LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10006, 31 March 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Those who were not fortunate enough to hear the Besses o' th' Barn Band on Tuesday evening lass, will have an opportunity of hearing this famous band of musicians at the Showgrounds, this afternoon. A special programme, including some well-known popular airs, will be rendered. The entertainment will commence at 2.30 o'clock sharp, and the liberal charge of one shilling for admission is being made at the gates. , Further efforts are to be made to secure a portion of the Fiako swamp land, now being drained, for a miners' settlement.

During February 14,516 bales of hemp were graded in the Dominion, an increase of 5,728 over the number graded during the corresponding period last year.

It is stated in Auckland that the Knyvett case will be made the subject of a want of confidence vote on the assembly of Parliament unless the Government modifies its attitude on the matter.

A proposal to construct a floating swimming bath in Auckland Harbour has been brought under the notice of the Auckland Harbour Board. The promoters have sent to Paris for plans of an up-to-date structure, containing a large swimming bath, supplied by both filtered and heated water, also Turkish, vapour and hot saltwater baths.

Diseases among the root crops are particularly pronounced this year throughout the district. The potato blight wrought much mischief, a blight also attacked the tomato plants and shrivelled them up long before they ordinarily should have ceased bearing, and lately turnip crops have come under a disease that rots them away wherever it puts in an appearance.—" Hawera Star." <

"It is certainly rather a one-sided arrangement," aaid Mr Marfell at a recent meeting of the Taranaki Executive of the Farmers' Union. He referred to the price paid for lamb by a local firm in his district. This firm, he said, paid a certain price per lb for lambs up to 361bs weight, while for lambs over 36lbs and up to 40!bs the firm paid a smaller price per lb The result was that the lighter lambs, though of similar quality, brought the farmer more money than the heavier ones. Mr Marfell consi W fl r! this harsh treatment.

As a precaution against railway servants having their feet caught in crossings during shunting operations,, the department is filling the spaces up with a macadam preparation. Here is a tale of a tin and a tired traveller told in the •'Timaru Herald" : A young New Zealander who* was engaged to take a mob of sheep from the Orari Gorge Station, having: no horse, and as the sheep were fat and could not be driven fast, took the precaution to possess himself of an> empty benzine tin before starting*. Ever and anon he upnghted this on the roadside, and sat upon it to rest his weary bores, picking it up and ' carrying it under his arm when he . had to walk on again to catch up to. the sheep.

Mr T. MacGibDin (says the "Daily News')', in referring to the fact that male teachers were getting scarcer than ever, said at last week's meeting of the Southland Education Board; that the corresspondence showed: that a vast number of applications were received from women teachers for s!ck leave. Mr Macalister: "Not a vast number." MrMacGibbon: "I. said a vast number, and it is a fact. Many lady teachers had not the fitness necessary to manage the duties.", Mr Smith suggested that, they had enough, though, to manage their husbands. (Laughter). Mr Macalister: "Perhaps you will agree with* that, Mr Chairman." Mr MacGibboa: "Yes, I do." (Laughter).

Whilst going down the BJairlogie Hill the other day, a waggon and six horses, belonging to Mr Geo. Daysh, > and driven by Mr W. Reynolds, went over the side of the road.' It appears that a heap of rock metal ; was tipped on the road ready foe ; breaking and spreading, and the driver, while trying to avoid the heap, got too near the edge of the road with the result already mentioned. Fortunately neither the driver nor the horses were injured, and although the waggon- tipped completely upside down, out of ten pairs of window sashes and two glazed doors, which comprised part, j of the load, only two of the window I sashes were broken. *

As showing the dangers and hardships* of backblock settlers in New Zealand; the Gisborne correspondent of a« southern paper telegraphs:— Mr* T. E. Toneycliffe,. who has returned, from an overland journey,., relates a sensational' experience in. the Waioeke Valley. Shortly before he gdt there a large landslip took. place on the Opotiki side of Mr D. Graham's station. It totally wrecked 1 , a settlers' woolshed, which contained' a quantity of wool. It severed the: bathroom from the house and' twisted' the latter right round. The settler heard the rumbling noise, and, with? his wife, rushed to save the two* children who were in the bathroom.. Ihey had hardly got outside when the sliding earth, with large tree stumps, struck the bathroom and* turned the house round. A quantity .. of wool was recovered, but it had to be spread out and dried. N -

It is very seldom that anybody gets lost in a coal mine, but this happened to a lad named. John Kelly in Mount Keira Mine, near.Wollongong; (New South Wales) last weeK. At & o'clock, knock off time, Kelly, who* is a wheeler in this mine, was or*, his way out of the pit, leading his pony, when his light went out, and? left him in utter darkness. In his wanderings he got off the travelling way, and got lost. As he could not find his way to daylight, he sat down and commenced cooe-iug, but could raise no response to his cries. John Phillips, contractor for the haulage of coal,, discovered that Kelly bad not returned with his pony some two hours after knock-off time, and ac once went into the mine to make a search for the missing wheeler. After searching for upwards of an hour he discovered Kelly sitting down holding his pony, not much the worse for his experience.

In the Industrial Court in Sydney, Judge fieydon was repeatedly pressed by counsel in a matter to give a ruling that would/, have taken him outside the scope of " the award upon which the case-! hinged. At last his Honor, somewhat,, exasperated, exclaimed: "Sir, I not a Kadi; I cannot make laws as ij like; I cannot order things just be- ' cause they appear to me to be good, j as the first County Court: Judge inJ England did in the first County Court case." His Honor went on to tell I the circumstances. It was a rase • in which a young man was sued for ! debt,, and the Judge found out during the course of the hearing that the young man had not been helped in J any way by his rich relatives. He v felt very deeply that they ought to ' have helped the youth, so h° gave judgment for the debt against ihe • young man's rich aunt. "If I could , do things of that sort," added Judge Heydon, "I might be able to do'. what you want."

At a,recent meeting of the. Jap--anese Peace Society, Count Okuma delivered some noteworthy utterances. He said, as reported by the "Japan rimes," that in the past those who had advocated peace had proved the very destroyers of peace Napoleon 111. convoked tne P ca ce Conference, and three years later • Europe was plunged, into a war for which he was blameable. The Czar promoted the first Peace Conference ■ at The Hague, and nine years later the Russo-Japanese war took place Since 1870 the armament of the Powers had been steadily ■' increasing in strength, and now, after the Rus-so-Japanese war, the naval preparations of the Powers were on an un paralleled scale. The most peaceloving nation in the world, America was forced by others into mak'mg a large expansion m her armaments. "Another strange fact" Count Okuma continued, in deaJire i with what he described as obstacle! ' to peace, "was. candidly speikine ! the position of the Japanese. „r rather, Asiatics, in the world The racial prejudice against the p... ile even after their nation's attaining to. the rank of a first-class Power w a * " : the Count feared, "a causeof futu're i disturbance of peace." If the Jap- ; anese were treated persistently with the prevailing antipathy, and the pressure of other Powers were continually bearing on them as at the ■ present,, the Japanese may be ooliged to appeal to actual force, and clam the right position due to them "it oppression," he cendud- . ed, that caused Ameiican indepti,: . dence * ■ .

The Vicar Apostolic of the Upper Congo states in the annual report that half the population of Bruges and St. Douat has been carried off by sleeping sickness. It is feared that the whole mission' will perish. A similar state of affairs prevails at St Pala. The annual meeting of S. Matthew's Club was held last evening, Rev. H. Watson presiding. The secretary read the annual report and balance sheet, which were adopted, credit on the year's working Standing at £l3 10s 9d. Officers for •■' the. ensuing y*ar were elected as It follow—President, Kev. H. Watson; Management Committee, Messrs C. Cole. W. Kemp, N. Boyd and R. Hatch; Trustees, Rev. fl. Watson and Mr R. Hatch. Secretary and Treasurer, Rev. W. Raine. It was decided to open .the winter session on Wednesday, Apil 20ih, with a smoke concert, f s_ | A special m eting of the Masterton District Eigh School Committee ■was held in the secretary's office (Mr W. M. last evening. There present—Messrs R. Brown H. O'Leary, A. Hendry, Chapman. L. J. Thompson aE. H. Waddingto". Mr -V. H. (Headmaster) «a3 also in " m Vndance. The business of the meet \ fliwas to consider applications for , rM,position of secondary assidtant m the Masterton District High £» bol. Owing to the altered railway si ?ice the number of pupils on the M jndary depa.tment roll has convSrably decreased, and it was Jk iced out that probably only two -testers instead of three would be required in the secondary department, in /the course of another three months. In tie face of this, the Committee thought it would ba hardly fair to appoint a new teacher forfrucb a short time, and on the mojiion of the Chairmman, seconded (Mr H. O'Leary, it was decided isk the Education Board to reMiss McLeandress, in Masterand if the Board were unable to this tne Committee recomded Miss K. Clayton for the tion. There were four appiica--3 for the position, essrs J. McQueen and Sons auice the arrival of a big consignt of Unity cycles, of the very latest English manufacture, and wljiich are guaranteed to give satis • f HJction. Full particulars may be obtained on application at the firm's Mart, Bannister street. ' Messrs J. McQueen and Sons will ' sell at the residence, No. 56 Cornwall street, on Wednesday next, on account of Mrs J. Robertson, who is vieA.ving the district, the whole of JprP household furniture and effects ' bout reserve. ] ssrs Cole and Westerman's great earh-g sale will be commenced. (wing to the lack of space in their Yeliington premises the firm are relpquishing their men's and boy's cothing section, and the whole of tieir large and well-assorted stock has been sent to Masterton for absolute clearance. In the Wanted Columns of this issue a number of special bargains are quoted to which SBwttention is directed. k~A reminder is given of the clears M~ g sale to be held at one o'clock, Jbus afternoon, at the Taratahi by Dalgety and Co., Ltd., on »ehalf of Messrs Beattie and Crooke, Vho have disposed of their property. The sale will take place at the iroperty, and the whole of the live md dead stock, consisting of horses, iheep and cattle, and a large assortment of farming implements and lousehold furnituri will be offered 'or absolute sale. Additional entries ire advertised in this morning's H&ae, including ten weaner calves, . * sultry and a binder. Full particulars may be seen on reference to the livertisement on page 8. For rheumatism, backache, faceache, barache, neuralgia, and other muscular pains nothing can equal WITCH'S OIL >■*. (registered).

i l »ylf you should suggest to any amasflfceur photograDhers the idea of taking ' jpottra'ts of children, you would find that instead of meeting the suggestion with lenthusiasm, they would exhibit, something very much like panic, yet those [who have made a practice of photographling children, say that not only are they more attractive subjects for photography Ithan adults, but also they are quite as [easy to manage and arrange if tney are | rightly handled; they are less conscious ,of their looks when in front of the camera, and far more naturally graceful and adaptable, From 3 to 6 years is the best age for picture taking, then little folks are full of imagination and fancy, i and they are as playful and unconscious ( as kittens. The most satisfactory place for making a picture of a child is at home, and that is where the amateur phoJ i tographer has; an advantage over the I professional. At the studio all the u. wal P arrangements, and the fact that it is a , strange place, makes it hard to get a natural, and impossible to get a lively or jolly portrait. The best results are obiteined by the Kodak, for the roll films, developed in the Kodak Tank Develop* in« Hachine are in every way superior to those produced in the old way. And j then there'B the great convenience of no dark room being required. Everyone who photographs or is about to take up photography should at onoe take advantage of the Imperial Camera 00/s offer; The Co. will send FREE of any charge whatever, a valuable illustrated book on photography, containing nearly 300 pages. This book is of the greatest assistance to the amateur in the matter of details, advice; etc., and also gives prices of all cameras and necessaries. SEND TO.DAT for it. A postcard will bring ii to you by return mail, from the Imperial Camera Co.. 42 "Willis-street. Wellington