LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XLIX, Issue 12637, 26 October 1905, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Germany is reluctant to' join Russia,. I France, Britain, and Italy in a naval I demonstration' against Turkey. ,1 Letters for "C.A.," "A.," "A.8.,"" ' "Rooms," "5.8.," "Boat," "Situation" ara lying at this office. The New. South Wales Attorney-Gen-eral has announced Shis intention to place clubs ' on" the same footing ashotels under the Liquor Bill. At the Police Court- yesterday morning, Kate Burn, alias Sullivan, alia* Byrne, was sentenced to fourteen days' imprisonment for drunkenness, and A month 13 imprisonment for vagrancy. Captain Edwin wired at 12.42 p.myesfcerday:—Gale from between northeast and east and south; glass fall;, tides, good ; sea moderate; rain heavy > rivers probably flooded after sixteen. hours from now. Waverley residents are reminded. that Messrs. C. L. Duigan and Cohold a clearing auction sale of the- fwbole of Mr. E. Clark's furniture andsL effects on the premises. Main street* Waverley, to-morrow (Friday), at <f p.m. We would call attention to this th* last night of the Salvation Army's- _ variety fair and sale of gifts. A firstclass musical programme is announoedL foi- port of the evening. The Adjutantwishes to thank all who have already assisted this year's effort. A pioneer, who, had lived in Texas in the days of the early colonists, wa* ; boasting of the good old times: "Why, "No, sir, I didn't." "Poor land, I sir, I was once offered a league of land. for a pair of old boots." "Didn't you take it?" said the person addressed. "I reckon." "Why, bless your heart, siry ' it was the best piece of land out doors. Glass 5 feet high, a clear stream of water running through it, and aft undeveloped silver mine in one corner.'" "And why, in thunder, didn't you make the trade?" "Because,"' said the old man, regretfully. . "because I didn't have the boots." Mr.. J. G. Woolley, the great Ameri« can "no-lioenae" advocate, is to speak at, tho Opera House on Sunday and.^. Monday next. On Sunday afternoon.'-';, ha will deliver an address to men only," " to which young men ape specially invit- • ed Mr. Woo'Aey* has heard of tiro *'„ formation of the Young Men's No-lie-eiise Club' in Wanganui, and has ex-.* -. pressed tho opinion that it will be a>great power for good in connection with the approaching campaign. He will bo pleased to see a large muster of club members at his Sunday afternoon meeting. Mr. Woolley is a splendid speaker, and his meetings should bo largely attended. As an illustration of the need of medical expert knowledge in legislation, Dr. Chappie, speaking- at Wellington on Tuesday night, mentioned the case of a young man who had come under the baneful influence of the perniciousand indecent literature that pours into tho colony. This literature, which aims at misleading young men into the. belief that physiological conditions are symptoms or disease, insanity, and premature decay, had so confirmed him in this notion that after about "twoyears of correspondence with these charlatans, and taking their boasted remedies, he shot himself in despair. Tho mental distress and robbery involve^ in this exploitation of New Zea- r land" youths is, in JDr. Chappie's opita- ; ion, appallfi?g -in' its extent, and de« mands fog'islative interference. ; '■vv •'''■ ''} *" _il£___l.-_ ' " .'."■■ ■:■ ' ; :;;■■ rico •■ ■■"•', '" ■ . - 5 jil'ho,; gK!©)»t-est labour.j-saving impleri^ent; ~js present on* the market for the 'iarnier is undoubtedly the Benicia Diso Plough. Agents, Williams and Har» per, Wanganui.

The "' latest iaddition to the Telephone Exhango is No. 347, Macky, Logan, Caldwell and Co., merchants, Taupo Quay. The movement to provide a public recognition of the long a^gL^uccessful sorvico of Miss S. F. RTTJiyiii, as mistress of the Girls' School, is meeting with a hearty response. Miss M. M. Gordon, at the District High School, is treasurer, and already a substantial sum is in her hands. It is intended to make the presentation when Miss Blyth returns to town about the end of November. Subscriptions should bo handed in as early as possible, either to Miss Gordon, or to any other member of tho Boys School staff.

Mr. Thomas H. Hamer, private secretary to the Premier, has been appointed to sucaeed Mr. Huntley Eliotit, ■as Under-Secretary for Mines, and will take up the position at the end of the year, when Mr. Eliott retires on a pension of £400 a year. Mr. Hamer entered the service of the Auckland Provincial Council in 1872, and remained in the service until the provinces were abolished, when he entered the service of tbo Bank of New Zealand. Two years later he came to Wellington, and received an 'appointment in the Mines Department. He acted for a time as Under-Secretary for Mines in the Stout-Vogel Government, but on the department being merged in that of Lands, the duties were taken over by Mr. Huntley Eliott, and Mr.. Hamer became chief clerk. In 1891 he became private secretary to the Premier, in which position, he has become so widely known.

According to a Melbourne cable, Lord Jersey considers that the "six matters incident" had undoubtedly an effect in England. He drew a distinction between the peoeple of nations that Australia did not want and those who wished to come here to make a livelihood, and who would greatly strengthen the country. Stagnation in population was hardly a good thing ior a* country with such immense resources and possibiLf.es as Australia. He did not personally think much of General Booth's scheme, and could not see how immigration like that would help the country. Australia requires pcop'lo who would take up land, and not merely augment its strength.- He did not think there was a deep-seated idea in England that the capital lent to Australia was insecure, aim if loans were consolildated and future borrowings regulated, Australia would be In a better position. The Commonwealth certainly would be at no disadvantage unless something of an external nature was done. .-,„....

In the platform of the.Lieader of the Opposition is a minor plank'to which ho has not publicly referred, but which has been adopted by the Political Reform Leagues of the/ colony, and incorporated in their platiortn.. It runs thus: "The amendment of the law of . libel in the reporting of public meetings, so as to extend to tb& ;PresSj at least, the same measure of freedom and security <as is enjoyed by the Press of England."' For years'the Press of JSew Zealand has striven in vain for this reform. The Government has been approached again and again, and asked for a measure of reform, entirely without result. But now that W. F. Ma^.sey has taken the matter up, behold the change in the Government's tune. '/He recognised," said R. J. Seddon, "that the Press of the colony had for a long time laboured under disabilities. There was an unfair distinction made between newspapers and persons. If a newspaper published what a person had said-in publio it TV,as punishable under the law ; for criminal libel, whilst the real; offender, the who, in the presence of perhiabs thousands of persons,'Jiad made -$ie defamatory statementa, went free;" It required the Opposition 1; tomafee it a plank to get thaMulmission from R. J. Seddon. Now be*} g6ing to /'ask the next Parliament W remove these disabilities." Heneed not. worry; they } v^ b° .re' mcved without consulting him.—Christchurch <^|ru|b.?'- ■ Tfiefan.4t?al 4 meeting of the Wanganui Amataitr SwimmrJig Olub was held on Tuesday 'mght fin Dustin's rooms, when there was :w lai'ge attendance of members. Mr. Alf. A. Gower occupied the chair. The following new members were elected D. Kennedy, R. Collins, Hf M.Payne, A. Howarth, H. Brawn, T. Murphy, A. Vallance, H. Irvine , C: Capef, G. Jago, W. Tiniine.. ¥. 0. tf-il Acheson, S. Bone, *C. Jacobs, J Harder, J. Harden, H. Titshall, H. i-Campbell; H. Sarjeant, E. McLean, G. MoLean, A. Bridges, M. Dennehy, C. ■ Penhallj S. Clapham, C. Brockett, and "- A Talcarangi. The following officers were elected:—Patron, Mr. A. Hatrick:, president, Mr. W. Empson; vicepresidents, Messrs. B. T. Bennett, S. S. Griffiths, A. A. Gower, F. C Faber, Geo. Smithies, A. D. Willis, W. S. Dustin, J. C. Richardson, W. R. Tuck, Peter Lawis, A. G. Bignell, and Kiely; handicapper, -Mr. W. J. Mahoney; vice-hiandicapper, Mr. M. Hogan, jun.; hon. secretary, Mr. H. J. Irvine; treasurer,- Mr. B. C. Smith; auditor, Mr. S. S. Griffiths; captain, Mr. Mahoney; vice-captain, Mr. Bassetit; committee, Messrs. H. Cox, H. M. Payne, C. D. Campbell, R. Richardson, and N. L. Pownall; delegates to Centre. Messrs. M. Hogan, jun., Bassett, and C. D. Campbell. It was resolved that Mr. Gower and the secretary wait on the Borough clerk, re issuing tickets to members of the club. It wad resolved that certificates be issued to any member who swims a mile or more. Mr. J. Bennie having given a trophy for competition, it was decided that a hearty vote of thanks be given him for same. Matters of minor importance ware discussed, after which a vote of thanks to Mr. Dustin and the usual vote to the chair concluded a very successful meeting.

The Rev. William Thomson has accepted tho Rev. F. W. Isitt's challenge to a debate, at Dunedin, on the Nolioenso question. The debate will take placo to-morrow evening.

Charles and Ernest Williams, known as the "Handcuff Kings," were to start on a five years' walking tour round the Avorld on September 16 manacled together. -

The names of Mr. Samuel I. Puckerdige, Mr. Thos. Price, and Mr. and 'Mrs. A. M. Georgetti, of Wanganui^ are among the most recent callers at the High Commissioner's office in London.

At a Poplar inquest a doctor stated that the deceased died from hemorrhage from the "pons varoli." A juror said ho didn't think it was a drowning case. The Coroner: Neither it is. The Juror: What about the pond, then? The Coroner: Oh, you mean the "pons yaroli." That is an artery leading into the brain, and it was ruptured and caused hemorrhage. The Juror: Thank you, I understand now.

The school teacher had been instructed to have the eyes of his pupils examined. He wrote to one of the parents as follows: "Dear Mr. Smith, —It is my duty to inform you that your" son shows decided indications of astigmatism. His case is one that should Teceive immediate attention." To this rote the father replied briefly, and to the point:—"Dear Sir,—Thanks for yours. Whip it out of Bob.—Youra truly, John Smith."—"Daily News!"

Details of the experiments by Dr. Quinton, of Paris, as to the effects of sea water upon tuberculosis, have been published. They were conducted with sea water so diluted with pure water as to contain, only seven parts of salt in 1000 parts of liquid. The water was sterilised, and then injected hypodermicailly once in three or four days in doses of from 50 to 300 cubic centimetres. So far Dr. Quinton has treated 18 patients, and the expectoration and the number of bacilli were decreased.

L. O. S. Poidevin, the, Anglo-Aus-tralian cricketer, is at present on a visit to Chateau d'Oex, in Switzerland, where he* won the lawn tennis challenge cup on Saturday with the greatest of ease, defeating C. Gouldesborough in the final by 6—l, 6—2, and 6—2. He came through an entry of 15 players without the loss of a single set. Ho had no intention of playing at all on his arrival, and when asked how he ought to be handicapped, replied, "I have no idea how to do it; I may say that practically I haven't played the game for over four years." He then borrowed a racquet from the nearest bystander, went in, and won the cup.

To stop fast motoring; in Evanston 'Chicago) the police bad the agreeable habit of shooting at the tyres (says the "Now York Sun"). The chief of police "issued a statement" to the effect that "he would order his men to shoot not only at the tyres, but at the occupants of automobiles if necessary to bring them to a halt." Some humane spirits in Evanstbn thought that women automobilists ought to ba spared, and that at least preliminary blank cartridges should be fired across the bows. Should they refuse to come to anchor ]«al shots could be fired. Finally public sentiment was aroused by the narrow escape of two or three professors, and shooting by the police was stopped.

The latest thing is that some ingenious scientist has discovered that baldness can be cured by the simple process of planting toair upon the hairless scalp. A good crop of hair will assume quite a different meaning, and much of whatever stigma attaches to wearing other people's hair will clear r 1/ bo removed when your head is a sort of roof-garden. We do not know (saya the- "Westminster Gazette") enough of the details of the scheme to say whether it will be possible to change the hair if its colour or texture should prove unsatisfactory. It would bo a dreadful thing to find grey tares among tho brown wheat, so to speak, ort to find the silkiness guaranteed by tho vendor prove to be wiriness in actual growth. On the whole, there is still a good deal of safety in baldness.

A Police Commission is sitting in Victoria at present. Many of the. subjects dealt with are similar to thosa which occupied the recent Commission in New Zealand, notably the length of tho beats and lack of supervision by sergeants and inspectors, owing to the ground tfoev have to cover in visiting constables. There is (says the "Argus") a popular impression that policemen are material-minded persons. A report from Constable Gardiner, read to the Police Commission showed how illgrounded is this impression. Constable Gardiner's report was made when an oider was issued for men off duty to remain in barracks in case of emergency, and took the form of a complaint that such an order would debar him from attending his church. "By obeying the orders of my superior in remaining in barracks," lie wrote, ''I am disobeying the orders of my church for not attending." He went on to contend that every Britisher, as well as native blacks and even prisoners in gaol, possessed the privilege of attending their various places of worship, and concluded: "Surely oonstables are not to be debarred from preparing for the1 hereafter when it is granted to criminals."

About a third of the way down through the known strata of the earth's crust is buried what the geologist calls ■the Jurassic period or the oolitic system* How many million years ago it was that the live things of that period felt the warmth of the sun or the heat of the winds wo are not prepared to say. Let geologists estimate. But thero was.lifa in those days; that has been abundantly, proved. One unused to delving deep into the record books of Nature—her tables of stone—might not unreasonably be expected to stare open-mouthed at the man who told him that in these rocky tomes were to be found to-day exact prints of such delicate organisms as little ferns which onco rustled at th.3 tread of beasts oolitic. Yet so it is., Dr. Marshall (says the "Evening Star") showed members of tho Otago Institute several remarkable specimens of fossil prints of thia sort from the Jurassic period. In one oasa the fructifications on the fronds of the fern were quite distinct, and these seemed to indicate a species still in existence. Another represented ferns that do not grow in New Zealand at the present time, still others were of a kind that usually existed in countries of a much warmer climate than this, and, lastly, there was one hitherto unknown outside of European strata. At the time these ferns flourished there were no flowering plants in existence, and yet the netted veins on tho leaves of the last-mentioned variety suggested the flowering plant ralther than the fern.

Mr. Blundell, manager of the Folding branch.of the Bank of New Zea-_ land, has been appointed manager of New Plymouth branch.

The members of the committee of the Wanganui Sailing Club are reminded of the meeting this (Thursday) evening at the Metropolitan Hotel, at 8 o'clock sharp.

Heavy rain fell during last night. Owing to the drain not being capable of carrying the water away, the footpath at the Union Bank corner was submerged, and the unfortunate pedestrian who had occasion to be out during the early hours of the morning had to take the middle of the road.

A special meeting of the Mataongaouga Road Board was ,held ( yesterday to consider the tenders for Gerse's and Pash's bridges, when Messrs. Neilson, Jor.es, Mackey, and Rice were present. Mr. Hogg's tender for the concrete piers (£257 10s.) was accepted. Consideration of the tenders for the timber was postponed for a week.

Arrangements 'have boon made with the Dresden Piano Company to reserve seats for Mr Cyril Towsey's pianoforte recital on Tuesday next. Mr Towsey will be assisted by -Miss Towsey (vocalist), Mrs Hughes Johnson (harp), and Mr Frank Hatiherly. (violin). The full programme of the concert will appear in our advertising columns on Saturday. Box plan now open.

A rather remarkable bankruptcy occurred last month near London. The debtor, proprietor of hotels in suburbs and in London, attributed his misfortune to "the wave of temperance" that had passed over England. His liabilities amounted to £177,886, of which only £4000 were unsecured. He added that the slump in the liquor traffic had been continuous since the Boer war.

Members of the Presbyterian Communion in the Rongotea district have experienced somt. rare good fortune. They have just discovered that a halfacre" section in the township is the property of their church, having been set apart as a site for a Presbyterian Church when the block was cut up nearly twenty years ago.

A couple of deer were found swimming in the Nelson harbour a few days ago, both being captured. Mr. Trediga secured one, which he afterwards liberated, and a lad named Bennett the other one, which was taken to the Nelson Acclimatisation Society's enclosure. The deer, it was stated, came from the Glen, and travelled •along the Boulder Bank before taking -tho watex*. ,

Letters "from beyond New Zealand ara advertised at the Chief Post Of fice, Wanganui, as unclaimed, for tho following persons:—W. Abbot, Mr. Batchelar, Mr. Brady, F. Corrie, J S. Duncan, C. H. G. Duthie (2), F. A. George, Miss Edith B. Ginn, Messrs. Goldmater Bros., Dr. Grindling, Jas. Heffron, S. B. Henderson, W. Hicks, Miss Eyrie Hill, Mrs. George Johnson, Chas. Jones (4), W. E. Levereld, W. J. McDonald, J. A. Ry anting, J. Simpson, Mrs. M. A. Thomson, Alfred Williams, Mrs. J. Wilson.

King Edward, when he visited Marienbad, in Austria* travelled as Duke of Lancaster. Queen Alexandra once stayed in Paris as "Mrs. Stephens." Princess Charles of Denmark, when a girl, travelled with her governess as "Miss Mills." Princess Louise. Duchess of Argyll, uses one of her husband's second titles, and calls herself "Lady Sundridge." - Princess Christian styles harself ."Countess Gravenstein," and Princess Henry of' Battenberg adopts the title of "Lady Carisbrcoke," from her official-position as Governor of the Isle of Wight. The Princess of Wales travels as "Countess of Killarney," and the Duchess of Connaught as "Countess of Sussex."

The usual monthly meeting of the Purua Road Boai-d was held yesterday, thore being present: Messrs. T. Bamber (chairman), W. Bamber, and R. Johnston. The minutes of the previous meeting were read and confirmed. Accounts amounting to £19 15s. lOd. were passed for payment. Mr. Johnstone reported that after discussing the matter with the chairman, he had decided not to get from Turakina tho metal for the Fordell hill, because ha could get better metal from the Rangitikei County Council's pit at Obingaiti. Resolved, that the question of the haulage of gravel from the Rangitikei Council's pit to the Ohingaiti station be left in the hands of the chairman and Mr. Johnston. Resolved, that the question of intimating to the Durietown ratepayers re the removal of nightsoil be -U>ft in the handa of the chairman. Resolved to inform defaulting ratepayers that if their rates are unpaid after November 10 they will bo sued. Resolved, that the Board's consent to the Okoia^Matarawa road being declared a district road, in terms of sub-section 2 of section 103 of <!The Public Works Act, 1894."