LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10145, 15 December 1910, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The first meeting of the executive of the Park Beautifying Society is to be held in Masterton to-night. Mr J. C. Boddington reports that the rainfall registered at -the Upper Plain for the 24 hours preceding 9 a.m. on Wednesday was 4 points. An invitation concert is to be given in St. Matthew's schoolroom, Masterton, this evening, by the pupils of Mr H. S. Claughton. , . The tender of Mr A. R. Wallis, at £23 10s, has been accepted for the erection of a fence at the Parkvale school. The handicap events in connection with the Martinborough Caledonian Society's Boxing Day Sports close with the secretary on. Saturday, the 17th inst., at 12 noon. The .Pahiatua Herald says:—The Brigidine nuns connected with the local convent. leave at the end of the week for Masterton, where they will spend their annual vacation. At a special meeting of managers; of the Masterton Technical School, to be held on Friday evening, a report on the working of the various; classes for the third term will ( be presented. The scarcity of country, labour still prevails. A local farmer states 1 that lie wishes to break up ground to grow winter feed in, but cannot do so because he finds it impossible to obtainl a'ploughman.

Mr Petherick, of the Prince of Wales Stables, Masterton, left for Wellington yesterday, and intends bringing back the . taxi-cab' which is to be run in connection with the stables. The taxi-cab arrived in Wellington yesterday. The four-year-old son of George Ware, employed at the Manawatu Company's sawmill at Taihape, was found dead under a pile of timber on Tuesday. Apparently the child had been climbing the when the latter- fell over, with" fatal results.

' Two members of .the Tipper„rsv!angiiehu Road.'.Board'-were yeslirday, fined '£'4 each, and # costs, for*'voting on a question in which personally interested. -Theiry seats''.' will also become vacant.

The headmaster of the Tenui school has been advised by the Education Board that there is no objection to his acting as temporary clerk to,the Castlepoint County Council, provided that his work is not done during school hours.

A committee of members of the Wellington Education Board, with the Chief Inspector and Agricultural Instructor, will visit Eketahuna in a few weeks' time to confer with the School Committee and fix a site npon the new grounds for the erection of the school buildings.

A deputation from the South Featlierstort School Committee waited upon the Wellington Education Board on Tuesday and made certain representations concerning the conduct of the school. The matter is to.be enquired into by the Inspectors. -<

According to the Witness, eaterpillars are playing havoc with the root crops in the Waimate Plains district. One resident in Manaia has had his crop of mangolds and carrots entirely destroyed. The pest appear to burrow round the roots in colonies and eat everything clean out of the ground. Settlers along the-'Suther-land Road are experiencing the same trouble.

"Progress" for December is to hand. An unusually full number, dealing with the water schemes of the Government, the Aero Club of Auckland,;.,.the Panama Canal, Edison's Storage Battery, the aeroplane in war, the British Navy, daring feats of motor submarines, the. great trans-Alpine flight, the Union S.S. Co.'s new building, and much information about motors and motoring, motor boats, and motor cycles and architecture—all very interesting and up to date. The initial cycle run of the Church of England Men's Society took place on Tuesday night, the destination being Mr Warclell's bridge. On the return journey members to the number of nearly thirty called at Mr G. R. Sykes' house, where refreshments were kindly provided. ' The party were joined by the Vicar and the Missioner' (the Rev. R. W. H. Farrer.) At the unanimous wish of members the Rev. Farrer gave them a most interesting address on C.E.M.S. work. After thanks had been expressed to Mr and Mrs Sykes for their kindness, the party left for home, which was reached about 11 o'clock. The meeting was a most enjoyable and successful one, and thoroughly appreciated by every member. NOISELESS NAPIER MOTOR CARS. The Scott Motor Agency have, tho above cars—universally acknowledged to be England's premier product—on view at their Garage, 57 Cuba Street, Wellington.; The equipment includes latest" design in torpedo body, detachable .wheels, acetylene lamps, etc., and well merits inspection by car owners and intending buyers. Rennults and Crossleys are due to arrive in the course of a few clays. London p: ices plus landing rlinrgcs.*

The Stratford office of the Public Works Department (says the correspondent of the Taranaki Herald) has instructions to proceed at once with the completion of the Mt. Egniont railway. It will involve the construction of two miles of double cable line between the crushing works and the quarry high up the mountain side.

The chairman of the Kltham County Council has a very decided opinion- about the settlers on the Stratford-Opunake road. After hearing a complaint from that quarter at Saturday's meeting the chairman remarked: "There will need to be many compartments in the next world for those fellows on the Strat-ford-Opunake road. They're all Ishmaels. Every man's hand is against his neighbour; they're all jealous of one another."

The petition, being circulated in Auckland by the newly formed Universal Saturday Half-holiday Association for presentation to the Minister of Labour praying that legislation be enacted next session for the universal observance of the statutory weekly haif-holiday on the Saturday is being " largely signed. Already some 7000 signatures have been secured in Auckland and suburbs. When Auckland and suburbs have been thoroughly worked the originar tors propose to place the petition for signature in most of the southern centres.

The dilemma of a Christchurch mo. lor importer on Friday was seized upon as a text on which to preach a sermon on the necessity , for the Christchurch Canal (says the Lytteiton Times.) An enterprising gentleman has imported a motor cliar-a r banc to run between Uimstcnurcn and Akaroa, and it was discharged from the Tainui in due course. It was then found that the Lyttelton tunnel was* too small to allojv of its being brought to Christchurch by rail, and it was found necessary to send a gang of men to Lyttelton to unpack it and bring it over the hill with its own power.

Some time ago the law societies in the four centres contributed' towards the establishment .oi a?jli%es' law library in Wellington, and the library is now established, the cost being nlet by the following contributions:—Auckland Law Society, £254, Canterbury £250, Otago £275, and Wellington £525. As the library is exclusively for the use of judges, it was felt that a contribution could fairly be expected'from the State, and the Government has decided to make an annual payment of £250 for its maintenance.

There must be a strain of Scotch blood in the Melanesian -Islanders." An amusing,-incident that had come . under his. notice was retailed by Bishop Wilson "at the Melanesian garden party in Wellington. A certain man had/been supposed to be dead, said he, and his relatives had made all arrangements for the last rites, and had performed * the last sad duties, including the painting of tihe body with red paint, a custom in that part of the' world. However, at the end of 24 hours the man had coughed «id woke up, but his relatives had said, "Let us not wash the paint from his body, as he is sure to need it some day." Says the Canadian correspondent of the. Otago Daily Times:— While prosperity is smiling on Canada, our., sister colony of Labrador, in the! mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence,, is in acute distress. The fishing 'has been a failure thisryear, and ;thai> in-i dustry is the sole stay of the isolated community. Dr. Grenfell, who has given up, his life to the 'sturdy and simple-living fisher folk, has written a statement of the situation to the British and American press. Food is dear, and the hope of late fishing may not'be, realized. The imported reindeer are doing well, however. Dr. Grenfell tells about the danger from dogs in times of famine. He has known six children to "be killed and eaten by these semi-savage animals. '

Circulars have been issued Mr E.. Tregear, Registrar of Industrial; Unions requesting unions of employers and workers to nominate members and deputy members to represent their respective interests on the Arbitration Court. Mr W. Scott is the present representative of the employers, Mr J. A. McCuHough acting in a similar capacity for the men. These two men are again standing for election, while Mr R. Slater, a former member of the Court, is also announced as a candidate for the position of employees' representative. Nominations must be in the hands of the Registrar by January 7th, and must, be in the name and under the seal of the respective unions. Each union is entitled to one vote for every completed fifty members on its roll.

! A missionary service that often takes place in Melanesia was, at a garden party in Wellington, described by Bishop Wilson to the following effect: One sat on a sandy beach and talked to the natives about the great Spirit which made the sun, and sky, and sea, a Spirit which they admitted to be in existence. There would be. frequent interruptions. The chief would suddenly ask the 'missionary for some tobacco or for a draw of his pipe, but the appearance of the chief's lips would be enough to make the missionary refuse the latter request. Again, if the missionary appeared to possess some peculiar defect, for instance, a long noso, some of his listeners would want, to pull it. And so with all these interruptions he woulfl continue his discourse on the great Spirit. But what better reward could the missionary have, added the Bishop, than to see in. four years' time Christian educated people, who once wore cannibals?