General News.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume II, Issue 88, 21 December 1899, Page 2

General News.

Thx Cabinet has decided nothing re the vn «n f (mlfoli is. -• We have received from Mr W. M. ' ' ' aniilton, the local agent of the Royal Five Insurance Co., a blotting pad and a calendar for 1900, Mr A. M> £aaffe,'the' 1 v7 l aimi».tefcgent frfr the London, Liverppol and Globe Tnsuiartce Co., has piesented us with acalendai for 1900. i 'he ftf fttron of the WwmiUe Hospif*' desires to thank Mrs Hardy for a nice basket of stoawbeuies. Also Mr Atwill for his acceptable offflrinj?. The patients appreciate tho^e thoughtful acts. It is caleul»ted that during the big battles at Ladtsmith that the *Boers filed twenty thousand rounds of am. munition for each man hit, the aitiilery included. The Timaru Borough Council ha^ 'resolved to vot<> £150 from the Domain j Fund for a fresh water swimming bath I in the-Bouth end of the town, conditional on private contributions teaching £200 One of the New Zealand contingent, : Private Bradbuiy, of Paeioa, North Island, s reported killed. The Borough Council eaUs tenders for shingling and Sheaiman streets, and specification may be seen at the offic c till Saturday. At r pai'ade of the O* .go Kifle Battalion i to consider the question of offeung a contingent for South Afiica, an address was given by Major E. R. Smith, who thought of volunteeiing, to take 24 houis nnd hand in their names to their officers the next inglrt. Constable O'Hallouan, of Oamaru, «,mved heie on l'uesday to take up bi» duties in this district. When stationed at Christchnrch, constable O'Halloran saved a boy's life on the Hicca'tcn race couise, hy pulling him horn undtr the feet of a horse at the finish of the Giand National steeplechase of 1897. He himself received lathei seilous injuries, but the boy escaped. Thr South Australian C ibinet discun<?ed ' the contingent. It was decided to ask for Parliamentary «anction to take pait in a contingent of ft thousand strong, and suggest that It be reciuited horn all the colon>es, the cost to be borne on the p6pu 'ation basis. If New Zealand comes in j South \ustralia will provide one eleventh ofthe men : without iiesv Zealand onetenth The Lyttelton Times sayfe :— Waimate strawberry growers have taken a ptep in theii.ht dnection this year with regard to the packing of their f j nit. It is now packed in lib boxe3 of wood or caidboajd. This allows the fruit to arrive in the consumers' hn-nds almost as f'-esh as it was picked. It is a great advance on the method of forwaicTinit in 71b tiays lined with old newspaper, which often had to do duty tnoie ihan once. As regards oleanliness there can be no two opinion* as to which is the better method. On'k of the new dining cars came down from Chnstchuichfts far as Timaru yesteiday by the early morning train, while another went thiough to Dunedin by the south express. Yesterday was their tiial tiip on thl- line, and they should ceitainly prove of great benefit to the publ c, for the facilities provided by them for oomfortable tiavelling aie many. They are very lont,' cais, comfortably furnished throughout, wiih all the most up to-date accesiories for obtaining one^s meals in comfort, with a comfortable seating capacity for twenty persons. The cars should be in grent demand, provided the charge made for meals is not prohibits c. Xmas H'liTdays.— The Post and Telegraph Offices will observe a olose holiday on Christmas Day. All malls for despatch on-that day will b« closed at 8 p.m. on atuiday, the 23rd inst. On Tuesday.(Boxing Day) the oflScft \vj)l be open in all blanches from 9 to 10 a.m., and mails will be drspatched as usual up to 10 a.m." There will be one letter earner's delivery, commencing at 8 a.m. We remind our readers that the Corn, wall C arnivfti Company open in the Odd fellows I ' Httflto-night. The Christchurch Press, speaking of the cdmpiny's performance in Ghrisfohurch, describes it as "certainly one of the most artistic and enjoyable performances ever given." The company certainly -have the meiit of novelty most of the features being entirely 'new. The first pai t consists of a Spanish Carnival, which introduces the '* t-pauish Band," the fittt of its kind to to.ur the colonies. Bellringing, glassringing, orchestra selection*, comio uongt, make up a nut clati programme.