General News.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume IV, Issue 155, 21 January 1902, Page 3

General News.

O. rig to the large number of dismissals on the Otago Central Railway work*, oDly 180 hands are now era■'.ploved, compared with 700 during the winter.

Mr John Morris, supervisor of the 'Waihao water races, gives notice that the by-law directing hurdles or gates to bo placed across races must be cam plied with, so as to give access to tbo supervisor. The Poles are organising a graat national struggle and economical boy«CVit agu : rr-t tho Germans. The moveis increasing, and it is feared that many business people will be completely ruined. The Vatican is energetically supporting the Poles.

Statistica of the Primitive Methodist church show twenty-nine ministers, ■ono circuit missionary, two Home missionaries, 139 local pveaohers, 2144 'cbu'-ch members, 4717 scholars, 8390 hearor3; and that church property is valued at £42,535. The New South Wales Cabinet has ■exacted two prominent business men to act as Government commercial ngouis, one in London, and the other in Japan. The latter will also represent the colony in China, and tbe E-iat. An agent will be appointed for >fcoutb. Africa.« Whilst at Motueka last week, the "Minister of Lands stated that, in view of the importance of the fruitgrowing industry, be was prepared to bring before tbeCabinetthequostion of giving assistance towards the establishment of a pulping factory capable of dealing ■with a thousand tons of fruit in the season. The gold, coal and timber export for Greymouth last year was valued at £579,664. The quantity of sawn timber waßfourteen million feet; the number of silver pine sleepers was one hundred and thirty-eight thousand ; tbe quantity of coal was one hundred and «igbiy-four thousand tons, and of gold 85,6660 z.

Sir Eugene Crean, M.P. for southeast Cork, and ox-Lord Mayor of Cork dficlarad thot the King would be hooted ) if he opened the Cork International Exhibition. The populace of Cork ■were so indignant at this statement that they rejected Sir E. Crean and other supporters of the United Irish League for the munioipal elections. Colonel Sommerville states that programmes, etc., for the New Zealand Bifle association meeting, which opens atTrentham on February 27th, will shortly be obtainable from officers oommandingdiatziots. The bronze medal

I match has been struck "but this year, a 8 the time is too short for the corps to compete. Details of two new field firing mutches will be included in the programme, An important decree was read in the Boman Catholic Churches of the Commonwealth on Sunday regarding marriage. It enjoined strict enforcement of the laws against mixed marriages, and states:—"ln order to i deter Catholics from these sacrilegious unions we declare that all who J in future contract a mixed marriage before a heterodox minister will incur excommunication, and those who presume to contract marriage before a State official are guilty of a grievous sin." In cases were priests consider a dispensation may be granted, marriages are to bo celebrated outside the church without ceremony, unless for

grave reasons otherwise permitted. At the Walmate Court on Saturday morning Stephen Bray was charged with being found drunk in a railway carriage between Oamaru and Glenavy on Friday, and also with assaulting a man named Hoddinott, a pnssengw. The Inspector of police wired that the man was under the doctor's care and would not be able to leavfl Christchui-ch till Tuesday. Constable Christie asked for a remand till. Thursday. George Johnson, convicted of drunkenness on the Mill road on Friday evoning, was fined £3, or. in default seV9n days' imprisonment in Tiraaru gaol. Both prisoners were taken to Timara in the afternoon. Messrs W- Coltman and W. Petit were the presiding Justices. • St Andrews seems to have taken from Waimate the unenviable reputation of baing a place where frequent firc3 occur. The public library, reading room and hall there ware com-

pletely destroyed by fire about 3.30 .a.m. on Sunday. The alarm was given, by Mr Borley, but at the time he first saw the flames more than half the building bad been destroyed and it was impossible to save anything. He rang the school bell and in a few minutes a good many of the residents were about, but they could do nothing. In the library itself were about 1400 volumes. The Donald McDonald Novelty Company gave an entertainment in the hall on Saturday night, and state that -they left everything safe so far as they could see, putting out all rights at 11.30. They are heavy losers, all their appointments valued at £BO being left at the hall and destroyed. The books of the library were insured for £250, ■and the building for £l5O in the South British. The Foresters' Lodge also lost their books and other properties. The origin of the fire is so far unknown.

THE DAIRY INDUSTRY. The Oamaru Mail is informed that the North Otago Dairy Factory Company paid away no less than £2200 last month to suppliers of milk. This month the amount ia expected so reach £3OOO. Practically all this money goes to the small farmer, and the figures quoted for a bad season show pretty plainly what the dairying industry is doing for the district. It is the Mail's opinion that before long dairying will supplant all other industries as th. 9 mainstay of tha small farmer in this district. DEER STALKING. TTrt'nj Jo a frknlin Christcburch Mr Hodginson of Longslip station, North Otago, says there are good prospects of sport for the coming deerstalking season. Stags are very numerous, and will haye cast the velvet oft their antlers in about four weeks, which will be far earlier than last year. The last season opened on March loth, but it was found that some of the stags had not then shed the velvet, and this year the shooting season has, in consequense, been fixed to opßn on April Ist. This year has apparently been favourable to the early maturing af the new horns. PROPOSED PREFERENTIAL TARIFF. The Palmarston North Chamber of Commerce has decided to table resolutions at the Chambers of Commerce Conferedoe at Wellington on the 4th prox., to the effect that the presence in London of statesmen from all parts of the British Empire at the Coronation renders the occasion particularly opportune for negotiations of either preferential trade relations, or for efforts to establish a Customs Union amongst the various parts of the Empire ; and that Mr Seddon be asked to make every possible effort during his visit to London to bring about a discussion with other British Statesmen of the elements involved in these questions, with a view to arranging a basis of union acceptable to the whole Empire.