LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Feilding Star, Volume I, Issue 294, 18 June 1907, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The building trade is very brisk at Foxton, reports the Herald. The New. .Zealand Athletic Union has decided not to sanction any further matches between McLachlan and Day. A farmer in the Winton district is said to have actually received a cheque for £1200 for the grass seed grown on 80 acres of land this year. Mr R. F. Haybittle, late of Feilding, has disposed of his interest in the Masonic Hotel, Woodville, to Mr A. Laing, of Foxton. There is at present on exhibition in a chop window at Foxton a raamoth pumpkin, weighing nearly a hundredweight. The monster was grown at Foxton. We are convinced, says tho Wairarapa Daily Times, that the gentleman who disturbed the peace in the Garden of Eden was miscalled a serpent. He must have been a Union delegate from a neighbouring city ! For the Debating Society's Journal to-night, a number of capital papers have been received by the Editor, including a forecast of the Governor's speech at the forth-coming opening of the N.Z. Parliament. The public are cordially invited \to be present. The question has on more occcasions than one been put to us (says the Foxton Herald): "How is it that when a player at football either hurts his head, leg, arm, or other member, his club mates always rub his stomach?" This is a \vejl-known fact, but it is not in our power to answer. "The Supreme Court at Auckland was crowded yesterday morning, when Messrs J. A. Tole, F. E. Baume, and C. P. Skerrett were sworn in as King's Counsel by Mr Justice Denniston, who said that he thought the establishment in the colony of an Inner Bar was a matter for congratulation to the colony and the profession.

While removing a big bunch of bananas a Washington (U.S.A.) fruit dealer discovered a boa-constrictor more than six feet in length coiled round the stem of the bunch. A young man appeared in the dork ■-.:. i>i-csdrn, England, with his lorehtud obscured by what is popularly known as a fringe. "What's that on his forehead ?' T the magistrate asked. "Me 'air. fiiiv'n s ." the man replied. "H's u-!>i:t lii\v pall a •quiff,' sir," w;ii the explanation volunteered by the gaoler. A bird was seen to fall in the yard of the Works Department at Deal Barracks. It was a blue rock pigeon with an adder tightly coiled round it, and both were dead. The adder, which measured 2ft 6in, was twisted round the pigeon's neck and one wing, and the pigeon's beak tightly gripped the snake's head. Speaking to the Prohibition League at Christchurch, Mr T. B. Taylor said the United States drink bill . was exactly half that of the United Kingdom. "The explanation is simple," continued Mr Taylor; "it is because in the United States no ; barmaids are employed. It is the I barmaids that are responsible for the difference." ! A Swiudon photographer, while attempting to take a picture in one of - the streets, heard shouts, and on j withdrawing his head from the focussing cloth was surprised to see a cow charging dow« on him. While trying to clear himself and his camera :he foil and the cow missed him. It then made a dash for a bootmaker, who also fell, and the cow jumped 1 o^er him. The question of establishing a fog station on one of the Three Kings, North Auckland, is engaging the attention* of the Minister of Marine. Many shipmasters have been urging for some time that a lighthouse should be erected there, but the Minister thinks that a fog station would be preferable. The Hon. Mr Millar hopes that circumstances will permit of the erection of a lighthouse on some part of the New Zealand coast every two years. The cost of a firstclass lighthouse ranges from £8000 to £10,000. ' * Mr J. A. Pocklington, a cousin of Lord Curzon, has been found dead in his cabin in a vessel arriving at Vancouver. There was a bullet wound in the head, and the circumstances are reported to point to murder. The Evening Sun states that 1 the Duke of Portland was Mr Pocklington's godfather. The relationship between Mr Pocklin£ton and Lord Curzon is traced through Lord Curzon's mother who was a daughter of Mr Joseph Pocklington, afterwards known as Mr Pocklington-Senhouse, of Netherhall, Cumberland. : Mr Bert Hall, an old New Zealand miner, is enthusiastic regarding the value of the copper deposits in the Woodville district. Mr Hall, Avho has a thorough practical knowledge of gold, copper, silver and tin in lode and alluvial ; has just paid a visit to the Woodville district, and remarked to an Age reporter: — "Why, you have untold wealth in those hills, and if a little capital were laid out in prospecting you might unearth a second Mt. Lyell (Tasmania), where thousands of tons of copper are won monthly, as well as gold and silver." The Minister of Justice intends to submit to Parliament a proposal to increase the pay of members of the Police Force. It is understood that this step is .being taken on the ' recommendation of the Commission--1 er (Mr Dinnie), who considers that owing to the increased cost of liv- ; ing, and the increase of duties cast i upon the police, the time has arrived when an addition should be made !to their pay. Under the present ! scale constables receive from 7s to 9s per day, sergeants from 11s 6d to 13s, and detectives from 9s 6d to 14s 6d. It is the intention of the Minister to make a similar proposal with reference to the pay o! prison warders. • The backwoods of Australia were shown on the stage of the London Hippodrome, to th© delight of the Hon. Thomas Bent, the Premier of \ ictoria, who was among the audicue©. Two champion axemen and ' giant tree-fellers — Messrs Jackson I and McLaren — assisted by red-shirted ; colonial woodmen, gave a realistic j , exhibition of "bush clearing." The i trees were imported from the Anti- , pode's, and the two men sawed i through a "messmate" trunk almost 'a« quickly ns cliP"se is cut. Then, ! with swift swinging axes they cut i tlowv two trees of equal girth withii) j tinea seconds of one another as an I o'ibition of colonial strength and endurance. A special meeting of the Colonists' Association at Nairobi unanimously rc--.lec.tccl Captain Grogan president. { AVhon Captain Grogan was recently { sentenced to a month's imprisonment for publicly flogging before the court house three natives who had insulted white women, he resigned his i position on the association. The members by their vote to-day exprest sed their approval of his action. The aso-iatioii also requested the Acting Commissioner to forward to the Colonial Secretary the following resolu- i tion :— " The Colonists' Association of British East Africa contends that the local administration turned the flogging incident into a most unscrupulous political persecution. Your lordship's statement in the House of Lords j on April 11 that Captain Grogan col-lec-tixl upwards of 100 Europeans, m.m.y of whom wero armed, before flogging the natives, is an unwitting but gross libel on this community at large, and we request that a board of enquiry he appointed from home to enquire into this and other pressing grievances." Some interesting views on preach- ! ing were expressed the other day by | a Sydney clergyman, the llev. J. Fergusson. "I have no great faith in music," said Mr Fergusson. "I can't sing, so perhaps I am prejudiced. 1 put preaching above all choirs and organs and bands. We don't want people who say things can't be done. I would order them out to Bqndi Beach, and make them sing their dirges to the sad sea waves. (Laughter.) We don't want a minister to lie in bed and think Providence will' fill his church. No! Providence has more sense than that, j (Laughter.) A minister should build up a morning congregation, for a moi iiing congregation provides the j sinews of war. To do this he must go into the homes of the people. He must know their fireside cat and the tongs and the kettle. (Loud laughter.) Then he must keep in mind the carnal things, and the carnal things to the morning congregation are the one o'clock dinner, the trainß, and j the steamboats. If you make a congregation miss its train you will be written down in its blackbooks. j (Laughter.) ' Sermons should be judi- ! ciously short. I believe in the short ! sermon. They are harder to make, but easier to preach. You stop when you're done, and blessed is the preacher who knowß when he is done." (Loud laughter.) A New Zealand girl ; who is now in England, and who is gifted with great powers of observation, has written some graphic descriptions of male attire. As they should be of interest to the many men who peruse this letter, I will give a few of her notes on the garb of university men. Oxford, to begin with: Sky-blue shirt, and soft, white collar. The shirt was flecked with green, puce colored tie, with primrose stripes, knitted red and black waistcoat, olive green suit, trowsers turned up three inches at the bottom, black socks, with many blue clocks, and yellow shoes, a green handkerchief, Paisley pattern, worked in red and blue, with a wide blue border! The Cambridge man called on us next day. He wore a claretcolored suit, shot with purple. If you look in th© 'Lady ."'February blouse number colored platb, you will find the style of his sleeves— narrow, turned-up cuff, profusely trimmed with buttons; white, cloth waistcoat with yellow stripes, with three buttons undone. The one-button craze has quite gone out. Magenta socks, with inch-wide white stripes running round. Boots have quite gone out since haigh-art socks came in. Perhaps, it is rather an indelicate subject, but is necessary to mention that suspenders must be worn to prevent any misunderstanding aft to the width of the stripes. This resplendent creature crowned every thing with a perfectly round bowler hat, crammed well over both ears.

Miss Brassey, a relative of Lord Brassey, was killed by a motor-car « near Malpas, Cheshire, on April 29. c The motor-oar, which belonged to a Liverpool merchant, had travelled from Stratford -on-Avon, and at Malpas Miss Brassey's favourite dog was in danger of being run ov«r by the approachipg car. Miss Brassey, seeing tho dog's peril, rushed into the road and tried to rescue the animal. The driver of the oar saw her, and at once applied the brakes, but the mudguard caught her, and she was knocked down. -Medical aid was summoned, but Miss Brassey died shortly afterwards from her injuries. In the House of Commons Sir E. Grey informed Mr Bowles that an offer of £1,037,000 by Messrs Aird for the raising of the Assouan Dam by over twenty-five feet had been accepted. The raising of the dam will increase its capacity from 1,303,400 cubic yards to 3.059,000 cubic yards. The new land brought under cultivation by the increase in the water supply will measure 950,000 acres, or roughly 1,500 square miles. It will be capable of producing a cotton crop worth £4,000,000 every year. The sale value of the lands supplied by the reservoir has increased by £724,---510,000 since the dam was made. It will now be increased to £728,500,000. One thing in connection with the drinking water for cows is often overlooked—that is the temperature. Let us remember that food is fuel inasmuch as it is consumed for the production of heat, a cow kept warm by rugging requires less food, or is able to use more of her ration for the production of milk or beef. So when a cow in winter weather is given access to ice-cold water for drinking, a portion of her food ration is used to heat the water, or, in other words, to* restore the body ten<}:erature which has been lowered by its means. The means for taking the chill off the drinking water will vary according to varying circumstances, but it is a matter worth keeping in mind in cold districts and winter weather. Shorehain, England ,has sustained a double disaster — the bursting of +^c canal bank and the escape to sea of its entire supply of oysters, computed at 150,000. These mishaps, following as they do on the partial collapse of the locks on April 16, have filled the townspeople with despair. The damage to the canal bank can be repaired, but the scattered oysters are beyond recovery. The tragedy happened thus : It was considered advisable, with the present spring tides, to reduce the pressure against the lock gates by making an outlet in the canal bank. The force of the water was so great, however, that the bank burst, and the water, finding its way to sea, carried with it all the oysters from the beds. In Dublin, at the Irish National Exhibition, New Zealand has a court that should catch the eyes of visitors. "The New Zealand section," says the Irish Times, "covers an area of 3000 square feet. Scheduled with special care by the Department of Industries and Commerce, a large and varied collection of exhibits is intended to serve the twofold purpose of illustrating the colony's resources and of advocating her claim to a position of still further enhanced value and influence in the markets of the Home countries, while, moreover, bringing her natural attractions under the closer observation of the sportsmen and tourist. Every available foot has been turned to the utmost account." At about a quarter to 12 o'clock h.st night (says the Times), the silence that brooded over Lambton quay was broken by a series of sharp, loud leports, like the sound of rifle shots. In the impression that a thrilling tragedy was being enacted, several constables and many civilians dashed from adjoining streets and converged upon the spot whence seemed to come the reports. An alley-way was soon found, and a search party proceeded to investigate. By this time the concussions had ceased. The searchers stumbled over sundry boxes and straggled up dark stairs in a vain endeavour to locate the origin of their excitement. Presently a window high up in an adjoining building opened. A head was pushed out, and a voice asked "What's the matter?" On being informed, he calmly told the searchers that a gas engine had just been repaired, and a trial was being made. Then the head withdrew. As the search party dispersed, many of them, found that they had missed "the last car" in their eager search for tragedy. There is a quaintness in some of the letters sent by Maoris to the Truant Offioer (Mr Small) to explain the absence of their children from school. One recently received commences: "Dear Mr Smak," — but whether this is merely an error, or a quiet poke at the Truant Officer, it is hard to say — " I have received your letter saying that I have to pay 10s a week for four weeks for the absence of (Pare) at school. I think there is no trouble for being absence, because I wrote to the teacher, telling him that (Pare) is very uick, and she not coming back to school fcr about two months. She, the people where she stayed told me she had not eaten anything for 2 weeks, arcl she has also been absence at scLool for a week. I came back from the bush, and her auntie told me about it, and I went to see her, and she began to cry to me. She can go back to school when she get better. Ihe way she got sick because she v. as very soi - ry to us, and she is going back to school again because she is better now. I think you must not summon me for the absence of (Pare) because shp could not go to sclool us she was sick ; besides I told the teacher, that's why I say there is no trouble. So good-bye for all the time. — Auckland Star. An occurrence at the Balmain Eisteddfod on a recent evening might, says the Sydney Telegraph, have created a sensation but for the nerve of the competing vocalists. The usam choral contest of the day was on, and the Whitefield Church Choir, ci : Sydney, were singing "Be not Afra;u, from "Elijah. Tho contraltos hs'l reached the solo passage— "Though thousands languish and fall beside thee, and tens of thousands aroui.cl thee perish," when one Df their fro.il row was seen to sway to and iro, ar.a piesently fall heavily on her face on the very edge of the stage. Thcic was a subdued murmur of excitement among the audience, and several committee men rushed forward, pulled the prostrate young woman from among the feet of her sister Tr>r;i ? »\-. 4 :., and carried her to an ante-rooiu. Bat the conductor's baton flashed on without a moment's pause, aud tho siufers folb.ved it without hesitation ; he sopranos declared that "Though thousands fall, etc.." and the tenors and basses shouted the same sentiment. All ended happily i for th« young lady was soon all right again, and the choir won the competition, the audience wildly cheering this appropriate result of their nerve and obedience to discipline One of the most popular forms of opposition invective in Australian 'Parliaments — probably in all Parliaments — is to declare that Ministers are trampling out the last vestiges of popular liberty by using their tyrannical majority to stifle free speech. The Ministerial retort, as will be found on thousands of pages of "Hansard," is that the Opposition are systematically wasting time, and are trying to baulk the enactment of laws for which the country is languishing. Mr Speaker drowsily listens to this line of argument in a spirit of helpless resignation. .But the Methodist Conference seems to hay© a wonderfully different conception of the proprieties of debate (says the Sydney Morning Herald). At a business Session a few days ago Mr Lonßdale, who has been a member of both the State and Federal Parliaments, used the Parliamentary form of objection to the limitation of debate, a motion having been put as the result of the closure. He said he objected to the Conference being ruled by a " tyranny of members." Such an expression in the peaceful precincts of the Centenary Hall had the effect of a thunderclap. There were loud cries of "Oh," and the President Rev. W. 'Williams) laid down the Conference law upon the subject. " We are not accustomed to hear such words in the Conference," he declared, "however common they may be in other assemblies, ana I hope that the expression, so far as the Conference is concerned, will die at its birth." ' ,

A Taranaki dairy factqry manager gives it as his opinion tfyat the best crossbred cow is the Jeifeey-Holstein of the first cross. Where it is possible to do it, he considers that five or six purebred Jersey-Holstein cows should be kept in order to secure the first cross heifers to maintain the standard of the herd, A good shearing average is reported by Mr J. Leahy, secretary or the Australian Machine Shearers' Union. He states that on April 25th fortyfour shearers and six labourers shore at Northampton Downs, in Queensland, 6980 sheep. The ringer cut 214 sheep, and the average works out at 150 sheep per man. Pig-raising and poultry farming are rapidly developing round Eltham (says the Argus). Many farmers along the Finnerty road report haying added a fair amount to their income by means of these adjuncts to the general business. The rearing of ducks also pays when well attended to, and a Finnerty road lady who started the season with a pair of the Indian Runner breed now has thirty on the farm, besides having used and sold a fair number of eggs. This lady's experience has proved that once the ducks start laying they! are generally good to lay regularly for nine months. The following letter from an eleven-year-old pupil at the Ruahine. school was read at the Education Board meeting : —Ruahine, June sth, 1907. — Mr Braik, Chief Inspector, ot Schools, Wanganui. — Dear Sir, — I have the honour to send you an account of our first season's gardening. We did not grow a large variety of vegetables because we are unable to grow delicate plants like the tomato, French bean and pumpkin, on account of our frosty climate. The vegetables we grew were : cabbage, cauliflowers, lettuces, swedes, parsrips, carrots, mangolds, turnips, peas and onions. Next year we shall try potatoes. We have dug up the plots of grass which we had for two years, . and in the same place we have some apple trees nearly ready f<<r grafting. We grew the following flowers : Anemone, Aquilega fcoiumbine), Myosotis (forget-me-not), Pansies,. Ten Week Stock, Asters, Carnations, Larkspurs, Oriental Popj>y, Sweet William, Salpi-glossis, Mignonette, Phlox Drummandi, Coreopsis Drumuiondi, Schizanthua Priraatus, Cornflower, Miniature Sunflower*. Lobelia, Marigold, Pinks, Harebell, Daisies, and Flowering Currants and Daffodils. This year we bought some new Daffodil bulbs and are going to learn their names. We get plenty of hard spellings from our gardens. By-and-bye we shall send you an account of our weather. At present I must write no more. — I am, your obedient pupil, May McCormick.