Local and General.

Waipukurau Press, Volume I, 24 April 1906, Page 2

Local and General.

:O: In another column of this issue Mr E. O’Donoghue announces that he has opened the new general store which he recently had erected on the main street near the Tavistock Hotel. A stock of goods usually found in a business of the kind has just been imported and opened up, and eveything will be sold at a minimum of profit. MrO’Donoghue is well and favourably known in this district, and will doubtless secure a fair amount of business. Nominations for three vacancies on the Waipukurau Road Board close on Saturday next. In another column the Railway Department advertises for offers of toiara railway sleepers. Mr T. Nicholson, tailor, has just received consignments of new materials for winter clothing. Men’s new mercery, etc., also to hand. Large selection of sporting ammunition, eto., at W. H. Booth’s. Mackay & Co. are local agents for the Norwich and London Accident Insurance Association. Notice appears re lost umbrella. BaPoting, if necessary, for the Tamaki sections will take place at Dannevirke on Thursday next. Mr Faulkner, dentist, will visit Waipukurau on Saturday next, and may be consulted at the Tavistock Hotel. The Waipukurau School Committee met last evening prior to the annual meeting of householders. Present —Messrs Gow (chairman), P. Barrie, F. Bailey, mid G. Lomas. It was resolved to send a letter of thanks to Mr Jones, late assistant master. Accounts amounting to £4 14s 9d (for school-cleaning and repairs) were passed for payment. The annual report and balancesheet to be submitted to the public meeting were approved. The cull ewes from the Teviot station have been sold this season at 17/3, which is believed to be the highest price yet reached for culls. “ Sol ” writes:—Notice a gospel tent has been pitched in an out-of-the-way corner. . . If these good people really desire to catch the devil-dodgers —there ain’t many in Waipuk—they ought to have picked a more prominent site—dark street, lumpy ground, and damp grass won’t suit the hesitating iukewarmers, who must be sought, rather than brought.

At Wairarapa races on Easter Monday, a Chinaman put £l on eveiy horse in each race. After the last race he was over £l4 to the. good. We remember a man making a similar venture at the Egmont meeting, and he lost £l7. Mr Hall, M-H.R. for Waipawa, who has been in indifferent for some time past, intends to leave this week for a holiday in Auckland. The Government is pressing on with the preliminaries attendant on the erection of workers’ homes at Petone. Tenders for the erection of twenty-five homes close on 3rd prox. The plans for the buildings are so diversified that the appearance of the settlement will in no way suggest the “ Government brand.” The houses will be built with the latest conveniences possible in dwellings of the size. In the churches on Sunday special references were made to the terrible disaster in San Francisco —a “ city of wealth, luxury, and sin.” Mr W. J. O’Dwyer, a fitter in the service of the Railwuy Department at Palmerston North, has received advice by cable from his father that he an da twin sister are to receive between them £19,750, under the will of an aunt, on their attaining the age of 21 years. Mr O’Dwyer, who is barely twenty years of age, intends severing his connection with the department and leaving for London in January next, in order to take possession of his property when he gains his majority. A company is being floated in Shannon, Manawatu, to acquire an area of 5023 acres of land in the Waiopehu and Mount Robinson survey district for milling purposes. A number of important alterations to the football rules are contemplated. A conference of delegates from the H.B. Rugby Union and Waipawa and Hastings subunions was held at the Tavistock Hotel on Friday night, the principal business being the revision of the hv-laws, and the recommendations will be submitted to a meeting of delegates to be held at Napier this evening. The local men present at Friday’s meeting, which was a lengthy one, were Messrs G. Lomas (delegate) and G. H. Graham (sec. sub-uuion). The San Francisco earthquake catastrophe has proved of a more serious nature than was at first anticipated, the people being powerless to stay the spread of the fires. Later indicates that the main portion of the city has been wiped out. America is a wealthy country, and large contributions are pouring in for the relief of the thousands of ruined and homeless people. New Zealand has offered to contribute, but her assistance is hardly likely to be required. A question that is now engaging public attention is, Will the city be rebuilt upon the present site ? Professor Pierre Curie (whose wife discovered radium) was crushed to death by a dray while crossing a street in Paris a few days ago.

Good progress is being made with the new footpath ; with the exception of the top dressing, the qidewalk is completed from the Bank to Mr Murphy’s shop. It is intended to make the path as far as Mr Skidmore’s residence, and no doubt before long it will be continued to the corner of the new boarding-house. The new work very favourably adds to the appearance of the main thoroughfare. Frimley cannery is distributing £lOO a week as wages. The annual Harvest Home held at Hatuma on Friday was largely attended, Waipukurau being well represented and visitors present, from all parts. In the afternoon there was a splendid exhibition of produce,and home industries; the show of potatoes, turnips, beet, etc, being exceptionally good and demonstating what Hatuma land is capable of growing, Some of the potatoes, perfect in quality, weighed over 21b each. Mr G. E. Merrikin acted as secretary, and was assisted by a committee of ladies and gentlemen. A very successful dance was held at night. Miss Alice Roosevelt received from an anonymous donor a wedding present on the wrapper of which was written, “ Glad he ain’t no duke.” The work of deviating the railway line through the town of New Plymouth has been commenced. Owing to force of circumstances Mr Gunzel, tailor, has been compeled to place himself in the hands of his creditors, though formal bankruptcy proceedings have not taken place. Creditors were called together on Friday, and after an explanation had ' been made two trustees were appointed to administer the estate, which is expected to pay about one-fourth in the pound. A farm of 100 acres, two miles from Winchester, South Canterbury, was put up at auction the other day. The bidding started at £24 10s per acre, and at £3O 5s per acre the property was passed inHolman Hunt’s “ The Light of the World ” is to be exhibited in Napier at an early date.

Good, sound potatoes are said to be fetching 29s per sack—£l9 per ton —at. Napier. * A ladies’ paper says: —The cry about the high price of homely potatoes is everywhere. They have always come to us so easily and cheaply that this dearth of eatable, ones is keenly felt. Medical men attribute some of the ailments of children to eating unwholesome potatoes. Great care should be taken that those that are blighted are never used, A football conference to consider revision of rules i« to be held at Napier this evening; Mr G. Lomas will represent Waipukurau at the meeting. It is understood that one important proposal will be to this effect: That in order to secure more equal representation, the Napier eud be converted into a sub-union; each sub-union to be entitled to one delegate for every five clubs; all such delegates to constitute the head union-

John D. Rockefeller and other Standard Oil magnates were thrown into a boiling vat of oil, and later consigned to the fire of Hades, in the presentation of Dante’s “ Infei - no ” by the Germania 1 urnverein,. in an American theatre recently. Bald, and walking infirmly, E Doershner, who impersonated Rockefeller, was led forth by demons and was cast into the vat by Satan, represented by C. F. Wethel. Satan did the job with apparent relish and little ceremony. At this, audience and imps laughed gleefully, and much applause followed. After sufficient boiling, Rockefeller was taken out and hurled into a seething furnace, in which his body was roasted to a crisp. Then entered the Darktown fire brigade with selizer syphons, and extinguished the flames. The curtain rolled down while the orchestra played “ Nearer by God, to Thee,” and the audience applauded- “ Struck oil ” caused excitement in New Plymouth yesterday ; upward of 400 gallons was pumped in 25 minutes from the petroleum bore at Moturoa. Ever seen unrefined kerosene ? It’s a dirty, thick, brownish, cloudy stuff. A monster wild boar which was shot in the back country at Waikouaiti last week was protected by hide two inches thick. It had huge tusks and bristles like wire. No further official intimation has been made in regard to the midday train, but a rumour exists that it is likely to be continued. Thompson Bros’ boiling - down works at Hastings were destroyed by fire on Monday evening. There will be a practice football match on the local ground tomorrow. We learn there are a large number of applications for the Tamaki sections, near Dannevirke. In a late issue of Fry’s Magazine the much debated question “ Did New Zealand score against Wales?’ r is reviewed by the candid critic, whose verdict is that the weight of evidence is ail in favour of an affirmative reply. '* Never,” he concludes, “ was a try more truly scored.” There are now three vacant shops in the town, but the rents demanded are considered comparatively high- “ The domestic servant difficulty is bound to be perennial in this colony,” remarked a caustic bachelor to a press representative, “ becauseas soon as any young woman heregets married she has to have a servant, no matter what happens. Thus the demand always exceedsthe supply.” “ Spuds” are very scarce in Waipukurau, dear in Napier,, and plentiful in Wellington. The Hawke’s Bay Mounted Riflesgo into camp at Gwavas on 12th May, for a week. Scoured wool is fetching nearly 2s per lb in Sydney. An Auckland writer characterises the four chief cities thus :—Auckland is picturesque and placid; Wellington full of bustle and push ; Christchurch spacious and Roney’ ; Dunedin dull and untidyMr W. A. Chambers represented this district at the third biennial movable committee of the'New Zealand branchl.O.O.F., M.U., held at Nelson during Easter .week. There was a large attendance of delegates. Grandmaster Brother D. Loasby, in his address said the first Odufellows’ Lodge in New Zealand was established at Nelson in 1842, with nine Oddfellows, two of whom subsequently lost their lives in the Wairau massacre. From that beginning the order had in the colony in December, 1904,. 18,021 members, and a capital of £448,731. Throughout the world they numbered a million, with invested capital of over £12,000,000 and an annualincome of £2,000,000. The amount expended in benefitsapproached £1,500,000. Messrs A. E. Jull and J. B. Fielder were also delegates from Hawke’s Bay. The Premier visited Masterton yesterday. John Madill, aged 41, was found dead in a drain at Tuakau (Auckland) with his throat cut. A razor was picked up near the body. Robert Burns’ house at Dumfries is now held on lease py the Town Council.