LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXXVI, Issue 13522, 2 November 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

There was a clean sheet at the Police Court this morning. : A syndicate has been formed ’n Sydney for tho purpose of promoting aviation. The Wages Boards of Victoria have iu-'w creased the wages of workers by T 414,477,480. , , Wireless advises that the Mocraki will probably be within wireless range this evening. In Wanganui at 9 a.m. to-day, tho thermometer registered 60 and the barometer 29.97. There was a moderate sea on the bar. • " Tho annual meeting of the Royal Life Saving Society, Wanganui Head Centre, takes place to-night. All interested ar« invited to attend. Tho Weather Bureau reports westerly winds moderate to strong: hazy, expect unsettled and cloudy weather at times, glass fall. Tides noor. Sea moderate. At a conference of tho United Labourers’ Unions in' Melbourne it was decided that no politician should hold office, lest the organisation’s affairs be prejudiced. Tlie' Mangawhoro Road Board was to have met yesterday, but, owing to the fact that a quorum was not forthcoming, the meeting was postponed till Wednesday next. A party of Wanganui Show committeemen motored to Palmerston this morning in Mr G. W. Palmer’s car, for the purpose of canvassing for late entries for tho Wanganui Show. Entries for the Wanganui Show are coming in very freely. The secretary’s office yesterday was thronged from early morning until late at night with interested exhibitors, and there is every prospect of last year’s record being exceeded. Mr Wm. Ritchie has been returned unopposed as the Waitotara County's representative on the Wanganui Hospital Board. Messrs E. E. Fletcher and A Robinson have been returned unopposed as the Wanganui County's representaives to the same body. Speaking at last night’s meeting of the Convillo Town Board, the chairman (Mr. A. . Bigncll) said that they should be gratified to the Tramway Board for having given them a first-class road through the most populous parts of tho district at no expense to the Town Board. The fact that tho captains and mates from Patea and Wanganui, who recently left their steamers at have been recalled may be taken as an indication that an agreement has been come to between the Guild and the Shipowners’ Federation. Several skippers and mates went to Wellington by to-day’s express. At Wanganui tho rainfall for October, 1911, was 4.61 inches. The greatest fall in 24 hours was 0,96 inches on the 2t>tu, and rain fell on 12 days. The first ten days of the mofith were dry. In tho next nine days the rainfall was 3.07 -inches, and iu the two days, 26th and 27th, it was 1.49 inches. Last October the rain fall was 3.68 inches, and rain fell on 17 days. All the champion dogs of the colony and all those that hope to be champions will try conclusions at tho Wanganui Show, on , the 15th and 16th inst. Mr Paul Hunter, of Porangahau, will judge pointers, setters, collies, and pugs; Mr J. Lester Kay, of Christchurch, spaniels, terriers, harriers, and hounds; Mr Finer, Auckland, bulldogs; and Mr Sheppard, Davenport. Scottish terriers. With this selection of judges the dog fanciers should get every .satisfaction,*.

The old, old nuisance of the use, or rather abuse! of tho-Gonville ■ footpaths by other than pedestrians was again ventilated at Gonville last night’s meeting of the Town Hoard. It was stated that many town tradesmen drove their carts across the corners of the sidewalks J with 'the same freedom as if, they were still on the road. Others, again, tethered their horses to fences, the resultant damage to the footpaths being very considerable. The foreman" was instructed to take the names .of such violators of the by-laws, and it is probable that some of the offenders will find themselves within the clutches of. the law % unless they amend their ways.

Comparisons may oft-times be odious, but the are frequently interesting; and Mr A. G. Bignell’s remarks at last night's meeting of the Gonville Town Board may bo classed as coming under the latter category. Shaking in. connection: with a letter protesting against the present method of collecting rates, Mr Bigncll said that Gonville ratepayers had no grounds for complaint; on the contrary, they had been very leniently dealt with. In the Gonville district, the custom had grown up for people to wait until the six months’ limit for the enforcement of the 10 per cent, penalty had almost expired before paying their rates. On the other hand, the Wellington City Council sent out their first rate notice, following this with another a month later. If payment was not made within ,’lO days of the, issuing of the second notice, all outstanding rates were immediately sued for. Surely Gonvill ratepayers could not reasonably complain in the face of suck a comparison! A! letter from the Wanganui Borough Council, stating that 9d per 1000 gallons would be charged for water supplied to the Gonville public baths, which was read at last night’s meeting of the Gonville Town Board, gave rise to a discussion as to whether the baths should bo tree or not. Commissioner Boyd considering that it was more important for every young man to learn to swim than to handle a rifle. Ho was doubtful if a public body should bo so very anxious to make the baths pay, the question of everyone being able to take care of himself" or herself in the water being a vital one. The baths, he said were just as much a municipal necessity as roads and footpaths, and he thought the ratepayers should be willing to pay for their upkeep. The Board considered that the Council’s price was prohibitive, and it was stated that the advisability of sinking another artesian well, would bo fully weighed, as the present bore took seven days to fill the baths. Advance copies of the Christmas numbers of the Auckland Weekly and Frees (Christchurch) are •to hand, and both numbers are fully up to the best standard of the artistic productions for which the Auckland and Christchurch offices are famed. There is no country in the world where finer illustrated papers arc printed and published than in Now Zealand, and this fact has been the source of frequent comment by visitors to this country and by colonists who have travelled abroad. It would be difficult 'to conceive of a bolter method of advertising the wonderful natural attractions of New Zealand than through the agency of these illustrated papers,’and the Government of the Dominion is indebted to the enterprising proprietors tor the excellent work done in this respect. A fairly liberal distribu- u tion of papers such ns the Auckland V Weekly or the Weekly Press in the Old Land would ma'teriallv aid in dispelling the erroneous ideas some people have of this corner of the Empire and would Imve no small influence in diverting some of the surplus population of older lands to these distant shores.