The Herald. Alexandra, Thursday, Jan. 21, 1904

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 402, 21 January 1904, Page 4

The Herald. Alexandra, Thursday, Jan. 21, 1904

The Vincent County Council meets at Clyde on Wednesday next. Messrs Young, Buchanan, and Co notify by advertisement in this issue, that they .will offer for sale by public auction, onFebruary 4th, a desirable residence in Alexandra; also furniture and effects. At last week's meeting of the Waste Land Board, ST Spin applied for a license to occupy the mining reserve in block X, Leaning Bock district, Blackman's.—Referred to the ranger for report. j At a meeting of the Alexandra Jockey Club held last Friday evening, it was .lie-* cided that the proposed Central Otago Trotting Club be allowed the use of the racecourse reserve for their meeting forloiB; sum of £lO. '.i ;: / ■ At the Naseby sports, an -athlete: named David Dodds won £3 15s on the Ist inst. Ho was subsequently, arreatedat Dunedin on a charge, of having stolen to the Caledonian Society, whoiFiwijasurer alleged that he had given Dodds iiigSqote in error for a£l note, Dodds;'T)e£di»;.leaving Naseby, deuied he received woretnonoy than be was entitled to. Ha;wasvteoanded to Naseby, bail being allowed." Thb members of the Alexandra Volunteer Fire Brigade have asked, us to return so kindly contributed towards the> r opst of afire-ball. &a t however, the Alexandra Boropgh Council has expressed*ite;intention of procuring a bell, the amount'raised is not sow required for that purpose, and those who eo wish may have their money returned cm application to the secretary (Mr F Young), J?

Ths result of the recent Education Boalft Scholarship are announced, and we ■are < ' pleased to noHca that ithe Lawrence District - High School is prominent, its onkfoandidate for the Senior Scholarship (Master jßf >- m out ai 'the head of the list . with a sutatantialnumber of marks to spate. It is said that a relative once Uunte&the late Mr Buckridge, who died at sea'bn the jachtvKia Ora, with being a coward, and he vowed he would do everything in his power to prove the accusation was untruoi So far 3 as is known, Mr Buokridge's life wsi not insured. He made overtures for anllijisurance, but none of the ' ! accept him, one official remarking, "I'wopld not insure you at 99 guineas per cent?

- A Biw. has been drafted m the interest of the malt whisky distillere of Scotland making it illegal for spirit'distillers to sell grain whisky either raw or blended with malt whisky Without disclosing the fact to the public. It is asserted that much of the so-called pure Highland malt whisky is not Scotch whisky at all, but a blend of a small proportion of malt whisky, and the remainder of grain spirit made in Germany. A correspondent of the London "Standi ard" remarks that "semi-teetotal"is a bad name for what is a very good 4 thing, "But if we allow • semi-teetotat' we may have coming into existence a 'Social Semipurity League,' or a «Society for the Encouragement of Occasional Honesty/ Would the semi-teetotallers be willing to have a namefound for them by John Leech's classic gardener, and be known as 'The Slightly-sober Society J'" s*. The "blackbird has now been declared an injurious bird, but the Governor-in-Council has declined to declare the thrush and lark injurious birds. We ("Carterton Observer "1 « are not intimately acquainted with tba ■ thrush, but the dear little lark will eat up a field of young rape, pull out young onions by the yard, and destroy the plants of peas as fajt as they appear above ground. We know the lark 1 His only merit is his song, and farmers may think they pay too much for his whistle I

About a fortnight since, aj strange bird, the identity of which puzzled all the local authorities, was caught in the paddock of the Moa dredge by Mr J M'Phersoh; The bird was taken alive, but declined to take food ob any kind, and it finally died; The body was sent to Mr W Smyth, taxidermist, of Caversham, who described it as a broadbilled petrel, which is a somewhat rare species. The only explanation to acoount for. the presence ot the stranger in Alexin, dra, is that it was blown across from the coast, probably to the Lakes, and then cams down the river.

Recently a resident of Sacramento California, wrote letters to his friends, an* Bouncing his attention to commit suicide. He placed special delivery stamps on them, . put crepe on the door, turned on the gas, and lay down to die. One of the letters was delivered so promptly that a friend telephoned to a hospital, and the coroner, an ambulance, a dead waggon, and the friend arrived simultaneously. The man, who way found unconscious, was taken to the hospital, and his recovery is certain, The Wellington youth, or soma,of hW (says the Wellington " Post"), is employing an old but ingenious method to make the Christmas threepenny-bit go further. He puts it on the railway, and recovers it after a train has gone over it. The flattened and enlarged coin is then presented as a sixpence, and is frequently accepted if shopman takes it on sight without its weight. Once or twice, however, the bojf & has been detected, and has beaten a hasty retreat minus his threepence and his purchase.

Building in Johannesburg (according to the "South African Trade Journal ") i» going on at a tremendous, rate; plans are passed every fortnight for buildings to the value of £IOO,OOO, and within a mile radius of the centre of the town contracts to the extent of two millions sterling are being carried out, about half of that amount being paid out in wages. Nearly 4000 artisans are employed on them. In the fashionable suburbs, dwellings to the value of a quarter of a million are being erected. During the past quarter, 1528 buildings were sanctioned providing accommodation for 6000 people.