The Herald. Alexandra, Thursday, May. 28, 1903

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 368, 28 May 1903, Page 4

The Herald. Alexandra, Thursday, May. 28, 1903

The Court sits at Ophir to-day (Thursday). The death is announced of M«x O'Rell the famous author, at the age of 55. The Clerk of Courts will visit the office at Alexandra on Friday, 29th May, at 2 p.m., for the purpose of issuing summonses for hearing on Juue Bth. They held an election in Honduras recently, and cast 30,000 more votes than the entire population. Honduras is evidently playing for annexation. A.fatality. seems to have broken out amongst the hares at the Oamaru Plumpton grounds (says the "North Otago Times "). The animals aie dying off rapidly, and as yet the cause is not traceable. A contemporary, describing a wedding, says :—" The Brass Band farewelled the happy couple, who left- for Nelson to spend the honeymoon, with appropriate selections, including " The girl I left behind me."

A lady who landed in Dunedin from the steamer Gracchus has been found to be suffering from a mild form of small-pox. The patient has been quarantined. Precautions are being taken to prevent an outbreak. A Nelson firm is stated to have secured a valuable plumbago deposit in the Golden Bay district. It is intended to establish works at Nelson for the manufactnre of black lead and other articles of which plumbago is the chief componentt ■ The publicans of Dublin refused to close the public-houses on St Patrick's Day. " They will keep open for the national credit" it was said. By closing their doors it would suggest that the Irish people cannot keep the national holiday without abusing it. Last year the Ashburton County-Council paid about £IOOO for small birds' eggs and heads. The Council decided to pay the the sum of fd per head for small birds' beads, and to request the Selwyn and Geraldine Councils to co-operate in poisoning the birds in their respective districts, Mr D D Hyde, Government poultry ex. pert, will deliver a lecture on poultry farming in the town hall, Alexandra, on Saturday evening next. All interested in this industry should make a point of being present, as much valuable information concerning the raising and care of poultry will be imparted by the expert.

A SACRED concert, under the auspices of the Alexandra Brass Band and Orchestral Society, was held in the Alexandra town hall on Sunday evening last, when the building was packed to overflowing An exce lent programme of appropriate items gone through, and apparently the concert was much appreciated by the large audience. Selections were rendered by the Band and Orchestra, and solo were given by Mrs Stevenson (of Cromwell), and A G Murphy, C E Richards and J B Arnot; while Mr G F Blue contributed a number of phonograph records. A collection, taken at the door, realised £7 2s. which sum will be handed over to the School Cotoinittee, Ito aid ©f mm '<m*©*l Stttids.

The Prince of Wales will celebrate his thirty-eighth birthday next Wednesday,

Major-General Babington, i'ommarider of the Forces, will inspect the Alexandra Rifles .after the arrival of the coach from Ida Valley on Wednesday evening, ICth June.

On Wednesday next, June 3rd (Prince of Wales' Birthday) the Alexandra post-office will observe a close holiday. Mails for Clyde, Cromwell, Roxburgh and Bald Hill Flat, will close on June 2nd at 9 p.m. A delivery over the counter will be made on Tuesday evening after the arrival of the Dunedin mail.

The Rev, Father O'Neill, of Milton returned from a trip to the old country. At a Balclutba concert he gave a sketch of his travels, and in conclusion said " that having seen many climes he had come back more in love with, and more an admirer of New Zealand than ever, and firmly convinced that it was the finest country in the whole world."

The action of the Government in debarring its employees from active participation in general or local politics is resented by a considerable section of the workers, and a petition is going the rounds of the various labor organisations, for presentation to Parliament next' session, praying that employees of the State shall have the same political and civil rights as the employees of private individuals.

A Western Queensland station manager was asked by the owner to report as to how the station had come out of the drought ordeal. Accordingly he made up a parcel of sundries—a piece of hide containing the station brand, three hoofs, a greenhide girth, a broken bridle, a pair of horns, the skin of cattle dog, and a rotten water-batr. This fee forwarded with the addendum: "Gantlemen, these are the assets." It is understood that the Public Health Department is very much dissatisfied with the apathy of the public in respect to observing the provisions of the Public Health Act. The Act provides that a child must be vaccinated within a year from date of birth, or else, if objection is made to vaccination on conscientious grounds, an exemption must be applied for within four months of date of birth. It is estimated that about 75 per cent of parents neither got their children vaccinated nor applied for an exemption certificate. Prosecutions will probably be undertaken; " In connection with the proposed amendment of the Old Age Pensions Act, it is stated (says a Sydney telegram in the " Melbourne Argus ") that the parents, either mother or father, of five members of the New South Wales' Parliament are old-age-pensioners; that the father of a New iSouth Wales member of the house of Representatives is also in the fund; that a prominent professional man, reputed to be the recipient of a large annual income, has not objected to his father becoming a pensioner ot the State; and there are even civil servants receiving £6OO a year, whose parents, in some cases father and mother, are also pensioners. The law will, if possible, be amended to meet such cases.

Whkther ragwort is poisonous or not seems to be as much a mystery to veterinary surgeons as to the ordinary farmer. A Wellington telegram says that recent experiments made by the Veterinary Division of the Agricultural Department showed that ragwort had no injurious effects upon cattle. Now Mr Gilruth, Chief Veterinarian, and head of the Veterinary Divisien of the Department, says it is a mistake to say experience has proved that ragwort is not deleterious to sheep As a matter of fact, experiments proved that it causes chronic inflammation of the liver, and the presence of the weed is a danger to farmers. They should take every means to eradicate it Truly, veterinary surgeons, like doctors, differ.

We have been shown a letter posted in Dunedin to Stratford, a well known town in Taranaki, and which travelled round the globe before it reached its destination. The envelope bears the stamp of twelve post offices and its journey may be traced by these. Carrying a clear address, " Stratford New Zealand," it was posted in Dunedin on November 17 1901 ; a large circular blue stamp is dated " 21sfc November, N.Z.," &c ; then comes " Honolulu, December 2nd 1902 "; " Oahee "; " Warwick, December 30, 1902 : '; "Leamington, December 30"; " Stratford-on-Avon, December ,30, 1902" Here eight postal officials affixed their initials to the statement " No such place as Stratford " Then a genius,, writing in red ink on the envelope, says:—" Try first address-Stratford, N.Z." So it comes back again, and reached New Zealand safely on February 9. 1903.—"Hawea Star." The Grimmerburn correspondent of the " Mt Ida Chronicle " writes:—As a matter of great interest to sheepowners I must note that no less than 300 sheep have died in this district after dipping. There is no room for doubt that death is in some way connected with dipping. The losses have been confined to a poisonous paste brand of dip used at two separate dipping baths The dip is said to combine the good points of the " powder " and the " liquid " dips—that is it contains arsenic of the " powder " and the tar acids—chiefly carbolic—of the liquid. The dip has extensively been used in previous years in this district without any visible hurt to the sheep. The loss is spread over eight owners the heaviest loser having over 60 deaths. I understood that claims for compensation are to be-made, on the ground that the dip was not manufactured according to the proper formula.