PROVINCIAL NEWS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 590, 19 August 1909, Page 6

PROVINCIAL NEWS.

(frou our bprcui. CoimnroN9«tTß.) « MASTEItTON. ' The trustees of the Mastcrton Hospital met yesterday, there being present Messrs. J. B. Keith (in the chair), H. J. O'Leary, J. Miller, W. Fisher, J. 0. Ewington, and R. Brown. A letter was received from the Buller- Hospital authorities inquiring what custom was followed in the Masterton Hospital iii relation to tho charges made by the medical officer for special treatment, or operations on patients who have been under Ins treatment outside and arc admitted to the hospital. It was dccided to;reply that local practitioners wore not permitted to charge' fees to patients while same were in the hospital. Somo discussion took place on a charge of £22 by the Municipal Gas Department for lighting during ;tho month, several of tho trustees considering the amount excessive. Mr. Ewington thought that the trustees, being among the largest consumers in the town, 'should approach the Bsrough. Council with a view to getting a reduction in the. rates. Tho secretary stated that he had been assured by tho matron that lights were invariably turned down when not required. Mr. Eisher: moved that the trustees approach the Borough Council and ask them to allow a reduction. This was seconded by Mr. Keith and carried. The treasurer reported as follows: —Public Hospital: Receipts for tho- month, £26 195.; expenditure, £217 Is. 4d.;.bank balance to date, £79 14s. '4d. Accounts totalling £155 15s. 3d. were passed for payment. Infectious Diseases Hospital: Receipts, £5. 125.; disbursements, £4 Is. Bd. ;• balance, on July 21, £90,85. (id.; balance to data, £91. 13s. lOd. The matron reported that Jie number of 1 patients in the institution at tlic beginning- of the month was 26; admitted during tho month, 7; discharged, 24; in hospital at the end of the month, 9. The chairman brought up the question, of drainage, and referred to tho unsatisfactory ' condition of the septic tank. The difficulty liad been dealt' with for the present, he said, by emptying the tank, but something . further would eventually have'.to he done. A committee had been set up to look into'the matter, but before reporting thoy were waiting' for.a report from the borough, engineer. Mr. Ewington was lof opinion that ' the- tank woula. have to be shifted. Mr. 1 Keith stated

that it was'proposed to hold a .meeting..to discuss the matter, as soon as they received a report. The .matter then dropped. The opening of the new Loyal Orange Lodge will take place in - the Methodist schoolroom at 7 p.m. on Saturday'next: The Right Worshipful - Grand Master of Now Zealand (Bro. Ashtoij, of Wellington) will preside, and "Canon Nicholls, of Woo'dville, is also expected, to be present. A special, train will arrive fr«j Wellington at 6.45. p.in,. on Saturday, and a contingent of about_ 50 is expected by it. A procession will be formed to march from the railway station' to .the schoolroom, and visiting brethreA will be present from Palmelston, Feilding, Woodville, and other .centres. ,

FEIIjDING. The annual football match betweeii the Hui Mai team (Manaikau) and Feilding Football Clubs took place yesterday afternoon, and resulted in another win for Feilding by two-tries to one; Despite tho sodden state of the ground, a good-game resulted/ Rvan and Trevena scored for the local team, and "Dave" Bovan for tho visitors. ; The latter were entertained at a dance last evening;- All the visiting players but-one were Natives. Mr. : C. H. Poole, M.P. for Auckland West, arrived in Feilding on Tuesday from Wellington'- and went' on. to. Auckland yesterday. ."Nothing doing"- was, his "phrase 1 regarding politics' in Wellington. Mr. Dugald Ferguson, author of "Tho King's Friend" and "Busli Life," did .very well in canvassing his books in Palmerston, selling some ninety copies. ■ . A meeting of the committee of the local Chamber of Commerce was held yesterday niorning to consider the draft constitution of the proposed federation of the Chambers of Commerce of New Zealand. It was decided to agree to the recommendation that tho association should be incorporated, and a motion was carried approving of the memorandum of constitution with the suggested amendments.' No delegate was'forthcoming for tho Sydney conference.

PAHIATUA. The annual meeting of the Ballanco Dairy Company is to bo held, on August 30. The new Kaitawa cheese factory is expected to be finished by the end of the month, and will be ready "to receive milk in September. Mr. G. H. York, of Ballance, was given a farewell'social in tho Balanco Hall this week. Mr. York is an old resident,- who recently sold out here.

Brigadier Perry, of the Salvation Army, and his biorama company, arrived in Pahiatua on Tuesday, and gave an entertainment in the theatre in the evening. Although the weather was far from pleasant, there was a good attendance. - On Tuesday evening the weather turned Very cold, and on Wednesday' morning all the hills round Pahiatua-were coated with snow. The snow, however, did not reach the town levels. > ' • . A meeting of tho stewards of the. Wood-lands-Hunt Club '.was held in the. Commercial iHotel on Tuesday evening.: The balancosheeti showing a credit' of £43 65., was adopted. It was resolv«l in future to keep tho steeplechase meeting account separate from the Hunt Club account, and Messrs. S. V. Rodney and C. Arrow;, sen., Tyere appointed a Finance Committee for the steeplechase. For his'services during the past season, the secretary , (Mr.-A. 1 Weston) was voted £7 75., arid £2 2s. was also voted to Mr. G. Hawley-Drew, for his assistance at the recent steepkeha-se meeting. ' SHANNON. . , As a result of, the recent flood, some large' slips'have occurred on the Tokomaru Valley Road, the lower end (or portion that was regraded and widened by the Shannon Land and. Sawmilline Company) having slipped very badly. Thousands, of yards are. down, and in places the timber company have had to open a track to get their trucks through. Before a dray can pass, however, a considerable amount of "slip" will have to be removed. The contractors for this road have lost heavily, as over 4000 yards have come down. .' Mr. F. May, of this district, has returned from a visit to, the South. Island. • In spite of heavy rain, there was a good attendance at Mr. Gardner's Hall at'Moutoa on Friday night, when a concert was hold in aid'of the funds of the Moutoa School. A glee party,' organised by Mr. Galland, rendered duets and choruses. A humorous piece,. "Pushed it through the Window," in which Messrs. Saunders, Dudson, Pearce, and Galland took part, received a well-merited encore. The Misses Newth and Messrs. Dudson and Pearce contributed a humorous dialogue, "The Bashful Man;" Songs were also given by Miss Walden and Messrs. Galland and Pearce, and. a. recitation by Miss Nimmo. The accompanists were Messrs. Gijland and Walden. An enjoyable dance Mowed.-

• An interesting function took place in Gutning's store on Friday night, when Mr. W. H. Gunning presented Mr. F. W. Box with a bronze hanging lamp and pair of salt cellars on behalf of the staff of the firm, and a marble clock from Mrs. Gunning and himself. Mr. Box, who has been bookkeeper for tho firm for some yeaTS, is to be married shortly.

OTA EI. The annual meeting of the Otaki Lawn Tennis Club was held on Saturday night, Mr. "W. H. Simcox president) occupying the chair. There was only a moderat-e attendance of members. The report showed'a membership of 53, while tho balance-sheet indicated that the overdraft had been reduced to £11 6s. 7d. Tho following were elected office-bearers:—President, Mr.: W. H.. Simcox ; vice-presidents, Messrs. C. L. Hartmann and \V. M. Simcox; lion, secretary, Mr. A. 0. Piko; lion, treasurer, Mr. L. St. George; auditor, Mr. Frank Penn; committee, Messrs. P. Simcox, H. Nicolson, 0. J. D'Atli, and Rev. Mr. Smith. Votes of tlianks' wore 'accorded' the secretary and treasurer, and Mr. W. M. Simcox, for services during the season, The opening of the season wm flood {or October 9*