best end being toward? the Mystery boundary. The ground still kept deep on red clay, sandy clay and a small patch of coal bottom.

The tickets issued for the Friendly ] Societies' excursion to Pigeon Bush j on Boxing Day, by the Railways De- j partment, will be available for return up to February 15th, 1910. ! Tickets can be obtained from the secretaries of the Masterton Lodges and members of the Friendly Societies' Council. A meeting of Masterton, Carterton, and Lower Valley delegates will be held to-night, at the Carterton Foresters' Hall, to make the final arrangements for the outing on Boxing Day. Some of the "victims'* in the mock ambulance accident at the railway station last evening, besides having to undergo the torture of being swathed in First Aid bandages for the cure of broken heads, broken legs and arms, and crushed bones generally, were the helpless victims of a good deal of good-natured banter from the crowd uf spectators. Various "witticisms"' on tbe value of alcohol in such cases were indulged in at the tbe trussed patients,, which they bore with; great fortitude and smiles of forbearance.

Speaking at a social the Missions to Seamen, in Wellington, Mr James Moore confessed that in all his travels he had never seen such strongly-developed nomadic habits as are possessed by the people of tjlew Zealand. Large numbers of the in-, habitants of these islands, he said, are constantly wandering; here one day and gone the next. Even his owVi workers are often suddenly missed, and he finds that they have gone north or south, or maybe are on the way to Sydney. No other country could show such a stream of travellers in proportion to the population as New Zealand. Some diversity of opinion exists as to whether Saturday, January 22nd, or the Monday following, should be observed as Anniversary Day holiday in Masterton. It is thought by many that the Monday would be a more suitable day than Saturday from a business point of view, but others again hold the opinion that Saturday should be observed. It is-understood that the matter will comt>Tup for discussion at the meeting of the Masterton Chamber of Commerce tomorrow. The Mayor, Mr P. L. Boilings, who was approached by a representative of this journal in reference tu the matter, said that be thought that it was a matter for the Chamber of Commerce to- deal with as representing the business interests of the town. j

A good deal of interest was taken in the mock accident demonstration held by the St. John Ambulane Bri- ' gade at the railway station last evening. According to arrangement a rocket was sent up at Messrs 'Ply and Young's stables as an alarm to the division to turn out. On its arrival at the station three, cases, alf "seriously injured," were handled in a most expert manner and conveyed to the Hospital in the Ambulance brougham. The whole wofck-was under Superintendent A. Donald and Mesrss hJ H. Lewis, C. A. Feilding, and A. J. Parton, .were each in charge of a team. The success of the proceedings should be an incentive to the Division to hold further demon- ? .strations at regular., intervals. A terrible story of systematic ' cruelty to birds as told at the Lam ; beth Police Court the other day, say 3 the London "Daily Express," when Mr Hopkins sentenced an f aged labourer named" Frederick Collins to three months' imprisonment with hard labour for blinding chaffinches. Mr S. G. Polbill, who prosecuted on behalf of the Royal Society for th? Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said there was a practice in some parts of London of catching wild bird and blinding them by inserting a needle in the corner Jof the eye and destroying the optic nerve. "The motive,'" he stated, "is to make them sing better, and the biros are entered for singing Competitions. This has been groing on x >r a great number of years, and the society has made attempts to secure a conviction at various times, but in consequence of the great secrecy observe 1 by th°se men it has hitherto heen rliffieult to enter the rooms where the birds are kept." The or i'iH y meeting of the Masterton Hospital Trustee was held yesterdav. There wert? nresent—• Messrs J. B. Keitn (pr?sidiiitri, H. J. O'Leary, W. Fisher, Murrav Jackson, J. C. Ewington, J. Mil ler and R. Brown. Leave of absence was granted to Mr C. C. Jackson. 1 Mr A. Donald, superintendent of the Masterton Ambulance Brigade, wrote complaining of the state of the road from the public road to the Hospital. It was decided to draw the attention of the County Council ; to the state of the road. The - treasurer reported as follows Ge- < eral Hospital—Balance last month, J £124 7s, receipts £462 14s, expendi- , ture £195 5s 6d, balance at date I £394 15s 6'd. Infectious Diseases f Hospital—Balance last month £lO6 ] 0s Bd, receipts £3, expenditure £4, 5 balance to date £lO5 0s Bd. It was 2 decided to connect the Hospital with p the Lansdowne water supply. t

The Government are placing on the Estimates £4OO, to go to the rpla-; tives of the late Captain Pavitt, who was killed by a motor car accident while returning from the volunteer manoeuvres in Canterbury recently.

Mr Eustace Lane, a well-knowri freeholder in Hawke's Bay, says he has sold his farm to provide himself with the sinews of war| necessary to fight to a finish in the interests of the farmers of New Zealand, who are all Crown tenants, says a Hawke's Bay paper. . The acting-matron of the Masterton Hospital leported at the monthly meeting of the Trustees yesterday, that there were thirteen patients in. thehospital at last meeting, eighteen had been admitted during the month,-' nineteen discharged, leaving twelve; at present in the institution. Caterpillars have been unusually plentiful in tbe swamps on this coast this season, says a North of Auckland exchange. Wherever they have been there is a small strip of vegetation eatan off the flax blade. Fortunately, they seem to confine their attentions to old flax, but some patches of phormium they are quita as destructive as the blight parasite.;' The various experimental wheat plots that are being grown under the auspices of the Masterton ,A. ancj P. Association were inspected yesterday by Mr G. de Baylis, Superintend-) entofihe Government experiments. . ! The plots are reported to be in a for- | ward condition, and the result of the I experiments will be awaited with keen interest. following tenders for supplies during the coming year were accepted by the Masterton Hospital Trustees at the meeting yesterday Milk, J. S. Dawson; meat, Bulpitt and Yalden; groceries, Graham and Co.; drugs, J. V. Gordon; dressings, , Sharland and Co.; funerals, Z. MJ Hoar and Son. Replying in the House, the Hon> J. A. Millar said he had been asked to define the railway policy. It was an endeavour to make the railways pay the rate of interest on their capital, viz., 3£ per cent., and it would be found that for the eight periods of this year the revenue was £212,000 baiter than last year, , for an extra expenditure of only. £76,4 000 the position being. better than nefore. A man who was fined 30s at< the Casilemairie Police Court* Victoria for having failed to have vaccinated said that he was sorry to violate the law, but he would not. have anything belonging to-hira vaccfMted—-noteven bis dog.. Oct being informed by thev Bench? that they would/ hq-ve to itupose a i fine,, the defendant replied: "Very/ weil j but I promise you*you won't fine me anymore. One moment we hear ofr Sir John Madden lecturing on racesuicide, and the next we are- fined for having children."» On April Ist of this year Albert " Edward Burden, a labourer employed at the railway workshops, at ' Duhedin, was cleaning oat a gaff-"* holder at the railway gasworks opposite the station. When he had been only a couple of minutes inside the holder he was overcome by fumes, and collapsed.\ When a doctor arrived it was found that the unfortunate man was dead. The widow took proceedings against the Crowh, claiming: £1,500 compensation. The case commenced at the Supreme Court on?, Tuesday, and the hearing lasted two' days. The jury, after consideribg their verdict for 5Q awarded. , Mrs Burden £1,10(5 coirip&nsatfoffj If

Coachbuilding would appear to be" in a condition according to a report adopted at the meeting of the Wellington Industrial Asso-r----ciation on Tuesday evening. It was stated that demands for coach-build-era in the country could not be satisfied. There were at the time of the report but two unemployed coachbuilders on the books. The coachbuilding industry of the Dominion was employing 1,465 work- i men, receiving for the year £116,-.. 204, in wages, £122,384 being spaai:-. on materials, and the value of-" manufactures was £294,818.. Imported carriages yalued at £6",,223, paid £1,622 in duty. . In dismissing an appeaf from the " decision of Mr Cutten. Stipendiary Magistrate, at in.tbecaae against Madame Wise, on a - charge of" fortune-tellingr-a case which wasdismissed' on the ground tbat the police who induced the defendant to< tell fortunes were accomplices —MrJustice Edwards said the appeal should not have been brought. As long ago as . 1848 it was laid down that when the accomplice was a spy? in the interests of ju&4fce'Cora>bora-.. tion was not required. He- held thatthe magistrate knew this, and that, if he did not believe the police constables his Honor could not compel I him to, and there the matter ended.'. The taking of money was not an in.gradient in the crime, -« On Saturday* a Natl've, verging on* the region of 20st weight, happy and comfortable looking, was placed 1 in the witness box in tht Hastings Court to explain why he coul4 not pay his debts (says the paper). Witts the cheerful irresponsibility of the 1 Native, he assured the Court he bad* no money. He had done fifteen days*' shearing this year and expected to' do another ten; for the rest of the* year he contemplated doing nothing: except posseaß his soul with patience until next shearing time. Magistrate McCarthy, however, cast a judicial eye over the Maori's fine proportions, he noticed the fat smile of contentment, the comforting air of peace-with-all-mankind which irradiated from the witness-box, and,-after , dryly remarking that the defendant did not look starved, he gave the. option of £1 par month or gaolj

The following are the complete suits of the first annual held on 4th inst., for the challenge shield presented by the Wanganul branch of the National Defence League V)' Naw Zealand. The competition was open to all public schools in the Dominion. The "pos* sible" was 500 pointsWoodville, l 254 points; Onehunga, 350 pointsj Gferaldine, 345 points; Kaikorai,f Dunedin, 337 points; Port Chalmers; 330 points; North School, Danne/irke, 325 points; Waltham, Christ:hurch, 321 points; Boys' Central; kelson City, 297 points; Parnell, Auckland City, 294 points; Wai:iwi, Invercargill, 274 points; Wan:anui, 261 points; South School;i nvercare;iH, 260 points; Masterton 143 points; South School, Oamaru' 23 points; Palmerston South, 207 oints; Balclutha, 205 points; HamiU jn West, 189 points.

"*tfhe body of Oliver Johnston, one of'the men drowned at Akiteo recently, has been recovered. It is a strange coincidence that although Cooling and Johnston were drowned at crossings about four miles apart, their bodies were discovered almost simultaneously, and their watches stopped within five minutes of each other. Drowning has come to he known as •'the New Zealand death," said Mr "F. Pirani, Chairman of the WanEducation Board, when speakaiig at the opening of the Wanganui District High School swimming baths on Satuiday. How true this is may be judged from the fact that there have been twelve cases of drowning in the Dominion during the paat week. The same ghastly record, or something approaching it, Isput up, week by week, during ©vjary New Zealand summer. far Cook, whose bonafides are so seriously questioned, and who is said to have disappeared, was early in October presented with the freedom of the City of New York in recognition of tiis courage and endurance in first placing ths Stars aod Stripes on the top of the earth. There have toeen only three others on whom the of New York City has been conferred; the Marquia de Lafayette, Charles Dickens and Prince Henry of Prussia. David Bates, who, a fortnight ago, after a drinking bout, assaulted tw« in Wellington, inflicting injuries on one of * them with a table fcnife, was sentenced at Wellington yesterday to four months' and two months' imprisonment on the two the sentences to be concurrent. One of the women, who was cut by a knife in various parts of the body, and also kicked and thumped till she became unconscious, has since been in the hospital, but was able to give evidence yesterday. Mr F. P. Welch advertises a list of town properties which he has been instructed to let. . _ Attention is directed to a change of Advertisement inserted by Messrs C. C. Ross and Co., land agents, in which particulars are given of a property of 1,i40 acres of limestone trash country in Hawke'a Bay. Mr A. Hendry announces that he will open hia gentlemen's outfitting emporium in Messrs Abraham and Williams' new buildings on Saturday next with a new stock of clothing and mercery. Mr Hendry's motto will be ''quality with moderation in prices." - Mr J. Kitchener, bootmaker, hska now completed the removal and arrangement of ; , his new stock in ■ opposite the Post Office. JfHe stock isnew, up-to-date and from the nest makers. A visit of inspection is cordially invited. Messrs Harcombe and Donald, sadd- ,

lers, of Perry street, are now supplying rick covers and tarpaulins for ..the coming harvest The firm invite the public to obtain quotations fdr these and all other saddlery lines mad claim that for quality, finish and price they are in the front rank. Messrs Abraham and Williams, Ltd,, notify their ejierjts that, in roder to have theif wool f©r the January sales at Wellington, it gwst be In store by 5 o'clock on Friday, JMh Snst* Xhifi decision has been l&Tme io by the Wool Brokers' Asso* . elation in order that all wool for that sale may be catalogued. A very fine display of Christmas toys is made, in Mr.A,.. J. Giddings store, Queen Street, Masterton. He recently purchased the whole of a travellers' samples at >a price that will enable him to retail at exception- » ally,;low prices. He has put in a window of toys,**svery article 'shown being priced at lljjd. Many of the toys shown are uncommon and durable, and are sure to meet with ready sale. A stock uf superior quality Christmas presents jmd toys are to be sold at, i cost price. The firm of Beale and Parton, Ltd., is an enterprising one whose fields of operation extend far beyond the Wairarapa. They are quick to note the good things that come along, such as are likely to fill a public requirement. Their latest capture is the agency for the new "Perfection" kerosene stoves —a stove designed to " give comfort in the kitchen. Distinct advantages over a other stoves are claimed for the Perfection," and in- order to sub ntiate them they have engaged the services of an expert to give a practical dernonstra- » tioh' of cooking on the "Perfection" V stoye at their store, Queen street, Masterton, from 2 to 5 p.m., tomorrow, and Saturday, Pendents invited to witness the demonstration