LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Moeraki arrived at Bluff from Hoba~t wi|tfc English toatla to^d-ayi. at 9.15 a.m.

Sportsmen are reminded? that thd annual Te Puke race meeting is to be he-Id on Friday next.

Splendid entities of horses and cattle havo been received for the Te Puke Agricultural Show to be held on Thursday.

Mr J. H. Griffiths, County €lcrk, gives notice of the intention of the Tauranga. County Council co strike a further general rate of ld in- thto

Mr V. I. Blake and party are at present engaged in surveying the Waimana Block, which has recently been acquired by -the Government for settlement purposes.

The portion of Elizabeth Street to the west of Cameroirt.Road has a number of ruts in it caused by 'the recent wet .weather. This thoroughfare is used a good deal by -country Settlers and is very, badly in need of 'k little attention.

The protest in connection with the yacht race at the recent Regatta, which, was lodged by the owner of rthe second boat against -the JK&aora, Iftas been considered by the umpire (Captain Stein), and dismissed. The first prize is accordingly awarded to the Kiaora.

A tremendous downpour of rain, accompamied 'by thunder and lightning, occurred at 1 o'clock yesterday morning and continued for* about ; 4 hours. The heavy rain will prtoibably resu\t: in further damage being done to the 7 roads' in various parts of thedistrict.

Yachtsmen w«l regret to learn that Mr T. Stuart's yacht Madge, reported in last issue aB having disappeared in Thursday evening s gale, has been found om the Bowentown beach in a wrecked condition. We understand that the sails and spars of the lost vessel were in fairly good order.

Amongst the eases to be heard at the civil sittings of the Auckland Suprepie Court (which commenced before <th© ju^ge alone, prp Catherine McKenzie v. Angus Mackenzie, Flora and Murdoch McCretchie, Margaret and Mary McKenzie, and others, an action for probate itsolemn form. Thomas Anson Cbto and Joseph Harold Cato v. Francis James Short, an action for £200 damages for allege f breach o' agreement. Auckland Hospital and Char i table Aid Board v. the Bay of Ptonty Hospital ami Charitable Aid Board, a claim for £93

lis 4d, cost of relief to an inmate.

Last week the s.s. Katikati navigated the Kaituna river as far as Canaan. The steamer took aboand a quantity of fibre and came out on Saturday morn-ing, when there was about seven fe*et of watie'r on ,the bar at the new entrant*.*. The trip to the; Tauranga wharf was made in 3_, hours. The working of the Kaituna river -by a steamer like the Katikati should prove c, grieat "boon t'a fhe majority oi the Te Puke farmers, as it will mean that gioods can be*, landed or loaded about two miles from the township,..''

Accorhing to advices- from the Argentine the Provincial Governmentpropose to put a head tax on all animals killed by freezing companies duriag the year. "This," remarks a London paper, "will be a severe blow to the companies, which are already suffering seriously "" through depress io» in trade. Prices havo gone up tp. a figure that makes it impossible }for their products to compete with Australia and New Zealand on the London Market. These freezing companies will also have to reckon with tho new sanitary laws, which will interfere with the transport of animals during the coming year, so that our own colonial producers are pretty certain to have things all their own way."

The first woman to hit upon the idea "of being: a cafe driver in Paris was the wife* of a cabman whose husband is In poor health. She mastered the mysteries of harnessing, rubbing down the horse, etc., and passed her examination in splendid form. As there is* no law prohi-bit-in*j women from boing cab drivers, the authorities granted her a liiconse. A-., sensation has since been created $$:J ho Countess dv Pin de la Gueri*viere also turnf.n'g cab driver. This countess has attempted many things, all of which have failed, and is glad to see an opportunity likely to provt more successful. Other women atv, going to follow the example of these two. Tbe Parisian cabmen are at presojit . duipb with surprise; but it-

is said they will be proud to welcome the ladies of title as collea-

gue-s

Sonio specimens of totara fencing pests and trees how on view at the,

Exhibition are an excellent testi-

mony to the marvellous lasting qualities of New Zealand totara. The fencing posts on exhibition were erected at Pigeon Bay, Akaroa, by the late Ebenezer Hay in July, 1846, and taken out in September last year, having -been in the ground for upwards of 60 years. They are as sound and firm as the dav they were erected. Another sample Q i timber is taken from a dead totara tree- at Pigeon Bay. The tree was dead *whe»; tjie latg Mr Hay went to the Peninsula in 1843, and old Maoris then stated that the tree was dead before Captain Cook arrived in New Zealand. Yet the timber" today shows absolutely no signs of Sme norati ° n throu & the wages of THE HARVEST TITAT NEVER / ENDS. /

Through autumn, winter, Spring and Summer the harvesting of the "milk crop" continues year in and

year put. The ever faithful c o w never fails, to add a goodly sum to each years revenue from the farm. Yet how little many do towards making the ; m o st of her product. 'Hundreds of thousands ,of pounds aro lost yearly by cow owners through failure to employ a centrifugal cream separator and thereby secure every particle of cream from ihe cows milk Over 750,000 ".Ufa-Laval" users are daily proving timt the increased gain in the quantity an.i qualify of the

"milk crop" is from £2 to £3 per cow each year when the "Alfa-Lav-al" Cream Separator is ustjd, to say nothing of the sime and labour saved. Isn't it worth your while to investigate such a saving ! If you own three or more cows the practice of economy and good business methods in the care of iheir products demands an "Alfa-Laval" machine. Cash or easy terms. Catalogues posted free. Sole New Zegland agents, Mason, Struthers &. Co., Ltd.. Fort and

ore Streets

Auckland.*

Why suffer the awful agony of rheumatism, gout, lumbago, sciatica, and kindred diseases. RHEUMO if given a fair trial wt!l quickly" cure you. Sold at 2s 6d and 4s Cd. l^

A meeting oi the Rifle Meet ing Committee is to be held in tho on derly room at 7.30 o'clock this evening.

Mr J. H. McCaw, Town Clerk, notifies that the 10 per cent, penal ty will bo. added to aU Borough rates unpaid after March 1 next.

The Chinese Government has arranged to purchase a trial shipment of horses from Queensland for artillery purposes. The prico , agreed upon has not /been stated.

Mr C. R. Vickerman, district engineer .of the Public Works Depart--iitnt, Auckland, invites tenders, receivable until noon on . Wednesday, March 14, for addition to the native school at Te Matai.

The Tauranga vocalists \ who are to taku part in the Te Puke concert! leave here by special from Mr M. P. Stewart's establishment on Thursday morning at 8.30, and return after the conclusion of the concert.

Mr Joe Stewart, of Cambridge, has had the misfortune to lose his racehorse Bellbird, which died a few days ago. Bellbird on a number of occasions scored creditable wins for her owner, and competed at the last Tauranga meeting 1 .

"Two Irishmen were talking about thu Standard Oil Company,'' said Mr Henry Clews, an American financier, in a recent speech ut Piovidence, Rhode Island. 'Do you think Rockefeller's money is tainted ? " said' one. "Yes, it has two taints on it,'; said Pat ; 'taint yours and taint mine.' •"•

A bad business deal was made by a Hutt business man the other day. Some time ago he sold a horse to a certain party who was not satisfied with his purchase, so the latter decided to rid himself of it also. He put it up for sale at auction, and strange to say, the original .owner*, taking a fancy to the horse, made a bid for it, and finally it was k»ocked^down to him: He wag leading it home,, down the main street, when he suddenly stopped, had lanother good look at the equine, and only then discovered that it was th^ same horse he had himself sold a few weeks ago. To make matters worse he had paid a higher figure than he had sold it for.

It is a curious fact that, apart from Royalties, only five women in addition to Mrs Elder, of all the countless noble, gifted and brilliant women who tare lived ami died in Great Britain, have 'been honoured by the erection of statues to their memory. The five celebrated .women, widely different in every respect , wha have been singled out for this special honour, are Sarah- Siddons, the famous actress ; Sister Dora, the heroic and devoted sick nurse ; Damn Alice Owen, the philantrophist ; Flora Macdonald, the Jacobite bcr-.ine; and Highland Mary, the simple lc.veof the poet Burns, and the insoirer of Ms sweetest songs. Thes.. statues were all erected during the \ ietorian era, and were the o-iteoi _o of genuine love and ad'n.r-itior.. Perhaps this was specially the ..is v . with regard to Sister Dora. 'J he poor, hard working people whom she had laboured to serve proved themselves not ungrateful for all sh- h td done and endured for their sakes ]„ countless humble households her death IS f el !! y „ aml sil «*«*ly mourned, and hundreds u £ her old patients followed her to the grave

. are 44,000 teetotal soldiers in the British army, according to a statement made by Army-Surgeon

In Germany and Holland girls are chosen in preference to young men in all. occupations where the*- can be advantageously employed. WEAK BACKS. The weak spot in many men and women is the back. It gives out before the other part of the body. It gets tired and aches terribly after a day's work or night's pleasure. A tired, weak back, pulls person right down and renders life miserable. The kidneys are often supposed to be the cause, but usually the muscles and tendons in the back have been strained. Dr. Sheldon's Magnetic Liniment is the proper and only permanent remedy. Rub it into the pores of the back, and a feeling of renewed strength and vigor will come immediately, and a few such treatments will fix you up all right. Dr. Sheldon's Magnetic Liniment takes out soreness and inflammation. It invigorates and freshens all the muscular tissues. It contains ingredients that you have never used before. For sale by E. N. Hoyte, chemist, agent and King &, Co., Maketu and Te Puke.

Elderly people suffer much from rheumatism, SO \it, sciatica, and lumbago. RHEUMO quickly cures by driving out the excess uric acid from the blood. All stores ami chemists, 2s 6d and .4s 6d. You just try it 18