LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XLIX, Issue 12636, 25 October 1905, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

On Monday last the Nelson "Colonist" celebrated its forty-eighth birthday. Many happy returns. An Oamaru correspondent under:stands that a new quarry of the celebrated Oamaru stone has been discovered, and is aixrat to be work&d. , Mr, ,W.-"G. Bassett will address the electors at the^Gpera House this evening. Tho chair will be taken by Mr. J H; Keosing, in the absenoe of the Mayor." ' The New Big 4 McCormiok Mower has never been excelled. It is tho world's greatest grass cutter. Agents, Williams and Harper, W«ng*nui.

It is surprising (says the Hastings paper) tho amount of ground that is being reserved by local formers for planting potatoes this year in anticipation of a good price next season.

The monthly shipment of butter from Now Plymouth despatched on Monday for Wellington ciomprise^d 6000 boxes. Tho steamer Paparoa will convey the shipment Home.

Wo are pleased to hear that we were raisinformed in our report as to a resident of Wilson street having been removed to the Hospital suffering from typhoid.

In connection with Mr. W. G. Bassett's political address at tho Opera House this evening, we as asked to state that the dress circle will be reserved for ladies and their escorts.

In our report of the Watkin Mills' conciert in yesterday's issue, it was stated that Mr. Mills sang "The Death of Nelson" and Mr. Wilde "Plymouth sHoe." It was the "other way about" —Mr.1 Mills sang "Plymouth Hoe" and Mr. Wilde (tenor) the grand patriotic song, "Tho Death of Nelson.", An attempted robbery is reported to have taken place at Andrew s Hotel, Danevirke, on Wednesday night, when the room of Mr. Leslie Reynolds, 0.E., was entered and his trunk ransacked. The thief took nothing, but he was evidently disturbed in his work and got away by the fire escape at the back of tha building. A man has been arrested by the police.

We ("Mount Ida Chronicle") suppose it is not generally known that boiling water w:.U ignite kerosene; but Mr. James Spedderi, Gimmerburn, proved the fact in a rather unpleasant way several weeks ago. He was going to mix kerosene and warm water to spray fruit trees, and poured some boiling water from the kettle into a tin containing kerosone. It flared up and burnt him pretty severely on the thumb, and on the face severely enough to leave a fe.v marks.

The Hawera "Star" says that Mr. T W. Owen picked up on the Otakehe beach a bottle inside; of .which was a slip* of paper bearing the words: "Big flood, Jarvis mill, Rongotea. Help, 22ml May, 1895." ' Tha bottle had every appearance of having been in the water a long time,- and if put in the river at Rongotea must have travelled several miles of river . !>ef ore reaching the ocean, since when it has been tossed >about, the Bport of the waves. Even if done for a joke, the occurrence is interesting.

■ The inquiry into...the alleged misconduct of Constable Baker in conduoting police court oases at Taihape, complained of by Mr. JShortland, solicitor, which was fixed for hearing by Judge Kettle, at Taihape, on Friday, was not held. It appears that upon the arrival of Judge Kettle the complainant had an interview, with above result. It is understood the matter has been amicably settled, but details of the settlement have not been made public, and, considering the complaints were'given publicly in tha first instance, the residents of Taihape intend taking steps to have the nature of the settlement made public.—"Standard."

The private bequests under the will of the late Mr. William Mason, - to which probate has just been granted ' by his Honor Mr. Justice Edwards, amount to over £3600, and, as already slated, the benefactions to the Leys Institute (£1000), Dr. Barnardo's Homes (£500), All Saints' Church (^500), and the Salvation Army (£500), to £2500. The residue of the estate, estimated at over £10,000, has been bequeathed to the trustees of .theJubilee Institute for the Blind, Parnell. Under the terms of the will the executors are instructed to sell the benefactor's real arid personal estate by public auction within one year, and after settling the aggregate of the various benefactions, amounting in all to o*--er £6100, to hand the residue of the estate in cash over to the trustees of the Jubilee Institute for the Blind, to use in such a manner as they may deem expedient. Under the will the relatives of the deceased receive £500. —"New Zealand Herald.".

. Says the Patea "Press": . Three Maoris named Rangiahu, Puaba,' and ITaiatahi had a gay and festive time in Hawera on Saturday. When they got into the train to come to ."Patea they were merrily inclined, and -thinking that the guard was taking life too ■-' seriously, took steps to change his views. Aa he was about to make his exit through the door of the carriage ho was suddenly seized by the coat tails and stratshed out on the seat, his dusky j>ersoc'itors laughing much at his struggles and the great joke they were having, oblivious of the fact that the train meanwhile was running guardless at full speed. But at Patea the guard reported them, and before long tho three Maoris, not quite so happy at heart and very profuse in their pleas, "We not mean anything, Mr O'Brien," vere escorted to the lock-up. Later on in the evening the trio were called upon by Messrs. H. 0. Calrke and H. E. Deane, J.P.s, to answer why they did obstruct a railway; guard in the execution of his duty, and they, discov-' ered th*t their little bit of fun would cost them £1 each, or in default 14 days' imprisonment. ■ [

The ghastly discovery of a man's head was made by a ganger on the railway line at Princes bridge, Melbourne, on Sunday week. The features ■wero uninjured, and the mystery was heightened by the fact, that nothing whatever could be seen in the vicinity of a body, nor was there any • trace ; or blood visible. A search over a wide area proving unavailing, it was concluded that the head had p. some remarkable way, after having been severed by the wheels of a,n/ngine, been picked up by the revolving machinery, and carried on to where it was found! This surmise was strengthened by finding at tho entrance to the Polimont tunnel, near West Richmond station, .of a brown hat and coat, and about halfway through the tunnel, near Jokirtont, the front halves of a pair of Balmoral lace-up boots and a handkerchief, the boots having plainly been shorn off a man's feat by the wheels of a train. Close to East Jolimont station was discovered a mangled corpse, a mile and a-half from the x place where the head was found. The body lay upon the breast, and was smashed and distorted in a dreadful manner. It was subsequently identified as that of Thomas Wm. Douglas,-a single man.

With reference to the Press Association message from Blenheim, regarding the alleged dissatisfaction or the Blenheim bandsmen with the judge's verdict at the recent Feilding contest, we tro in •« position to state that the allusion to Mr. Crichton, the Conductor of the Wanganui Garrison Band, is quite uncalled for. It had been stated publicly in Blenheim that Mr. Crichton had given a private judgment in favour of the Blenheim Band. To this, and other statements, Mr. King, the contest judge, has (according to the Press message) replied W-a may add that so far us Mr. Crichton is concerned the statement above-quoted is absolutely incorrect. He did not give a private judgment in favour of the Blenheim Band. As a matter of fact, he gave no "judgment" at all. All he did was, as an interested "visitor, to carefully watch the playing of the competing bands, and to note down, privately, his opinion of their respective performances. Curiously enough, as he stated at the smoke concert held at the conclusion of the contest, his notes showed that he had placed the bands in exactly the same positions as th© judge, the only difference being a slight variation in the number of marki allotted to the different bands.

The Marton Bowling Club's green is to bo opened for (he season this afternoon. It is reported the Government are purchasing seventeen acres at Ellerslie, Auckland, for workmen's homes. Tho Dunodin "Star," which is generally pretty well informed on such n-atters, says that "the general elections will probably take place on November 29/' Captain Edwin telegraphed as follows at 12.22 p.m. yesterday:—Strong vinds to gale from between north-east and north and west; glass fall; tides ivoderate; sea moderate; rain probably heavy. At Whangarei a Maori named Miki Marepo was carelessly leaning with his arms on the muzzle of a gun, when his trousers caught the trigger and the charge exploded, stripping off the muscles of his arm. It is understood tho various Saw-n-illing Associations—Hawke's Bay, Wairarapa, and Rangitikoi—are taking tho case of the Rangitikei Council v. Gardiner and Sons (sawmillers) in which damages were obtained for heavy traffic, to the Appeal Court. At a meeting oi Rangitikei Association at Mangaweka on Friday its quota towards the cost Avas authorised. As will be seen by our advertising columns, Professor Kirk, the Government Biologist, will deliver a lecture on "Potato Blight and Nitro Culture" in Willis's Hall on Friday next. As 1 oth these matters are subjects of great interest, and are bound to be well handled by the learned Professor, who illustrates* his lectures with a series of lantern slides, there should be a packed house on Friday night. Owing to an accident happening some months ago to Mr. B. Jarvis, working foreman and plate-layer of the Castleo iff Railway Company, necessitating his retirement from the service, applications aro now called for a competent ganger to act as working: foreman. Particulars can be obtained at the office, Wicksteed Place, where applications are to be left not later than Monday next, 30th instant. A comm'tteo meeting of the Wangnnui Sailing Club w.il bo held on Thursday, October 26, at the Metropolitan -Hotel, at 8 o'clock sharp. A full attendance is requested, as the principal business ia to receive a report from the Canvassing Committee and to decido the prize money for the big carnival race. Tho opening of the season takes place-on November 9th, when thero will be a handicap race, entries? for which will close with the secretary,: (Mr. B. O. Hodgson) on Tuesday, October 31. . , . .-..,,,: Notice has been given by Mr. Taylor in the House to ask the Premier \vhe ? ther, in view of the fact that his unauthorised action at the last -Confer-: enco of Colonial Premiers involved this colony in a contribution of £15.000 to an Imperial Monument, and might have committed the colony to forming an Imperial Army Reserve, he would submit to the House before its adjournment a draft of any proposals he contemplates bringing before the Conference of Colonial Premiers to be held next year, so that they may be considered and authorised by Parliament. Dr. Gregory, chief health officer for Cape Colony, speaking at a meeting of tho British Medical Association; recently held in South Africa, said that tho colony, or many parts of it, had been considered by many men as being a certain cure for consumption, mit it would surprise many to learn tuberculosis was becoming one of^ the greatest scourges they ' had to jjdeal with, especially in the native ter|itories. Fifteen or twenty years ago tuberculosis was practically, unknown? at Beaufort West; but it had become1 a health resort for consumptive patients, and at present, the death-rate %om tuberculosis amongst natives ,jnJthat place was 17 or 18 per' 1000, as against a European death rate of 7 or 8 per 1000. That clearly showed that the elimato had no effect at all, or that, if it had, it was in favour of the spread of tho diseases. ' . ~ Professor Kirk is a great believer in-i spraying as an effective ..means of coping with the potato blight.,;He says ho has proved his theory., by' practical experiments. For small areas ' the knapsac and hand sprayer is all.that is necessary, for by this means a smart man can treat 2 acres per day. But for larger areas the,. Professor has import-' ed a horsed sprayer. This machino was on exhibition .at the Hawke's.Bay show, and goes on down to the south for the Christchurch Show, but the Professor1 has kindly, promised.to get it back in time to exhibit at our Show. Members of the committee are reminded that the usual weekly meeting takes place this afternoon, at 3 p.m. As the Show, is only some three weeks away, it behqyes everyone to do his utmost to make the- Show a success. Mr: Cyril Towsey, a son of our townsman, Mr. A. Towsey, intends giving a •pianoforte recital next Tuesday. He possesses a considerable degree of talent, and should have a brilliant future before him. His selections are:—"Ballade in A Flat" (Chopin), "Adagio irom Fantasia in C," Der Wanderer VSchubert): "Polonaise," C sharp nr.nor (Cbopin); "Lyric Piece," Op. 43 (Gr'eig); and the "Marche Funebre" (Chopin). Mr. Towsey will play on a Steimyay grand, which is being sent up Ey the Dresden Piano Company from, Wellington. He will be assisted by his sister, Miss Towsey, who contributes two songs; Mrs. Hughes Johnson, who will give a harp solo and also take part in a duet for harp and violin, with Mr. Frank Hatherly as violinist. Full particulars of the concert, which is to be given in St. Paul's Hall, will appear later in our advertising columns.

The extensive sale of work which is being prepared for by St. Paul's Presbyterian congregation, will take place on May 2nd, 3rd, and 4th of next year.

The outward 'Frisco mail closes at tho local Post Office to-morrow at 1 p.m., and leaves Auckland for San Francisco in the Sierra, on Friday.

Mi. J. W. Joynt> M.A., Registrar of the New Zealand University, has consented to distribute the prizes at the "breaking-up" of 'the Wanganui Girls' College, on tho evening of Thursday, 14th December.

It is with regret that we announce the death of another of Wanganui's old residents, in the person of Miss Julia Flannery, who passed away yesetrday at the age of 70 years. Tho deceased had been ailing for some considerable time. We tender our sincere sympathy to the bereaved sister and brother.

Tho Paten "Press" has the following about Mr. Wake, a candidate for the Patea seat:—Mr. Wake possiesses one great advantage over his opponents, in that he is a fluent and able speaker. He puts hiis views clearly and in logical sequence before the electors, whilst a fund of quaint dry humor, enables him to tickle the risible faculties of his audience and add piquancy to placid politics. Whatever view may be taken of his attitude to the various subjects treated of, it must bo conceded that Mr Wake's speech marked him as being a man of more than average ability; a wan who was not afraid of putting his opinions before the ©lectors for fear of their being unpopular; a man whose educational equipment, professional experience and natural observant faculties enable him to form an intelligent verdict, upon the more important questions of the day.

At the beginning of the RussoJapanese war (the "China Gazette" relates) a Japanese gentleman of affabk manners, and apparently in the possession of ample means, landed at Hongkong, where he mado cash deposits at several of the local banks. After makino- the acquaintance of some wealthy Chinese merchants, he proposed to them that they should join him in forming a service of blockade runners with provisions to Port Arthur. His Chinese acquaintances cautiously replied that they were not averse to a money making scheme if a preliminary trial turned out satisfactorily. Two vessels were in due course chartered, which made the return trip to the Russian fortress with great success, and with no little profit to the partners in the venture. The Japanese promoter was overwhelmed with offers of money from applicants anxious to get rich 'quickly. He smilingly accepted them 'all; and twelve vessels were fitted-out and' despatched on the same voyage. Suddenly, and without warning, he disappeared, and his Chinese friends, to ftheir great mortification, saw their ships fall one by one into the hands of the Japanese men-ofrwar on the look-out for priz-as. Nothing more was ever heard of the amiable originator of the Clever swindle, but the members of the syndicate found themselves out of pocket to the extent of 8,000,000 dollars.

D. H. M. First Quarter 6 0.24 a.m. Full Moon 13 10.33 p.m. Apogee 14 Midnight Last Quarter 22 0.21 a.m. New Moon 28 6.28 p.m. Perigee 28 4 p.m.