LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 9709, 3 February 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

In the Supreme Court, Palmerston North, on 10th February, a case of considerable interest to Eketahuna and Pahiatua residents will be heard, wherein Mr Walsh, of Pahiatua, is the plaintiff and Mr F. C. Tumor is defendant, a claim for damages £5Ol for alleged libel arising out of a card tournament at the Pahiatua Club. Mr C. P. bkerrett, K.C., Wellington, is for plaintiff, and Mr C. A. Pownall, of Masterton, and Mr Page, of Eketahuna, are for defendant.

A large Southland station owner, who has about 20,000 sheep, states that had the prices of wool been this year what they were at the corresponding sale in 1909 he would have received £1,200 less for his clip than he did last week.

There will be a meeting of persons interested in the formation of a branch of the New Zealand Socialistic Party at the Dominion Hall, tonight. The movement has been on foot for some time, and the conveners of the meeting anticipate the formation of a strong branch in Masterton.

Mr Maughan Barnett will give a grand organ recital in Kimx Church on Wednesday, the 10th February, at 8 p.m. Mr Barnett will play several of his most popular selections and the people of Masterton may depend on a great musical treat. The programme will be varied by local items. The public are advised to reserve this evening for the recital. ,

The enormous number of small birds in the Temuka district is shown by the quantities of eggs and heads taken to the Temuka Road Board office every Saturday by boys. The price is threepence per dozen, and on a recent Saturday £25 was paid out, says the "Lyttelton Times." The largest number taken at one time was 162 dozen collected by a boy from Kangitata Island, and on that day another boy from the same district took in 100 dozen. Lots of from 50 to 90 dozen are fairly common.

At the conclusion of the Wairarapa Mineral Prospecting Company's formation meeting yesterday, Mr D. Donald said he had recently stated that he had obtained a Government analysis of quartz some thirty years ago. He would like to remark that the stone referred to was taken from the Ruamahanga Kiver. not from the same locality it was now proposed to prospect, viz., the Waingawa Kiver. He had samples from reefs in that locality that no others knew of. In regaid to the specimen that yielded between two and three ounces of gold to the ton. it was a small specimen but other parts of the same reef did not show above Sdwts to the ton.

A position of some interest to butter exporters '--> a ariser. in eonuection with a i.-eent shipment to London of 60 ton* of "Snowflake" butter by the Timaru Dairying Company. When the consignment reached Home it was claimed that the brand "Snowflake" was an infringement of a trade mark already registered at Home, and the butter was seized and held by the Customs House authorities. The upshot is that the , Timaru Company have to go to the expense of expunging the,-, brand from the sixty tons of butter, and inserting another in its place, which is , an obviously annoying and expensive course The Company claim that the butter being clearly marued as New Zealand butter, the infringement of or injury to the Home trade niark m question is more a matter of imagination than of actual fact In any case the fate of the consignment clearly demonstrates the necessity for the N6w Zealand Government making itself acquainted with the Home trade marks so that New Zealand exporters may in turn become acquainted with them and avoid the repetition of the Timaru Dairying Company's disagreeable experience.

At the fortnightly pay niqht of the Workers Mutual Benefit Building Society, held last evening, the sum of £l4l 13s 6d was paid in by J the shareholders.

An extraordinary genera] meeting of the shareholders of the Wellington Farmers' Meat Company was held yesterday afternoon, to confirm the resolutions passed at a meeting of shareholders on January sth. The chair was occupied by the Managing Direc' >r, Mr J. C. Cooper, and the resol ions were unanimously confirmt...

At the meeting of the Wellington Farmers Meat Company yesterday, the Chairman, Mr J. C. Cooper, reported that the plans of the work had been submitted to the Dirsctors by the Engineer that morning and adopted. The Engineer had been instructed to call for tenders forthwith. The works were expected xo be ready for business by November Ist.

The Gisborne Oil Company's bore has reached a depth of 1,265 feet. Another 650 feet of casing has been ordered. The representative of an English syndicate has asked whether the company would sell any of it soilboring rights, and it has been decided to inform him that at present the directors cannot see their way to do anything in that direction, but a little later business may ensue.

A case is to be heard at Dannevirke on 10th Februarv, before Mr McCarthy, S.M., of Napier, in which John Anderson claims from George Hales damages for alleged breach of milking contract. The case is of considerable interest to farmers and milkers in the Weber district. Mr Gordon Lloyci is appearing for plaintiff, and Mr C. A. Pownall, of Masterton, for defendant.

An interesting order regarding the marriage of officers has been made "by the Russian military authorities. Formerly no officer could marry until he had reached the age of 23. In addition to being of good social position, his bride had to possess means, or the marriage was not sanctioned. In future the income qualification will be dispensed with, an 3 the colonel of the regiment wiii decide regarding the social suitability of the bride when the bridegroom holds the rank of captain or a higher rank.

!*One of the most curious sights to those engaged in salvage work at the Kaipara was to see a big shark valiantly battling with a box of butter. The fish evidently fancied a little luxury in addition to his ordinary larder, and the aroma of first grade creamery tickled his nose. The box had dropped overboard, and was promptly snapped by the shark. But he couldn't make head or tail of his capture, and regretfully abandoned it.

Owing*to insufficient, inaccurate and indecipherable addresses, and, in thousands of cases, the absence of addresses, at total of over 316,000 letters and packets found their way during 1909 to the Melbourne dead letter office. Of this number 2,370 were without any addresses. A large proportion of the correspondence and packets contained money and valuables, estimated to be worth between ~ £13,000 and £14,000 in the aggregate. A shipment of gold which has jusfc been made from the refinery works ■of the Waihi Company constitutes a record for purity of the company, and probably for the whole mining world. Some of the bars, weighing ],ooooz (fine) are absolutely pure gold, while none of them fall below 99.95 per cent, of pure gold. The metal is produced by the improved electrolytic process recently installed by the metallurgist?.

A meeting 01 tne Managers of the Masterton Technical School will be held in the Technical School this (Thursday) evening, at 8 p.m., when ordinary and general business of importance will be dealt with. Under the Manual and Technical Instruction Act of 1900 the Managers of Associated Classes must be appointed at an annual meeting of the subscribers held either during the month of January or that of February in each year. The matter, therefore, of arranging for the election of Managers for the ensuing year as well as that of seeing to the compilation -of the annual report and balance sheet will come before the meeting this evening.

'You are thoroughly up to date in | Morse signalling at Wellington," remarked an officer of the Morayshire to a "Times" representative. "We must have been nine miles from the entrance when the outer signal station called us up by Morse lamp about 1.40 o'cloctc in the morning. We replied by giving a few flashes with our lamp. Promptly the question came from the signal station, "What ship is that?' We got the message very distinctly and we responded with the word 'Morayshire.' We were asked, 'Where are you from?' and replied, 'Auckland.' The signal station concluded with 'R.D. Thanks.' Considering the distance - and that it was very bright moonlight, the signalling was remarkably clear, and is no doubt a useful equipment of the port."

. An attempt at the confidence trick on Mr Stewart, a New Zeaiander, was made recently in London, reports our correspondent, but it proved an utter failure, for Mr Stewart was far too wide-awake to be taken in by the usual moonshine tales. He was in the National Gallery, when a welldressed stranger entered into convarsation and casually mentioned that he, too, came from "down under." In subsequent conversation the stranger told how a friend of his was purchasing a sheep run near Wellington for £20,000, and that the land carried about four sheep to the acre! The second man then arrived ajnd began a yarn about a doad snip of "ten to one" to be-run that afternoon, and Mr Stewart was invited tojartake of their luck. He ostensibly went away to fetch bis notebook, but was too wary to return to his new acquaintances. | A smart saleswoman for showroom is advertised for. An advertiser requires a situation as a gardener. Messrs Dalsety and Co. advertise three very fine Bheep, dairy and agricultural farms for sale. Messrs W. B. Chennells and Co. offer for private sale a small farm suitable for dairying at a reasonable price.

Messrs C C Ross and Co., land agents, report the sale of Mr H. Hart's 210 acres at Clareville to Mr Jacob Compton. Messrs George and Kersley, ot the "Economic," Wellington, insert a replace advertisement in the present issue. The Mayor elsewhere requests the "townspeople of Masterton to observe a public holiday on the 16th >nst., "the People' 3 Day of the Agricultural and Pastoral Show. ■The Indepandent of Good Templers .will in future rr.est in the Foresters' Hall The next meet ng ia -on the 10th inst., when the election of officers will take place. Mr-A. Hendry the popular outfitter, adverlists special lines in men's mercery. Special attention 13 drawn to his window display in Messrs Abraham and Williams' new buildings.

A choice lot of presentation goods, "including gold ch~oncgrsphs, lever watces. tea and coffee sets, cutlery in cases, Tcld-rriountfd brushware ayrid real ivory ladies' brushes, are advertised by Mr A. Henderson. Medals and sportin/ trophies are manufactued and engraved on the premises. The postponed Garden Ftte ;n aid of S. Matthew's Chinch Building Fund, which is to be ntld in Mr W. H. Beetham's grounds this afternoon, promises to be a great sucre s. Various competitions have been arranged, psr>d the programme for the af'ernoon is most excellent one. Gaily decorated stalls, laden with an endless assortment of articles of great variety, wiil be in evidence, and refreshments will also be available. The op' n air concert in the evening, in charge of Mr G. Branson, will be a feature of the -Fete. Special attention has been paid to seating and lighting, and a splenTjd conceit platform will be erected, ongs wi 1 be rendered by Mrs Ash- j ton ann Mies Jaero, and Me?srs Elcoate, Hunn. Jago, legulden, Green and Clayton. Miss Jago and Mr Elcoate will sing "Watchman, What of -the Night," duet. The comic quartette Schmoker,' will be 3"iven-by Messrs Jago, Jklcoate, Iggulden and Branson. Mr Jagu will sing "Sweet Adeline" with full harmonised refrain, and Mr Wilson will •recite "Snorkins."' Miss Hapmton ' will act as accompanist, and an overture will be given by the string Jband.