LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Feilding Star, Volume I, Issue 198, 22 February 1907, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mr A. Matheson, manager of the Bank of New Zealand, leaves Feild-» ing next month on a trip home. . The New Zealand Rifle Associa- j tion's annual meeting will open at i Trentham next week. j With this issue we present our subscribers with a neat pamphlet illustrated, containing a full record j of the Feilding show and ram fair. Mr P. F. Muir, secretary of tho "Wellington Tailors' Union, was a visitor to Feilding yesterday, in ! connection with matters relating t" tho trade. Mr 11. Dickin, formerly chairman of the Pohaugina County Council, who had to undergo an operation at Palmerston recently, is well enough to return to his home at Colyton. We have received some delicious samples of eating mars from Mr Weightman; of Awahuri, of the Bon Cretan and Dr. Tules Guyot variety. *ye congratulate Mr Weightman on the good fruit ho is able to produceTho manager of the Manawatu Timber Co., speaking to the Borough Council last night, said his company wero paying £70 a year rates on a piece of ground for which they were paying £42 a year rent. This was on account of the high valuation placed on the ground, which he had opposed before, and would oppose again. A very painful accident occurred at Birkenhend, Auckland, the other day. A young man named Percival Stewart, was experimenting with a detonator, when it suddenly exploded, with tho result that the tops of two of the fingers and thumb of his l;-ft hiiiul wore shattered. Dr. Player amputated the fingers at the first joint. The Osimaiu Mail learus that at least one sheepbreeder in that disttict has made arrangements to ship his flock to Australia, having obtained grazing for them there for six months. Other sheepowners, though they are not looking so far afield, are also seeking pasturage for their flocks, some in Southland, others northwards. There are close upoii 30,000 sheep in the Feilding yards to-day, for the sheep fair of the Manawatu Auctioneers Association, Gorton and Son's entry alone being 10,000. This tonstitues the largest yarding of sheep in the history of stock sales here. At the sale, buyers from the whole Coast are present, and bidding in brisk, and prices firm. Stock owners and agents arc finding great difficulty in obtaining trucks to send away their sheep. There is a shortage of rolling stock all along the line. This may be partly owing to the slaughtermen's strike, but, at the same time, the Railway authorities are not increasing their number of trucks fast enough in proportion tc the growth of the stock raising industry. There was a fair muster at the Government parade of the Manchester l?ifles, held last night. After tho> company was inspected tlio men were marched out and instructed in attack and- -defence by Capt. Barltfop, the sections ,'«' ing in command of the non-commissioned officers. On v "turning to tho Drill Hall the compsiny was put through rifle and firing exorcises by the Captain. The Fire Brigade's application fo! the half-yearly grant, made to tli€ Feilding Borough Council last night, was refused, on the ground that the i?lant had not yet been vested in the Council, and that under present circumstances the iirigade Could use the money in any way they thought tit. When tho plant has been vested in the Council, tho probable course of action will bo for the Horough to buy plant, instead of giving the money to the Fire Brigade for that purpose. Our lialvnmho correspondent writes: — Kather an amusing ca.so ironi this locality will bo heard at the IVilding Court shortly. It is underolikhl tint n luiiy whom it is uli(>g^d took "FrejicJi )cn ye" of a farincr's paddock for her cows to graze in, will l)o asked to explain why she rescurd them when they were impounded on the farm in question, why she ••v,iasliod the gate to matchwood and v hat reasonable excuse she can give for assaulting the owner of the paddock. Our Saudon correspondent writes: — A hoi. so was put up by auction at the local pound yesterday by Mr M. (looil, the Poundkeeper. Mr G. Good, the highest bidder, got it knocked down to him at £2 2s 6d. — The Wesloyan Sunday School picnic was held yesterday afternoon on Mr Jas. A'Court's farm. The weather was most unfavourable, and they found the ground far too moist to enjoy outside .sport; but the promoters, the Rev. Ellis, Mr and Mrs A'Court and Mi and Mrs Anderson, lr.anaged very ably to entertain the children with inside games, and gave them a sple^ulid spread before going illHllC, Everything is well in hand for the. Waituna Sports Athletic Meeting on March Gth, and judging by the way tho nominations aro coining in, the neeting promises to bo a record one. The Australian I uck-jumpers will give se/eial performances on the giounds, and as they challenge anyone, it ought to be a good opportunity for some of our local riders to show their tenacity to tho pigskin. The ground is in fine order, thanks to a hard working committee. A dance will be held in tho evening in Mr Barr's shed, kindly lent for the j occasion. The public aro reminded that nominutions closo by the evening mail on 25th inst. | Pearl Axup, victim of the Wellington shooting tragedy, was born i:; Grey town seven teen years ago (says tho Wairarapa News). Her father, Xfr v Walter A*xup, was manager for Mr J. Cotter for about ten years, and left Gveytown six years ago t.; take up farming at Kata, Rangitikei. Of late misfortune has dogged the laniily. About two years ago Mi s Axup was smashed up in a combine accident and spent nine months in tho hospital. Eight months ago tinman ho placed in charge of his farm died, aud as Mr Axup was enfeebled by the accident and subsequent sickness a boarding-house business was acquired in Wellington. On top of all comes the death of tho girl under tragic circumstances. Pearl Axup, oyen as a small girl, was a popiilar rider at the shows in the Rangitikei district, and was fearless in her management of horses. Her shocking death has created a painful sensation in those districts where she is best known. The site upon which the Feilding Borough Council Chambers stanl was granted to the Borough by the Colonists' Land and Loan Coipora. tion, subject to a deed of trust that the- Council should erect and maintain the borough officers upon the site. This meant that in the event of the Council desiring in future to remove their offices to any other locality, the land would revert to the Land and Loan Corporation. As a consequence, the land has always appeared in the Council's balance-sheet as a contingent asset, and it was imp« ssible for the Council to do anything with it. For some time an effort has been made to remove the restrictions, and the Land and Loan Corporation have now agreed, upon the Council executing a deed to indemnify them against any action that might be brought against them lin consequence of the remcval of such restrictions. The Council, by affixing their seal to this indomnity, which they resolved to do last night, secure a clear title to the land. This practically means a clear gain of £1000 to the borough.

Tho advertisement in reference to tho presentation at Mrs Taylor's on Saturday was inserted by mistake in yesterday's issue. The gathering is a private our. An. application was before the Feilding Borough Council last night for permission to connect two houses with one drain, notwithstanding the application had been refused by the Engineer and Health Inspector, and was against the by-laws. The Council refused the application point blank, and passed a resolution to the effect that their by-laws affecting sewerage would be strictly adhered to. Mr J. O. Wilson, of Bullb, President of the Farmers' Union, in reference to a denial by the Gear Meat Company of having communicated with him, asking him to appeal to branches to supply volunteer butchers, states that he received an urgent wire on the 15th inst., from an official of the W.M.E. Company, apI pealing for volunteers, and, taking ! for granted that both companies ■ were acting in concert, he in his i turn made use of the words, "meat ; companies," instead of "Meat Export Companies." i Mr Gordon M'Beth, son of the , chief postmaster in Christchurch, spent Christmas in London with another New Zealander, Mr B. W. Burnett, of Wanganui. Mr M'Beth is studying music in Leipzig, whither lie went from New Zealand in April of last year. Ho had the good fortune to be placed under Herr Leichmuller, a noted teacher of the pianoforte in the Conservatorium of Music. During the summer vacation lie travelled through Germany and Belgium, and finished up with a fortnight in London. Mr M'Beth expects to return to New Zealaifd some time in 1908. ; Mr F. W. Bills, a well-known resident of Otaki, died in that town last Wednesday night. Mr Bills was a son of one of the -original pioneers of Wellington, and was born in this city fifty-eight years ago. His life was passed on the West Coast of this island as drover, horse-dealer, hotelkeeper, storekeeper, and farmer. He was a good stamp of the hardy pioneer, who laughed at troubles and made his way by a steady belief in will and willingness. Mr Bills leaves a wile and a son and daughter, all of whom are living in Otaki. Another old Otaki resident", Mrs Jenkins, relict of tho late Mr William Jenkins, is also dead. Clarence Skellern, an enginedriver employed in the Taupiri Extended Mine, met with a serious accident the other day (says the Auckland Star). He was turning the valve of the engine, which supplies an endless rope with steam, when the valve broke clean off at the neck, its weight and sudden fracture pulling him down into the steam, which scorched him terribly all over the face and body. The steam escaped with such force that Skellern's clothes were blown to threads, even his braces and waistcoat being in pieces. Skellern also received a deep cut on the face, necessitating stitching. He was able to stagger from the engine. Temporary remedies having been appMed, he was carried to Dr. Bronte, who soon attended to his injuries, r-nd ordered liis removal to the Hamilton Hospital. Though suffering excruciating torture Skellern is as well as can be expected. "Have you been branded?" This was a frequently-heard question at the Masterton Show. The local Agricultural and Pastoral Association, like the Manawatu Association, had devoted some attention to solving the problem of passing season ticket-holders through the gates on more than one occasion each day of the show. It had been found that the season ticket was being transferred and tho privilege abused. The Masterton Association decided that at this year's show it would try a system of branding the hand or arm of the passer-out with a rubber stsimp containing a large "A" in a circle, the mark being made with indoliblo ink. Ladies found the operation awkward and embarrassing, for tho brand did not look pleasant on tho back of a shapely hand, it was destructive upon gloves, and some patrons preferred the alternative — paying on© shilling for re-ad-mission. Men took the branding operation with laughter or with observations by no means complimentary to tho Association. But it was tho enterprising small boy who revelled in tho innovation — and incidentally ended the experiment. For ono brand on ono boy was found to In capable of transfer to seven other boys! Adults also took delight in impressing a transfer of tho brand from their own to the backs of the hands of eommitteemon, "just to show you, old, boy, that you have not solved your j.iobloin!" — Post. rrn •awTrarrTimrmiwm-