FEILDING ITEMS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVI, Issue 122, 21 November 1908, Page 9

FEILDING ITEMS.

[Bt Telegbaph. — Special to Th_ Post.} FEILDING, This Day. Mr. Birch, of the Wellington Gas Co., had a look bound Feilding yesterday, en route for Wanganui, where he has gone to inspect some pipes that are being manufactured there for the extensions of Wellington's mains. Farmers and everybody else who had Bhearing under way were delighted to get some rain on Thursday and yesterday; the pity is that there was not enough of the rain. There was a large crowd of country people in town yesterday for the weekly marketing and stock sales. The- latter vero very successful. Mr. S. J. Carman, who had to resign from the Kiwitea County Council, of which body he was chairman-y-orie of the best in the Dominion — is lying very ; ill in Feilding. At the annual show of the Feilding Horticultural Society yesterday, an exWellington, Mrs. Fred Billman, scored numerously, and her wina included the championship rose. There was a particularly strong showing of roses. {PBEBB ABBOOL*.TIOK.I FIRE IN INVERCARGILL. INVERCARGILL, 20th November. N Hlie photographic studio and residence of Mr. W. Cameron, at Winton, were destroyed by fire. The insuranceon the building is £325 in the commercial Union Office ; on furniture and stock £300 in the Alliance. Th© loss is estimated at £300 above tha insurance. CHARGE OF THEFT. ' INVERCARGILL, 20th November. Reginald Day, late secretary of the I Charitable Aid Board, was charged at tho Police Court with theft of money* belonging to th© board, amounting to £234-. Counsel for the board stated that further charges were pending. Accused was remanded till Wednesday, in bail of £200. A BRAZEN MENDICANT. DUNEDIN, This Day. At the Police Court, Paul Henry Mercier, for passing himself oft' as deai and dumb, and partially paralysed, and imposing on people as such, was sent to gaol for three months. SUPREME COURT CASES. CHIUSTCHURCH, 20th Nov. At the Supreme Court to-day, Robert Baxter was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for a criminal assault. Henry Scrimshaw, an old man of 72, was sentenced to two years' imprisonment, and Alexander Johnston, 61 years of age, received a sentence of 12 months on similar charges. John William Taht, a Christchurch, builder, was acquitted on a charga of obtaining a loan of £50 by means of false pretences. He admitted two breaches of the Bankruptcy Act by contracting debts of £82 12s Id, and £270, when h» had no reasonable pros,pect of paying the same. He was sentenced to three months' imprisonment rwithout hard labour. HOTEL DESTROYED. HOKITIKA, 21st November. Shortly- after midnigirt the- Empire Hotel, one of the oldest established hostelries on the West Coast, was completely I burned down. For- some time the Union Steam Ship Company's offices, the-Bank of New Zealand, and the Town Hall •were in imminent danger. Thanks to fcke efficiency of -the new w»fcer_ supply, the fire >was confined to its original outbreak. The insurances, so far as known, are : £750 on the- building, and £500 on , tho furniture, all in tho Manchester office. ) SELLING LIQUOR AT ASHBURTON ASHBURTON, 20th November. Charles Nolan was to-day convicted and fined £10 and costs for selling a "bottle of whisky. The evidence showed that tho defendant gava th» purchaserwhisky worth 8s in exchango for a watch valued at 30s. AN HOTEL THEFT. GORE, 20th November. A thief went through the clothes of four boarders in tho Southland Hotel last night, and secured about twenty pounds. Fortunately he missed a sovereign purse containing a similar amount. SUDDEN DEATH. CHRISTCHURCH, 20th Nov. J. Lilly, an elderly man and a fruiterer at Sydenhanii ..died .suddenbj, E ne ft

attending a sale of fruit to-day. He fell down in the auction room. Medical assistance failed to restore him. MORE PREPARATIONS ON THE ' NIMROD. CHRISTCHURCH, 20th Nov. The Nimrod is quickly getting deeper in the water, and last evening, when she had finished taking in coal, she was drawing over 15ft of water forward. The vessel has taken in about 260 tons of coal— so tons of Blackball and the balance Westport. This has been trimmed and levelled off in the holds preparatory to taking in stores. A start will be made this morning with the work of loading the stores and provisions and supplies of clothing, and as there are now only ten working days left, a very busy time is in store for the officers and those responsible for the loading of the vessel. Captain Evans, however, anticipates no difficulty in having everything ready in time to enable the vessel to sail for Antarctica on Ist December. Mr. Michell, surgeon of the BTimrod, who returned from ( a visit to Sydney a fortnight ago, is at 'present on a* walking tour in the Milford Sound district, and is expected to return about 24th November. A TAKANAKI OIL COMPANY. NEW PLYMOUTH, 20th Nov. The Inglewood Oil Boring and Prospecting Company has decided to increase the capital to £15,000 by the issue of 2500 preferential shares of £2 each, and to prospect certain properties in the Mokau district. The report of Mr. N. C. Cochrane, F.G.S., is favourable, but not at all enthusiastic, as to prospecting, which he favours rather than bores in the neighbourhood of New Plymouth. ' MOSGIEL WOOLLEN FACTORY COMPANY. DUNEDIN, 20th Nov. The annual 'meeting of the Mosgiel Woollen Factory Company was held today. The directors reported that the demand for the company's manufactures was in excess of the supply, and arrangements had been made for additions to the buildings and machinery, costing £3500. The profit for the year was £7784 16s lOd. The directors recommended a dividend of five per cent. The balance carried forward was £866 3s 6d. The report was adopted. The retiring directors, Mr. J. Roberts, and the Hon. T. Fergus, were re-elected.