Local and General.

Waipukurau Press, Issue 8, 19 January 1906, Page 2

Local and General.

The Town Board holds a special meeting on Monday night to fix the weekly half-holiday. Dannevirke defeated Waipawa at bowling on Wednesday. A Takapau business man writes: “ Editor Press,--Thanks for prompt deliverv of billheads. They are good and cheap.” Mr Henry Burling, of Waterfalls, Wairarapa, is now 105 years of age. He is in fair health. A well-known native named Peni Pani died at the pa near Waipawa on Wednesday. The Oamaru Mail says it is a great many years since the crops in Otago wore an aspect so little promising as they do at the present time. Preparations are being made for launching the American barque Addenda, which went ashore at Palliser Bay in October, 1904. The vessel is on an even keel on the beach, and appears to be but little damaged. The vessel was bought by a squatter as a “ spec.” for £3OO shortly after going ashore. Yesterday some dusky natives raised the dust with a ducid good motor-car. Wonder what they’d thought if Capt. Cook had brought one with him. But this is a foolish surmise, because these natives were not born then, and motors weren’t invented. Gaily the native goeth past, Not very slow, not too fast, In his motor car so white, Steering straight —that’s all right. This is no infant car: Large enough for pa and ma, Brother, sister, aunt and cousin— Room enough for half a dozen ! —Gobo. At Perth a dog attacked a man, and badly mutilated his face. Afterwards the man behaved violently, barked like a dog and bit. He was placed under restraint. The London wool market opened brisk, with prices unchanged. While working at an emery wheel on Wednesday Mr Booth had an eye injured through a spark flying into it, and the accident necessitated the doctor’s attention. Mr Aitken, M.H.R. for Wellington, is leaving to-morrow on a visit to England. Immense damage has been done in parts of New South Wales by bush fires. In the Condobolin district the fire swept one hundred thousand acres.

Mr Williamson, inspector under the Orchard and Gardon Pests Act, is now visiting this district. A well-attended meeting of the Takapau Caledonian Society was held on Wednesday night. Officers were appointed and other business attended to. Waipawa band will play at the sports. Mr C. Hall, M.H.R., left for Wellington yesterday on business connected with his constituency. At a meeting of the Hawkes Bay Presbytery at Woodville, the Rev J. PattisonJJand the session of Waipukurau were appointed to have the oversight of Norsewood.—H.B. Herald. The New Zealand footballers will leave England for New York tomorrow. Real “ Hawke’s Bay weather” is being experienced just now. At Waipawa yesterday a number of persons were charged with being on licensed premises during closed hours, and small fines were imposed Tailless cats, with purple eyes, are common in Siam. It is a point of honour that Moorish women never know their own ages. They have no birthday celebrations. A Russian is not of age until he is 26 years old. Until that time at least fourfifths of his earnings must go to his parents, if alive. Called upon to give evidence at Manchester Coroner’s Court, a doctor named English, who said he was Irish, asked that he might be allowed to take the Scottish oath. A congress of medical men is shortly to be held in Paris to devise means for putting a stop to the illegal competition of “ witch-doctors,” bone-setters, faith-heal-ers. and every kind of medical crank. Miss Nora Burgess, who is suing Mr Frank Canton in the courts of North Carolina fOr breach of promise, has died, but her executor will continue the action. Milk of such richness is given by a cow belonging to a man named Garlick, at South Cliff (East Yorkshire), that it forms butter without being churned, only requiring stirring a little with a stick. So exaggerated are the dimensions of ladies* hats that the Prefect of Rome has ordered the managers of theatres to post up notices that when seated in stalls ladies must remove their hats.

The. potato blight continues to levy toll in all directions, though a few small crops in Waipukurau have escaped. Various measures are adopted to cope with it when it first makes its appearance, with varying success. Many growers immediately cut the tops off the plants and then spread lime over, and in some cases this treatment appears to have prevented the blight reaching the tubers. The following is taken from the Clarion,a truthful journal of Aspen, Colorado:—“ Evidently mistaking hailstones for corn, some ducks belonging to a Colorado farmer ate heartily of them, and died soon after. When cut open, six of them were found to have been frozen to death, while the life of a seventh was only saved by pouring hot water down its throat!” A young man named Edward Keats was found dead in the bush near Hawera the other day. He bad evidently died in sleep. At the inquest his employer stated that deceased was very hard to rouse from sleep, and had known him to sleep for two days. The Wairarapa Standard thusgently rebukes an abusive rnous correspondent: —We have shown this handwriting of the scribe “ Liberal,” who forwarded an epistle to us recently, to an expert who reads from handwriting. Here is the result: “ The writer is a blustering illmannered person, delights in bullying where no retaliation is feared, impulsive, animal passions abnormal ; in fact, a moral idiot.” As showing the extent of the fruit-canning works at Frimley, it is recorded that the management have purchased at Motueka (Nelson) two tons of black currants and ten tons of raspberries. Also 300 tons of peaches and plums from the Frimley and the surrounding orchards have been secured for canning Recently in five working days at the Frimley orchards 2277 cases of peaches passed through the packing sheds, representing 22f tons weight. It appears that Admiral Togo’s flagship, the Mikasa, was preordained to suffer misfortune. A Japanese naval officer, who attended the christening of the ship at Barrow-in-Furness, tells the story that at the moment of launching a number of white pigeons, in accordance with the pretty Japanese custom, were liberated from a cage. When Viscountess Hayashi had pressed the button releasing the new ship the cage was opened, hut the birds refused to move for fully thirty seconds. This in itself was, to the mind of the Japanese spectators, a sufficiently unlucky omen, but when the pigeons flew out backwards instead of with and in front of the vessel, every Japanese present was struck with a chill terror, and not one doubted that the Mikasa was a doomed ship. Australia enjoys a reputation for gambling, which we have always contended is an exaggerated one, says an English paper. There are periodical orgies, it is true, that resemble nothing so much as the bushman’s annual “ burst,” a very pronounced affair, by reason of its contrast with a year’s enforced abstinence. It is the same with racing. Every now and then Australia wakes up to a racing “ carnival,” and discusses probable winners and possible odds with a widespread earnestness. Then the carnival is over, and Australia drops the racehorse for a long period. To compare the Australian’s gambling spree with the steady, everyday betting that goes on in England is like comparing the shearer’s big “ drunk ” with the steady nipping of an alcoholic slave. — For an English paper the journal from which this extract is made is very well informed. It’s only inaccuracy lies in the statement about long abstinence, and dropping the horse. Australia never abstains in any way and never drops the horse. It drops its cash, but that is another story. A woman has been the downfall of a West Coast school committee. She was the only lady member, and mere men naturally wanted to smoke during the meeting as usual. But she objected, and as she would not give in, neither would they, and unanimously stayed away; so there was no quorum. As the committee thus failed in its duty, a commissioner has been appointed —a mere man ; arid the lady—who never saw six more stubborn men in her life—is out in the cold.