PROVINCIAL CENTRES.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 899, 19 August 1910, Page 2

PROVINCIAL CENTRES.

(From Our oocelal CorreSDOHdcntß.! OTAKI. An inquest was held on Tuesday after- • noon concerning the death of Ma. Jean Jams, who expired suddenly at Mr. Kel« ■ son's residence, Waikanue, on the preoed* ' ing (!Vonin;<... Jl was stated in evidence ' that deceased had been paying a brief , visit to friends, and had been seized by a fit from which she never fully rallied. Dr. Huthwaite Ktated that sl death was " due to heart failure, and a verdict was - returned accordingly. Deceased was pre- , viously resident in Wellington and Wa. ngar.ui, and was only 2C> years of age. Her mother resides in Christchurch. It is stated that an altercation look . place on tlie outskirts of. the: town ■ on Wednesday between a Chinese and 'a resident of the vicinity. Blows eventuated, and ultimately a chain was used, : in consequence of which one of the parties received a blow that terminated tho fracas. ■ On Monday night a meeting will be held for tho purpose 'of going into the facts and figures of the proposed borough. Messrs. Torapsitt, Skerman, and Judd are the conveners, and are sanguine of sue- ' cess. On the last occasion, when tho. movement was sot on foot, there wto .. strong opposition on -account of ■ farm - lands being included, but it is under- ' stood that this stumbling-block has been removed. FEILDINb. Tile boom iu boxing has reached I'eilaing, and a meeting was held ::i\'!io Oddfellows' Hall, this lveSk to set up the' necessary machinery for controlling and promoting the sport in this district, lie jUayor (Mr. r;. Uoodbeliere) , presided. The chiet speaker, .Mr. ChasJ. Carr, waa supported by Messrs. E. Cobbe, T. ,Y. Letnbridge, and L. A. Elliott. It wa£ unanimously resolved to fori a Feildina* Boxing Association, and 81 .promises of membership were giveu. Mr. W. 11. Walker was elected secretary pro tern,' and Messrs. C. Curr, 11. Cobbe,'J. Graham, L. A. Elliott, A. M. Ongley, A. J„ Kuril, C. Selby, G. H. Saywoll,, and; Hamer were elected a committee, i . '

A successful "social,", held in connection with the opening of St. John's new Parish Hull in Weld Street," Fcilding, on Tuesday night,'was very well attended. SHANNON. , "Before the Mast ' Fifty Tears Ago"" was the title of an address delivered by Mr. F. W. .Venn in the Druids' Hall on' Tuesday night,' aiid'it was certainly'the' most interesting to which the members of the Literary ' and ' Debating ■ Society, have listened'for somo time. The lecturer stressed the danger to the Empire arising from the:large proportion, of aliens that at vpresent .man 'the- mercantile marine. According to the.Board of Trade : returns, ■' there were: 40 or 50 per cent., of foreigners in : the .British meruantilo service., These .figures, however, wero entirely misleading..: It was a wellknown fact that every;alien on- a British merchant ship liked to state that he was a Britisher, and the merchant princes had tbeir own: reasons for. .• encouraging this fiction. The speaker gave -instances ■from his own experience of this tendency of aliens to call themselves British, from the Chinaman in,Hong-Kong, who,,when asked which part of .China-he. : .hailed from,.indignantly replied "Me no Chinaman. Me Blitish"! to the coal-black negro who claimed, and fully believed, that he was the first -"white'' man ■in a certain part of the British Empire. Mr. Venn dwelt on the old truism that if a foreign' navy got command of tho • sea for ono month the Empire would fall to pieces liko a pack of cards. In time of war the aliens-would desert the British! fillips, whereas' if the mercantile" muriuu was manned by mariners of British stock they would get food and supplies through by some means or other even if a blockade was established. Mr, Venn went on to describe his first voyage before .tho mast in 1806, when they took thirty days to go from Gravesend to the lizard light, and. reached Auckland in tho "remarkably fast time" at that period of Ui. days.. For, a large part |of.. the .voyage, it was :a.;caso of "tack.and; \ tack," "pump 'and puihp,"'"' continually, until tho sailors mutinied in \the Bay of Biscay. There was five feet-of water in the hold,.and it'swished through"'theseams with every roll, ■.:The sailors.were. be' cajoled iby-revolvers-or belaying/pins. Fortunately ;.the' passenger's;.:.turned ■, to and-putan end\tb.t&,'mu.tiny,;and-sail-ors ahd.ipasscngersvthen-'manned the pumps together. Mr .""Venn compared the accommodation provided for passengers in tho early, days with the present high standard of comfort. He described the routes to the Old Country, which, when the Panama ,Canal opens,-will .number nine, most of whicli he. has . travelled himself. The speaker was accorded a very hearty round. of applause for his address. In an impromptu debate that followed Miss Moody Bell, Messrs. Gibb, Gunning, Clayton, and others took part

GREYTOWN.' ' r ';...- The iCGOOO gasworks loan . proposal was carried by 152 votes, to 110. There are .383 votes on the.r'oll, and the. poll created a good deal of interest. ■ '» - EKETAHUNA. ' ' ' The Nireaha settkrs will tender tha Nireaha Football Club a complimentary "social" on Wednesday evening, nest, in hondur of the team winning tha 1 Bush Districts Senior Championship.,-.;.-The Eketahuna County Council has instructed its;engineer • to'.-, ascertain tho probable, cost'of a new steel bridge to span 'the Makakahi River on the road between Eketalnum aiid Newman. : Mr. W, M. Tregonning, the local postmaster, has been confined to his room for the past few days. Mr.- M'lntosh, of Mastertpn,-is acting us relieving postmaster. . .'• '.''■' '■'.'' ' ; At a 'public 'niEeting held at Hamua the existing mail service was discussed, and it was resolved to approach the authorities with the object of securing a daily mail service between Hukanui and Hamua. . Tho first Morris Tube match, under the auspices of the Eketahuna Mounted Rifles, was held on Monday evening, when sixteen members/look part.' Competitions are to bo held weekly. ,' : ■' .. A good deal is being heard of the posed Mastorton to Wuipukurau light lino of railway to tap the country on the East Coast. Eketahuna is a strong rival of Maslerton for the terminus, and ■ its claims have much.to commend them. The result of the vote which is being taken by tho JSlastertou County Council as to whether ratepayers in the Alfredton Riding of.that comity are favourable to seceding and joining ili with Eketahuna is awaited with interest, and it is' confidently expected that u fairly large iua-' jority will favour the proposal. On a 'previous occasion a majority petitioned tho Mastorton'County Council, asking to be allowed to join in with Eketahuna,but as the- petitioners' valuation did not represent half the .total value or tho Riding this request was not acceded to.