LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9673, 22 December 1909, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The three-year-old son of R. Richards, of Toko (Stratford district) was drowned on Monday afternoon bv falling into a creek near his parents' residence. At the last meeting of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, six cases of cruelty were reported by the Inspector, all of which, it was reported, had received attention, Application was received from Mr G. R. livine, for the position of canvasser to the Society. It was agreed to appoint the applicant to the position. Roux Bouisson was fined £lO at the Wanganui Police Court yesterday morning, on a charge of keeping a common'gaming house, where poker was played. Prior to 1907 poker was not considered an unlawful game, but under section 5 of the Act of 1908 it was not necessary to prove money was being played for, and section 10 laid down that every game of chance was unlawful, and the Magistrate decided that poker was a game of chance.

To-night, at the Y.M.C.A., the medals recently won by the best developed students of the Y.M.C.A., Physical Culture Class, will be presented by Mr P. L. Hollings, following which Dr N.. Prior will give the Royal Life Saving Society's lecture to the members of the Y.M.C.A. Life Savin? Class. A hearty welcome is extended to all interested especially swimmers. The Y.M.C.A. Picnic is to be held on Boxing Day this year, and names of those desirous of joining are requested. A striking commentary upon the attitude of the commercial community towards book debt« as assets was forthcoming on Wednesday, states the Auckland correspondent of the "Lytteltoo Times." A local firm of auctioneers, acting under instructions of the Official Assignee, offered the book debts of a number of firms for sale. The total involved ran into £8,578, that being the amount presumably owing to the particular businesses by customers and clients. Un--1 der the hammer, however, the whole of the debts only realised about £SO, the largest offer accepted for any single set of debts being £5 14s. Three girls made themselves conspicuous at the leaving of the Marama from the wharf at Lyttelton by a novel farewell, one of the three being a passenger. She was linked to her two friends ashore by several I yards of pale blue "baby ribbon's fastened to her wrists and theirs. As the steamer moved off they walked to the end of the jetty and held up their arms till the ribbons parted. They were the subject of endless criticism, for their ribbons W6re occasionally in the way. An onlooker, the "Times" says, stated that he had once, in Sydney, seen a similar ceremony, only there the departing maiden had a team of now fewer than ten. It is a custom frequently practised at Honolulu.

Included in the Public Works votes is, on account, i>3,000, .Masterton Courthouse. Mr W. J. Driller, of Hastings,', lost thirty purebred chickens on Mon-* day night through the depredations of a stoat or weasel. The birds were valued at £5. Arrangements for the Friendly Societies" picnic are almost complete.. The varioufi Societies are taking a. great interest in the function, and it. promises to exceed all expectations. The Masterton Rifle Volunteerswere granted permission at the meeting of the Borough Council, last l evening, to use the Park for drill purposes, subject to the Corp3 not using the oval. The Nelson Anglers' Club held an eeling contest the other evening, and one man caught no fewer than 34, while others caught 32, 29 and so on,': the total catch for the reaching 113. At the Masterton Methodist Sun-'-day School teachers' meeting, held on Monday evening, it was decided! to allow Sunday School scholars two* Sundays' vacation—viz., December 26th, 190y, and January 2nd, 1910, After removing the superfluous hirsute growth of a patron who in years has exceeded the allotted three score ar)d ten, a Gore barber was; somewhat astounded when his aged customer on rising from the chair remarked: "You are somewhat honoured, as you have the distinction of being the first barber to cut my) hair." The old gentleman then explained that previously his hair had' been cut first by his mother and af- } terwards by his wife. The usual meeting of the Hibernianr Society was held last evening Bio.' B, Chapman being in the chair. The order paper for the triennial moveable meeting of the Society to be held in ,Wellington, on the first Wednesday after Easter was received from the District Secretary. It was decided to hold a special meeting, ta discuss the paper. The nomination officers resulted as follows:—President, Bro. L. Kichads; Bro. A. , Curry ; Secretary, Bro. S». O'Regan; l'reasurer, Bro. J. CJ Waters; Warden, Bro. E. Flavin?; Guardian, Bro. J. Cummins;. Sick. Visitors, Bro. H. O'Leary, B. Chapman, J. Treader; Auditors, Bro. WRedmond and B. Chapman. The receipts for the evening amounted to £2l 6b 4d.

Last August, John Panuska, a Russian, was a,:street cleaner of Omaha (U.S.A.) Now he is a memrber of.the -Czar's the owner of an estate valued,-at, several! _ million Panuska lives, in Prague, where he is< a lawyer of prominence. Some yearjs»... ago he commenced to 4ook into the interest of the descendants of the House of Panuska. He found that hits great grandfather had been defrauded , out of his rights and that unlawfully the title had been "taken from • him. A fight was commenced and tb& matter was before the attention "o£ the Czar, who confirmed the and ordered the estate to be restored to jtbe heirs. As the title of Duke went along with the original Panuska estate it extends to the streetsweeper. < Honesty crops out occasionally In*, unexpected placesl Soitne tims agb a '

, voung man was arrested for being very drunk in Belvedere street, Carterton, and next day was brought before a local J.P., who pointed out the danger the man was to himself and others when in such a condition, and fined him 5s or 24 hours ia the lockup. The man could only raise 4s, and asked that the tine be reduced to that amount. ; The J.P. was obdurate, however, and refused to reduce the fine, but advanced the other shilling himself, the offender paying he was clearing out of the tow;u. Gn Monday he came into Carterton and visited the police station, handing to the officer in charge a shilling to be returned to the J. P., with bis hearty thantc?. The incident is an unusual one, and worth recording. A London contemporary relates the following pathetic incident:—-While playing with his baby, David Robert Johnson, aged 31, of Woodgate street, Batersea, suddenly fell on his wife's shoulder and died. At the inquest the wife spoke of their great poverty. Her hupband. was formerly an engineer on the South-Western railway, but had Ibst his work through slackness. Latterly he had earned about 5s or 6s by sellingmint, which paid the lent. They had five children. The Coroner: Did he have enough to eat? The witness (sobbing): No, sir. Dr. 'i'r6vor, who made a post mortem examination, said he found traces of a hearty meal. The tood had been insufficiently masticated. He might have been some time without a meal and then "bolted" one in his hunger. This had caused heart failure, to which his death was due. A case of interest to dairy farmers was heard at Hamilton, on Monday last, before Mr Loughnan, S.M., when McCandiah, a milker on shares, sued James Pennicket, farmer, for £25, as his portion of the bonus of the shareholders in the New Zealand Dairy Association. His Worship held that the bonuds did not come from the ordinary milk supply, but was only an additional interest on money the defendant had risked by putting it. into the capital of the company. Therefore he thought the profit was entirely distinct from the ordinary profit on the milk. Defendant was. asked to pay interest on a fund he may in the erid lose. Mr Loughnan therefore granted a non-suit on the grounds that the agreement was for one-third profit, and that the shareholders' bonus was not profit. Men are still employed making roads in the Rangitatau Block, about 2,000 acres of which were felled by co operative labour during the winj ter months. The bushiellers have been gone some time now, but there are men in rriarge t0 se e that no "burn" is started before the opportune time. It is necessary that the fire should be begun systematically or else chaos will result. February isthe usual month, and the bush should be dry enough and ready by that; time. The department's intentions In regard to the cleared portions have not yet been announced, but it is believed they will grass them and generally prepare them for settlement. As the land overlooking the Waitotara river is generally good, there should be strong competition for the sections. Each will (have its . area of bush waiting to be knocked* down, year by year, as convenience; demands.

The membership of tie Masterton Amateur Theatrical Society now stands at 90. On the petition of Mr J, D. Cruickshank, the Registrar of the Wellington Supreme Court, yesterday, adjudicated Jo|m Alfred Leahy, cabman, of Masterton. bankrupt. A man named James Graham, aged S3 years, was admitted Jnto the Christchurch Hospital evidently suffering fnm the effects of an irritant poison. He was about to be arTested for having failed to pay the arrears of a maintenance order when he ia supposed to have taken nitrate acid. The Manawatu Golf Club has de- i cided upon erecting a handsome twostorey golf house, to cost about £1,500, on its course at Hokowhitu, which it already owns. It is proposed to greatly improve the course and iorm tennis courts, croquet eta, ia connection with the Club liouse. The Masterton Borough overdraft was reported at last night's meeting at £4,304 lis. The indebtedness on the general account is £6,604 18s 2d. The following accounts are in •credit:—Gasworks, £544 13s 6d; Library, £4B; Waterworks £520 8s 3d: deposit, £350 10s 9d; tarmac, £52 6s 8d; HoskiDg Bath, £306 16a Sd; Abattoir, £221 6s 6d; special I drainage, £129 2s lid; Bannister street, £59 2s; loan, £25,000, £77 » <os6d. The rates collected to date amount to £5,041 3s 4d. The balance still owing stands at £4,925 17s ad. Keen disappointment is expressed among the members of the Opaki Rifle Club at the railway arrangements for Christmas Day. The fact that the Cross' Creek train to the North has been struck out on that ilay means that members desirous of competing at the Wanganui Rifle Association meeting will have to leave Masterton on Friday. Last year the Club were able to send three teams to Wanganui, but this year it ia doubtful whether the Club will be able to Bend one team. Should this latter event occur it will be a very regrettable matter, as the Qlub has always acquitted itself most creditably at the Wanganui meeting, which is the leading North Island xifle leathering, excepting the championship meeting in March. On more than one occasion a member of the Club has carried off the aggregate prize at the meeting. A kitchen man is advertised for by the Club Cafe. Mr T. McCracken, cabinetmaker and upholsterer, has a Christmas display of general furnishings, which is Certainly attractive. A side line, which should meet with ready sale at tbia period of the year, is a collgps- ■ able camp stool*," "st'rorigly made and vers comfortable.

Mr Hamill'a Christmas Fair is proving a great success. Bargains -will be brought forward fat, to-d*y, including ladies' and gents' handkerchiefs, veilings, ladies' undercloth ing, millinery, gents' clothing and mercery. All articles will be sold at Christmas Fair prices for the next few days. At the residence, No. 82, Bannister street, this afternoon, Mr J. R. Micol will sell on account of Mrs J. Hooper, who is leaving Masterton, the whole of the nearly new furniture and effects, particulars of which are advertised. The sale will be a genuine clearing one, as every line will be eold without reserve. Young men can afford to distin xuish themselves during the coming Chriatmaa by presenting their sweetiiearts or sisters with one of those beautiful gold .pendants displayed in Mr Frank Dupre's jewellery store, Masterton. They form a pleasing gift, and are very inexpensive. Engagement. and wedding rings, set with beautiful jem combinations, should attract the attention of the young folk matrimonially inclined.— Advt. Mr J. L. Murray, in his advertising spaces on pages 2 and 4 of this issue, emphasises the fact that at the Quality Stores he has the finest Christmas stocks ever placed by him before residents of the Wairarapa. Christmas shoppers are invited to wander over the stores and inspect the goods on offer. ■ Ihere are hundreds of articles that suggest them - selves as particularly acceptable for Christmas presents, and the prices at whWh they are quoted are so rea«onable that every person in the community can afford to invest. Attractive window displays are made in both stores, and during the remainder of the week gaslight displays will ba made. Some new and enhancing Amberol records are on sale at the "lalkeries," Queen street, Masterton, including such gems as "Take a Pair of Sparkling Eyes," "The* Lost Chord," "My Old Shako"—recently suug here by the Scarlet Troubadours —and a number of vaudeville records by Messrs Jones, Spencer and Murray. A fine selection of operatic and Instrumental selections are also in stock. Visitors to town during Christmas are invited to call and hear these new records, which require to be heard to be appreciated. The "Talkcries" are now situated in the old portion of the Club Hotel. The result of the competition for beat dairy cow, that has just been beld by the Masterton A. and P. Association, shows that the first three prizes were secured by Mr L. Donald, of the Potaerau Dairy. The performance of Mr Donald's three cows is indeed a magnificent one, and is stated to constitute a New Zealand record. The proprietors of the Potaerau Dairy, Messrs F. J, Staples and L. Donald, are naturally very pleased with the result, and elsewhere announce that they intend to continue to supply to the public only the best of milk. The milking operations at the Potaerau Dairy are under the personal supervision of Messrs Donald and McGlashen, and the arrangements for delivery are supervised by Mr Staples. All milk is trained through a "Ulax" strainer, and the dairy utensils are thoroughly cleansed and submitter! to a steaming process; The milk from each cow in the herd is tested weekly, and every precaution taken against anything but the very best of milk being retailed. Mr Staples was for some . years engaged in one of the largest cheese factories in the South Island, and the experience thus gained is proving vary valuable in his present business? His town address is 34 Hogg Urfscent, where orders are being booked for the supply of cream and milk in any quantity.

A special train will leave Masterton at 7.18 a.m. on December 29th for the Ashhurst races, arriving at the cotirae at 11,25 a.m. Messrs George and Kersley, of the "Economic," Wellington advertise special lines in laces, ribbons and handkerchiefs. Bargain prices will be found on A Christmas present is more appreciated when it has been selected with a view to utility. At Messrs J. A. J. Maclean and Co.'s Mart. Perry street, Masterton, numerous lines are on offer, which form admirable pressnta. Apart from the splendid assortment of superior household furniture, there are excellent displays of enamelware, crockery, pots, pans, hams and bacon, as well as articles suitable as gifts for children, such ai doll's houses, camping tents (all sizes), etc. —Advt. Effervescent Salme, purifying, refreshing, invigorating to all who suffer from sickness, headache, sluggish liver, etc Price, 2/6, H. T. Wood, Chemist and PbarronMsfc I by exam,), Mabtertoo *