LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10457, 23 October 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Eketahuna-lodge of Oddfellows j are establishing a female lodge in connection with the order. The reoent gale did considerable damage -bo the windows of the Eketahuna school. No fewer than 270 entries have been received in the horse sectionat the Manawatu Show. Twenty-five patients, one of whom is j in the fever ward suffering from scar- ! let fever, are receiving treatment at the Masterton Hospital at present. In spite of the dull weather, there was a large attendance at the service held at the Sohvay Home last evening. A very able address was given by Mrs D'Ews. Miss E. MoCormick proved a very efficient organist. A proposal is being made to form a Cricket Association in the Forty-Mile Busb, and a meeting of delegates is to be held at Eketahuna at an early date to discuss the matter., • A Wangaehu settler was driving io Masterton 'on Saturday, when a thoughtless driver, who was on a load of chaff, cracked his whip in passing. The settler's horse iastinctivel.y took fright, and the vehicle was overturned. Fortunately none of the occupants were injured. The attendance at the Rongokokako school, near Eketahuna, has increased so rapidly of late that it has been found necessary to procure outside accommodation. An urgent appeal is now being made to the Education Board for additions to the school. At the meeting of Feilding A. and P. Association on Friday evening, Mr. Short reported that the memliers of I the Clydesdale Breeders' Association now numbered 150, and that £450 had been donated to the funds of the society. At a largely attended meeting in Eketahuna it was decided to form a cricket clug, and the following officers were elected: — President, Mr. E. Page; Vice-Presidents, Messrs Turnor, Herbert, Tripe, and Prendeville; secretary, Mr. H. Harvey; treasurer, Mr. G. L. Grey; committee. Messrs Grenfell, Andrews, McGarry, Green and Bedindg. The annual Self-denial appeal of the Salvation . Army concludes this week. A house to house canvass has been made in Masterton with very satisfactory results, and it is hoped that wlien promised country subscriptions are to hand, the previous reputation of the district for liberality in this direction will be fully sustained. A correspondent of the. Express states that the lambing in the Alfredton and up-country districts has been a very patchy one indeed, the percentages ranging from forty to one hundred and twenty. As an average this has been very disappointing, especially taking into consideration that the season has l>een such a good one for lambing. The percentage amongst the young ewes has been exceedingly low. The members of the Masterton Homing Pigeon Club who sent birds to Blenheim for Saturday's race waited all Saturday afternoon and yesterday to "clock-in" the competitors, but in ! vain. A wire was received last night to say that the birds had -not arrived at Blenheim, but would be liberated as soon as they were received. The hampers apparently missed the steamer. An amusing story is told of a patient in a mental hospital who laboured under the delusion that lie had discovered the elixir of life. His custom was to make a mixture of garden soil and water, and then asked permission to leave the institution for several hours. When he returned from the little outings it was noticed that he always had some money. This puzzled the authorities much. Accordingly they set a. watch, and discovered the discoverer of the elixir of life doing a roaring trade with the sane public 1 Rifleman Marenzi, of Eketahuna, won £l3 in prize money at Bisley, and wa-i tho highest of the team in the aggregate for the King's prize. About 1200 were competing, and Rifleman Marenzi was 35th on the list in the final 100 qualified to shoot. The posi. tion of other New Zealanders in the final hundred was as follows : Riflenian j Cox 47th, Loveday 71st and Roots j | 91st. The team was muoh more 6uc- ! cessful in Sj'dney, where the winnings j aggregated £ll3. Rifleman Marenzi j was suffering, with influenza at this i meeting and was completely off colour, though he won £3 in cash prizes.

The partial eclipse of the sun was not observable from Masterton last evening.

The Slokau report is to be dealt with in the House of Representatives this afterason.

The factories in Masterton will observe a holiday to-day. Everything else, however, will be normal. Tho flag was flown from the Masterton Post Office tower on Saturday in honour of Trafalgar Day. The Masterton South Brass Band rendered a clioice programme of music in Queen Street on Saturday night. Labour Day will be celebrated in Timaru to-day by a workers' picnic and children's sports.

The Rangitikei Sawmillers' Association on tho Main Trunk paid during the last year upwards of £99,000 in wages. j

The weather experienced in the Masterton district during the last few days has been of a very mixed character. Generally speaking it has been most unseasonable.

At a meeting of the Committee of the Pipe Band, held in Masterton on Saturday, it was unanimously decided to appoint Mr David G. Brown to be corporal of the Band. Mr Ben Morriss, of Rongokokaho, drove through to Masterton on Saturday, via Mount Bruce, and returned home on the same day.- The distance is about twenty-five miles, and the -road is in excellent condition.

Mr W. Howard Booth stated at the conference in Masterton on Saturday that he had no doubt if an agricultural school were provided in the Wairarapa, all the stock required would be supplied by the settlers. E. Graham, O. Olsen, E. Miller, McLaughlin, V. Billington, and G. Barr, of the Masterton Boxing Club, will be among the contestants at the Carterton tourney on Wednesday next. Mr A. J. Percy stated at the conference in Masterton on Saturday that he was so satisfied of the advantages which would accrue from an agricultural school, that he was willing to contribute £25 towards the project, and to double the amount if necessary.

One of tho delegates (Mr Moore, of Carterton) in urging the importance of agricultural instruction, at the conference in Masterton on Saturday, instanced a Wairarapa farmer who had last year lost a considerable number of stacks of grain, through faulty stacking.

Messrs O. Kebbell, A. Murray, and C. Cross, who are candidates at the forthcoming Masterton County elections, will meet the ratepayers of the Alfredton Riding at the Alfredton Hall on Saturday next, 28th inst., and at.sl6 Waterfalls schoolhouse on Saturday, November 4th. The chair will be taken at 2 p.^n.

The committee of the Feilding A. and P. Association on Friday discussed the proposal put forward by Mr J. M. Johnson that the Government should be asked to devote a portion of the totalisator surplus to the encouragement of horse-breeding by grants to the A; and P. Associations. The scheme was freely criticised, but final consideration of the .matter was left over for the next meeting.

The bookings for the production of the opera "Dorothy" in Masterton on Wednesday and Thursday evenings are already very numerous, and those desiring seats should visit the booking office early. Mr 0. F. Vallarice has very generously loaned a pack of hounds for the occasion', and this will add to the realism of the hunting scene. Mr Tas Smith will be in charge of the hounds.

According to a well-informed London correspondent, there is to be no interregnum in the High Commissionersliip of New Zealand. Sir William Hall-Jones, was to have left at the end of August, after a two months' extension of his original term, but it has now been arranged that he will continue in office until -the appointment of his successor, which is expected after tho general election.

At the annual meeting of the Eketahuna Lawn Tennis Club, the following officers were elected: —President, Mr T.. M. Page; Vice-Presi-dents, Messrs F. Symes, C. Grey, and Dr. Jamieson; committee, Messrs Toohill, Farrelly and Bray ; auditor, Mr R. J. McLean; Secretary, Mr H. G. Stirling;, Treasurer, Mr H. E. Greathead. Five new members were elected.

i A peculiar and somewhat serious acI cident happened to" the train conveyj ing stock from Hawke's Bay to the ' Carterton show on Friday, says the I News. During the journey, the en- < 'gine driver, looking back along the train, noticed smoke rising from one of the trucks. The train was at once stopped, and those upon it hurried to the truck, the straw in which was discovered to be ablaze, probably through a spark from the engine. There was fortunately water at the side of the line where the train was stopped, and the fire was quickly got under. In the truck there was a Shorthorn bull, first prize winner at the Hawke's Bay show, and some heifers, belonging to MiDouglas McLean, of Hawke's Bay. The bull, which is valued at 500 guineas, was rather badly scorched on both sides, but the heifers were only slightly singed. It was fortunate that the engine driver noticed so quickly that there was something amiss, as the truck had commenced to burn, and there might have been a serums disaster if the fire 'had secured a- strong j hold. We understand v that the bull is not seriously injured, but whether he will be fit to show on Wednesday re- j mains to be seen. j

Tlio latest return from the Worksop dredge is lOOozs. 15dwts. for 124 hours' working.

Some of the Akitio backblocks are sixty miles from a doctor's residence, and as accidents are not uncommon in such rough country, the settlers have been trying to get a doctor to take uphis residence in Pongaroa. It has now been decided to guarantee £3OO a year,' and to approach the Government for a subsidy.

Tenders are elsewhere invited forth© erection of a teaoner's residence atAlrredton.

Mr F. P. Welch requires mill hands, bushmen, women for picking * strawberries and peas.

The dates of wool sales to be held w™n l e a V s ? ioes of the Wellington Woolbrokers' Association during thecurrent season, are announced elsewhere, other information of Importance to p-astoralists i s a ] so . giren _

A full dress rehearsal of the MasW t\tS ate Z Tl r SocTetT wnl bo bed m the Town Hall at seven qSel m6mb6rsa »d orchestra is re-

Messrs J. Fraser and Co land an A estate agents, idverSst 419 acres r ioh fattening count? acres .highly improved dairy flnS' and nlO-acre residential section/ &S' ulars may be found on page 8

win h l^ ai n ra F a boxin S wurney will open in Carterton on Wednesday interest m being manifested in thia gathenng of sports, and a record attfindance may be expected.

<w i ™ Be ™ ett v W of the Spectacle Makers' Company, London wall be in Masterton for only, and may be seen at Mr St George's, chemist. Mr Bennett'* ■ stall m ascertaining the refractive power of the eyes, .and the grinding' and fitting of those lenses that are necessary to correct any defects, is such that it would be to the advantage of those in anyway uncertain about their eyes to get the benefit of nis knowledge and advice.