PROVINCIAL NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 540, 22 June 1909, Page 6

PROVINCIAL NEWS.

(iROUODB 'BMOUL OOaBBSPONWSTt.)

■ PALMERSTON. Ernest OTfaUl, charged cm remand witi issuing a valueless cheque, appeared before Mr.; A. D. Thomson, SJL, yesterday morning. Sergeant Stagpoolo 'deposed- that Charlos Morgan, the informant, camo to him with a cheque for £6 drawn on tho Taihape braDoh of the Bank of New Zealand. This had proved to bo valueless. Frederick P. Tilton, assistant manager of tbo bank at Taihape, deposed that O'Neill's banking account haj not been operated on for, two years and six months, it'having been closed then-by the bank when there was only, Vs. 6d. to accused's credit. Accused stated ,m ' defence ithat ho had reason to believe -that money had been placed to his credit ni tho bank by a firm of solicitors, and that the cheque wonkl have been met. ..The case was adjourned till Wednesday, to allow accused to bring evidenoe in support of his statement. An'old white-headed man, namedyWDliam Manning, appeared in the dock at the Magistrate's Court yesterday: morning on a charge of being a rogue and a vagabond. Sergeant Stagpoole stated -that, the man had. repre'sonted to some.people'in the country , that he had a great deal of property, and had mado out a will in their favour, the result being that ho was boarded for a considerable; time, and received a .sum of money from . them. The will turned out to bo a bogus ono,,and it appeared that the old man had been in the habit of making out wills of a similar nature, one of whioh was for a copp_er mine in the Euahines. ,Such represontatiftns had duped other people. The wills. were palpably "faked," and it was' a -wonder that anybody should be taken in by them. In reply, to tho S.M.j Manning said that ho. was 83 years of age,.and had come to Now Zealand in 1863. "I would be injlependcnt now if the snow , was off tho Knimanawas/ , said the old man mournfully^—which remark did not appear to have much relevancy unless perchance another Copper mine was hidden away in the northern , range; As he had been under police protection for a week," ana.promised never to.make out any more wills, he was convicted and discharged. Robert Henderson was charged with tho recent theft at Mnllsop, Eliott and Co.'s-..factory, and wasremandea for a■ week."No bail was asked : .for: Chas. Webb, brought up on a charge of lently converting. moneys —the property of Matthew Guy—to his own use, 'was.remanded

till next Monday on the. application of Mr. Fitzhorbort, his solicitor. Bail was: fixed, himself at £50, and two sureties of £25; each.

The wool class; organised by 'the KomakoPohangina branch- of the .Farmers'- Union, which commenced in Pohangina recently, :undor Mr. J. T. Cahill's instruction, is meeting with success,' there being 23 pupils on the Toll now,, and more are joining next'week. '■' The- Gas Company Ijas.consented to the Borough Council placing the. electric light in thoOpera House,;'without prejudice to its claims or rigbte. It is understood that it is proposed!,to light the whole of the Opera Housol with the electric, light, at a cost of between £700 and £800, retaining abo the gae installation in case of necessity.

...; : -,-,■-,::;,;•;:::■ OTAEi...;:;;-.;■■•= •■:■■:_,

'■: One of the, best football matches yet played iri -the district was that which toot place at Manakau on Saturday .bbWoen'fhe local fifjteea and Otaki. The game Was interesting and exciting throughout, and right up to tfhe whistle was anyone's.,..ln.'• the., .first spell Manakau-attacked 1 strongly, bnt. each at- , tempt , at scoring was resolutely met by Otaki, who in..turn attacked, with passing. • IhHhis half no score was registered, but early in the second spell the/speed of the 'Otald 'backs stood thorn in godd steaid, and Henare 'scored, 'a , fine try, which was unconverted.-: This was the only' score of iiho day. By ■fcbeir win. Ofcaki 'liow have a:chance to become holders of tho championship.. The Waikanae-Otaki junior match resuJted in a win> for tie latter by tbreo points. ' ■■■..'•■ /'•." ■■'" ', • ■

, Tho'ji'ew coursd under construction by the Otaki,Maori Racing Club is far from complete,' and it is extremely doubtful.whether tho.June,meeting.will be held there. 1 The course proper, including the : training '.track, has been 'ploughed, 'drained, /grassed, and rolled, but,only.the ryescoms to have got a hold, while in. places tho top-dressing is decidedly poor/and appears aa if it has, received no attention,' being prominent in places. With better ■ top-dressing .. and fescue, the course should prove 'a fine one, as tho jbonds are really good, the slope Icing all that is desired. ■' Some £80 has been spent in draining. • Chinamen are at present leading -a portion of/ the oentre. ■'. Roads: into ,tho '.course have yet to- bo ;, constructed; fences, and necessary'buildings .arranged for, and minor improvements .effected. - ; Mr. W. Bevan's fine trotting stallion/ Young Torpedo, Valued at 120 guineas, died ■on .Friday night, tho, result of a "collision a . week, ago, wlien a'shaft penetrated the chest: of the animal. '', ;, ' ■■. ' ''. ■ \ .• ■

••_ The Natives of ..the'district are 'iriangurat•ing a. concert |&rt3)p: purpose \of raising funds for'additional 'repairs to the Otaki Maori Mission -Church'. .Mr. Kingi. Tahiwi has been elected'secretary. "< •• -.'., ;-__ , Tie To Horo Ladios , , Club (only; ; inangurated'a, few weeks ago),' .have' .protested against,the win of ffie.,Otakj ladies on .Wednesday- week on the; ground of. playing",oyer time.., After the match .',the 'referee '• was roimdly and explained to ■Hβ spectators that the time agreed. upon was 30-min-ute spells. The crowd thought 35 minutes wae' tiro spell appointed, and iencb. tne trouble. The association' will doubtless look upon the matter as frivolous and...vexations; m" factj they have already practically done so, aa the refere©_in. question has been commended for his aotion, aiid has not evon boon asked for an'explanation.. The association meets tomorrow night toarrange matters,'wlien the question wffl probably be mentioned.'.' ...

FEILDING.

Mr;-T.. G..Nicholas, J.P., of Feilding, has boen appoinied assistant clerk of the Court and bailiff at Feilding. Mr. Nicholas,' who entered upon his duties yesterday, was secretary to Mr. Ploasarits, Government candidate at the general eloctione. .-.-. ■. ■■ :. : , ■ .' MrrLeonard.~Watldns has accepted' the position of dirpctor.of the Technical School in Feilding. During the 1 last threo years ho hae been studying-art at Home, 'and has gained; a largo number of honours. .Apropos the "Russian balloon' accident, Dr; Boranoff was asked by a lf-oilding reporter yesterday morning if ho know M..Po2tzan. Ho know bimionly by repute, ho said. His position was that of a sort' of assistant Minister for Justice. "He was a great scoundrel," added the doctor. "The world has not lost much by , his death." ■':'.

■\ FEATHERSTON

Mr. J. G. Cox is leaving Featherston for Wellington to attend;the Church of England Synod. Hβ expects, to bo away abouta fortnight. , ■.. . ' . . \/ . . . Mr. A.. Matthews loft hero by yesterday's mail train to atfcend J the Manawatu A. and P. Winter Show. ■" . \ ,' V - After opening", the lake on Friday, the River Board naturally anticipated no fur* the titrable. On.Saturday morning, however, there was an/exceptionally heavy sea, /which completely blockedthe entrance up again. The soas that.come into the bay are. among the heaviest on the New Zealand ;coasts, and tho weather sometimes is porctly calm, while tho .seas are rolling in mountain high.

SHANNON.

At a meeting of- the committee of the Public Hall, Tokqmaru, hold recently, , a subcommittee was formed for the purpose of establishing a public library and reading room for the town. In connection with this, a public meeting was held on Monday night to discuss the inattor, and arrange for providing the fflnds necessary to build a suitable annoxb. ....' . -L ■.•'-■ Mr. Stanford, v of Kingston Road, is leaving for Taranaki this week, whore be has taken up.a dairy farm. . The closing down of flaxmills in this district- has driven many men into tho larger towns, to swell tho ranks of tho unemployed. Somo, who woro too impeeunious to. afford a. trip to town, and somb who wore wise enough to resist the lnre of the city, are iatill sticking canrp-life, A goad.number

are making &, fittlo money collecting fungus, which is very plentiful along the ,Msnawatu River. It has frcqnently been stated that Shannon is "run by the Droids." Whether this ia literally truo or not, the large audience that assembled in their hall on Friday night to hear the minstrel- entertainment, testified to the popularity of the Ancient Order. The first part of the programme consisted of the orthodox minstrel performaneej in which jokes, dashed with a local flavour, wore intermingled with negro songs and choruses. Songs were song by Messrs. J. BatcbeJar, J. Curran, F. Denton, Gardner, and others. The second part of the programme was occupied by a farce, and a dance, which was thoroughly enjoyed, concluded the evening's entertainment. Mrs. Foubister was an efficient accompanist. This week the Literary arid Debating Society will give a musical evening, and, next week, Mr. J. A. M'Kenzie will give a lecture on Longfellow:, ■ ' -

LEVIN.

Dnpng ■lie course of a sermon m tie-Pres-byterian Ohuroh on Sunday night on-f 'Bible Beading in State Schools," tie Eev. Joseph WWte strongly urged his oongregatidn to wcrrk bard for Biblical instruction, stating bis belief in Ha great value as a predisposing cause tending to national righteousness. Tihe preaeher alsq pokted out that parents hod the remedy in thoir own hands, and when the time came for a new Softool Committee they should see to it that only thoeo in favour of Biblo teaching in the sohool were elected. • At the Levin Magistrate's Court on Monday, before Messrs. B. B. Gardener and. J. M'Leavey, J.P.'s, Bobert Arnott was brought up on a serious offence alleged to have been committed at Wereroa on June 11. Accused pleaded guilty, and was committed to the Wellington Supremo Court for sentence. • Evangelistic meetings,; to coatinoe nntil June 31, commenced in Levin Presbyterian Church on Monday evening. The Bev. Geo. Budd, of Feilding, is tie imssioncr.' ■ In a football .match/at Levin on Saturday, Levin 'Wanderers (seniors) beat Shannon by 20 points to 6. In'"the. junior competition,! Kereru beat Levin ■Wanderers by 12 points to 3. i ' ; . ■/■,■ . '

1 "WAIEANAE. .';'... ■ . / : ;

The new school is to' Lβ opened cm Wodnesday, Juoo 30, by tho Hon. 6. . Fowlds.,Mr. M. Kerrigan, who has been employed' on the ■\V«Uingfin-Jlanawatu railway" since, 1886, has been transferred from.tJie maintenance to the traffic department, ■ and_ is leaving for. Whangarata. Mr. Kerrigan was tendered a, farewell emoko concert and ' presented with a ,, ; purso of. sow>reigns by residents. Over 100 were present. Mr. G. Watson, in making the presentation, spoke of Mr. Kerrigan's good qualities and,also of his willingness to nehp in school affairs. Mr. Kerrigan, he .stated, had been on the local School Committee for. tie past 11 years.MT. W. Parata spoke on behalf of tlhe Natives. Mr. W. J. Howall in proposing. "Our Guest,", also made an appropriato speeoh.' Doling the opurse of the P ro " ccedmgs songs wore contributed by Messrs. H. Walton, sen;, Parkins, . Archibald, F. Marfan, Hunt.M'Bain, Brewer,.Robertson, V. Kerrigan, N. Morgan; recitations by Mosera. a. StoneeH, Barkly,, end Parkins. It is stated that Dr.: Knight intends having a",mj&mg madhane installed on hie form at Reficorangi. ,: .-'. .-■ " ■"•■,',. •.!■!.- ■'•■.' Next, season over. 100 more'bows wfll. bo milked at Koigprangi, which means that; an extra separaior wifl.bo.required., It that tihe Pres'h Food and Ice Company contompfoto extensive' alteratio-ne to tho Reo'ltorangi creamory so as to cope with tio extra output Last season was the record for the creameTy as far as it went., '■.- •'. . ; ' ■ . Mr: H. Gregory, one of; the. earliest settlexs of ttie .district, fe lying dangerously ill' in Otaki Hospital; i- - .'•, .: . ■ • :

TQKOMAEU,

.An enjoyable party and danco wore Wd in &> Town Hall- cm Friday' last: Euchre was played.t£U 10 o'clock, when tie,prizee'were , preseotod; M-iss. Dalzoll wiraing -the. first hidiee' , pnzo and Mr. ;Alan' ; tho gentlemen's, Tho prizes "»t the wroiig oiid" wero awarded to Hiss Boyd and : Mr. F. M'Rao. ■;. Subsequentty a dinoe took jlaco,: tho music being supplied by Miss M*Kenzie. Extras were played by McedamcsE; Daniel and G. Wcgl\om. Messrs.! L. Ford and R. Guy acted as •■■'.) :■: v . ■'",■■--'■ A pubKo meeting was called last evening in connection with too . proposed library aiid reading rooni. "' ;. ,'.■ ■ . ' ,:;'.- :■