THE COUNTRY.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17272, 10 October 1921, Page 3

THE COUNTRY.

Jottings for Farmer*.

According to a statement made to a "Dominion" reporter on nda> Niall, secretary of the Zealand Slaughtermen's Federation, be thirty and forty slaughtermen left tor Australia by iast week's sy-dney v " He said that some three hundred >ew Zealand slaughtermen had left- for Au tralia within the past five weeks, an 'a further batch were leaving this. weeK. The men were, he said, dissatisfied witn their prospects in the Dominion, ana werfe being offered more remunerative employment in the Australian works. In Victoria, for instance, tne rate for sheep was £2 2s per"100, ana in New South Wales £2 3s. Beef rates were in the vicinity of 3s per head. OXTOED. The ordinary meeting of the Oxford Benevolent and Improvement League was held last week, Mr R. F. Henderson presiding over a good attendance. Motions of sympathy were passed to the widoiv and family of the late Mr JasMcCormack, aud to the widow of the late Mr H. W. Bluett. A considerable discussion took place on the motion to rescind the minute that the proceeds or the picture entertainment on the second in the month be devoted to the memorial fund, which was ultimately carried. It was generally agreed that the amount of extra' support given to these entertainments did not warrant the tying up of the money for an unlimited time, and that the mepiorial fund would be more greatly benefited by a series of special pictures on its behalf. It was decided to hold a benefit entertainment in the interests of Mr S. Hulena who with his family were rendered homeless by a recent fire, and arrangements were made for some immediate relief. In regard to the oversight g'J en to the interests of a Lees Valley settler while in hospital, a lengthy report was received from a neighbouring settler, and the heartiest thanks of the. League were tendered for the unremitting care that was being exercised. A report in regard to the proposed improvement m the cemetery was presented and approved, and Mr A. Baxter was instructed to gee the work carried out. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Miss MAshford, warden of the Young Helpers League in connexion with Dr. Barnardo's Homes, visited the schools of tne district, and addressed the children, reviving and re-creating interest in tne work of the League. Arrangements were made for habitations or lodges a each of the Schools visited, eaoh of winch will have its own box opening, and as far as possible a general meeting of the whole will be held annually. Mrs G A. Ryde, of Cooper's Creek is president, and Mr L. Watson, of Oxford, is .general secretary and treasurer for tne county. . ■ On Friday night the four-roomed residence of Mr (Sebastian Hulena, of West Oxford, with all its contents, was totally destroyed by lire. Thei .cause of the outbreak was a defective' chimney. There was some insurance on both house ana furniture, but the loss will be considerable. . • bangiora. : On Thursday evening ihe Fire Brigade completed the fourtfc round of the annual euchre competition for the Tyler Cup. .Fireman C. Tyler was the winner with 391 points, i. Barber being second with 39 points, v. Vrestney third with 38*, and: Fireman \V. Fora and hon. member G. Taylor a tie for fourth place with 35 pointß. AXAROA. The representatives of the various portions' of tjto Presbyterian charge <jn. f the. Peninsula met at " the AkarOo Church on? thtirs^^ , Rev.' J; W. Hay wsrd',. poinding dvsr a. good attendance. ,apology waa. received* from Mr John Pettigrew;, of .Pigeon Bay. who, it .was stated, would • shortly be leaving'the''district; The chairman said that such an old and highly esteemed member of their , Church could not be allowed to £epart without some recognition. Arrangements., had been made for a suitable presentation to take place at a farewell gathering at Pigeon Bay this evening.' " Tne treasurer stated that the new manse building account showed ai debit of £720. After discussion, Messrs J. 'D. Bruce, E. Hay, and J. S. Dodds were appointed a Finance Committee to deal with means of raising that' sum,' it being suggested that, •if a mortgage were necessary,- the burden should be borne' pro rata, by Akaroa, Wainui, Pigeon Bay, and Duvauchelle. It was stated that a prominent member of the Church, who nad already financed the project where required had expressed a wish to continue his help. • ■ ABHBUBTON. At tho initial meeting of the recently formed, Ashburton Rifle Defence Club officers 'were elected as follows dent. 'Mr W. R. Tuoker: vice-president, "Mr D. Keir; treasurer, Mr G. H. Nicholls; secretary pro tem, ; Mr D. Keir; committee, Messrs L. Tozer, J. Henderson and A. 15. Clark, together with the officers and a member of the Defence staff ex officio.

• f WAIMATE. On arrival at the Kurow races, the Waimate Silver Band played several marches in. the street/ while the squad : of the Waimate Ambulance Brigade, who were engaged to attend the Kurow. races, introduced a little box, bearing; a neat little cross upoq it, to the many listeners. The box was also passed round-at the races, and, after the fall in the Waitangi Steeplechase, the public responded liberally, agparently seeing' the valuable work tne ambulance was doing, £8 being collected. A euchre party and dance were held in.the Nukuroa Coronation Hall, in aid |of the local tennis club. A record crowd the prizes being wonby "the following: Ladies first .prize, Miss M. Rollinson; consolation. Miss Dixon.' Gentlemen, first prize, Mr A. JBorth.wick; consolation, llr Stpat-ford." During the evening, a tournament was played between teams representing Willowbridge and Studholme, the Willowbridge team being winners by 26 to 18. The Silver Band Hall was packed to the doors on the occasion of the presentation of. "Wonderland," in aid of ,the Methodist Foreign, Mission work. Mrs J. W.. Manchester had gone to a lot of trouble in preparing' the barrows, and she was ably assisted by the members of her Bible Class. The Mayor (Mr F. Nash), in. opening the function, congratulated the ladies on thqir efforts. The barrows then paraded round the room, afterwards taking up their Various stands. They made a very pretty, effect, the attendants being, dressed in costumes to suit the class of trade they represented. The takings for the evening amounted to well over £7O.

" • Lieutenant Connock, of the King's African Rifles, one of the only two men who have recovered from the'Rhodesian sleeping sickness (which is quite unlike the British "sleepy sickness," or encephalitis lethargica), is at an officers' convalescent, home at. Lvmingtou, Hampshire. This sort 'of sleeping sickness, until Lieutenant Connock's case was reported, was believed to be incurable. He was attacked by the disease while on active service in German East Africa, at Dar-es-Salaam, in 1918, and was under medical treats, ment for two years. The London School of Tropical Medicine have had charge of his case. Mr Holland, the other, patient who recovered from this malady, iias returned to Rhodesia. In its early symptoms, Rhodesian sleeping sickness resembles malaria.