LOCAL AND GENERAL

Feilding Star, Issue 352, 24 August 1907, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL

. The Dominion, the new Wellington morning newspaper, will be published about the third week in September. , We regret to learn that Mr G. < Boddy, who is in charge of the Umutoi Post Office, is seriously ill. ; The death of Mr J. Beauchamp, : for 13 years photographic operator , for Mr F. M. Bunting at Palmers- ' ton North, occurred at the Palmerston Hospital yesterday. : Lord Strathcona, who, at eighty-si:*, ia in magnificent health, is a believer in simple living, and pins his faith to porridge as a staple food for a hardworking man. I It is suggested that the Wellington Rugby Union should "bar" the Petone Club teams to some of the j grades, so as to give the Empire ! City a chance of winning a champion- : ship of some sort. The selectors ' manage it fairly well in the rep. teams, a la Palmerston and Feilding. i . A man named Rolfe. about 70 years of age, died suddenly at Apiti yesterday afternoon, from heart diseaseSome months ago deceased came over from Sydney with his family of grownup sons, who took up farms in the Apiti district. It was known to the family that the old man had a weak heart, and that he might succumb at any time. Before Messrs R. Burne and John Cobbe, J.'sP., at the Feilding Court this morning Samuel Kingsbury, on a charge of drunkenness on the Kail-, way platform, was fined 10s. William Randall was charged with disorderly conduct while drunk, and with using obscene language in Manchestersquare. He was convicted and discharged on the first offence, and on the second he was convicted and sentenced to seven days' imprisonment in 'almerston gaol.

In reply to Palnierston's request for £10,000 for a Technical School, the Minister has offered £1 for £1 up to £3500. The Auckland representative football team passed through Feilding on the express train yesterday afternoon, en route to Wellington and the South Island. An intoxicated passenger was put off the down express train at Feilding yesterday afternoon, and was taken in charge by Constable Sweeney. The ex-pupils of the Bulls State School held their second annual reunion last night. A good time was spent, and a large gathering participated. Among those present was Mr J. Coyle, Clerk of the Pohangina County Council. "Bliine," remarked a witness at the Christchurch Court this week, when I giving evidence in a case of a young I man driving a motor car recklessly, "I'd bet ten to one that he would run into the cyclist." It was a | sporting event. If he had a run I his motor car inter me like he did | inter the bike I'd broke his jaw!" Writing on the question of audit of local bodies' accounts, the Wairarapa Times suggests that the British ! taxpayer is about twelve months i ahead of the colonials in this respect, i and that it would be well to study i English methods. Our contemporary ' might, with profit, study the English methods himself , and make a start at, ! say, the West Ham Board of Guari dians. ! For Mr C. H. Poole's lecture on "Making Friends with Uncle Sam," to be given in the Drill Hall on Monday night, in aid of the Wesleyan^ Church Pipe Organ Fund, ther* is ! sure to be a big attendance. Mr Poole's oratorical powers are widely known, and as he is an observant man and an interesting personality, his lecture will be well worth attending. Following the successful precedent of a year ago the Trustees of the i Wesleyan Church have arranged for the observance of a "Gift Sunday" to-morrow in aid of the reduction of the debt on the Church properties. ! The Rev. E. C. Beecroft preaches at ill and 7. The choir will render special anthems, and Mr T. W. Potts will render a solo both morning and evening. It is anticipated that the appeal will find an encouraging response. * During the hearing of a civil action at the Masterton Magistrate's Court "on Thursday, the defendant, in endeavouring to impress upon the Court that he had already offered to pay part of the amount in dispute, ' described how he visited the plaintiff's house with the object of "paying the money. "But," he added, "the old man, the two daughters, and the old woman chased me out of the house." "You seem to have struck a hornet's rest," replied the Magistrate. At a meeting of Maois held last week at Pareroa (near Patea) the chief object was to earnestly consider the question of natives farming their land. Amongst other things it was decided to petition Parliament protesting against any attempt to alienate native lands in the hands of leaseholders and a petition in accordance therewith is being numerously signed. Maoris were present from White Cliffs to Waitotara, and the meeting was the most representative which has been .held for some time. Our Sandon correspondent writes: — Messrs McAllister and Howes, of Palmorston North have now made a start with their 1 contract of re-build-ing Mr E. W. Morse's Junction Hotel at Sanson. — A rather unusual phenomenon is to be seen on Mr G. Williams' farm in this district, a ewe having given birth to five lambs, all of which are thriving well.— Farmers are well on with ploughing operations in this district, and with a continuance of the favourable weather we are having at present, the land will very soon be fit for sowing. The immense sum of £50,000 has just been realised for a collection of postage stamps writes a London correspondent. Some idea of the enormous rise in the price of rare stamps during the last forty years may be gathered by comparing the prices paid by Mr Breitfus for certain colonial stamps with the present market value. A New Zealand shilling green or blue, unused, bought in 1873 for 10s is now worth £90; a New Zealand penny brown, watermark, N.Z., bought for one penny, now fetches £40, and a Victoria os blue or yellow bought in 1881 for 25s is worth £16. Like his father, the Prince of Wales is a wholu-hearted devotee of the J weed. "A short time ago," he once i remarked, "1 had an idea that cigar- | ettes were bad for me, so I determin,ed to limit myself to five a day. The i first day I managed to exist upon the 1 Eiimbe-' 1 had determined upon sniok--1 ing. The second day I smoked ull 1 five before lunch, and felt miserable ' during the rest of the day. The third I day 1 smoked the five judiciously, but still felt a great wanting. The ' fourth day 1 couldn't stand it niy longer, so smoked 15 cigarettes to make up for my self-denial during the other days." i Says the Taihape Pest: — "Reports of a local resident who journeyed in Wanganui to attend the land ballot are to the effect that Webb quickly disposed of the jersey worn when he won. the championship sculling belt. ; This article of attire was torn into strips and eagerly purchased by Wanganui enthusiasts at five shillings a piece. We were further informed that the Webb badges sold freely at sixpence, from which the maker got fourpence, and the printer and Mrs Webb one penny each." The Taihape man must have 'em bad. As a matter of fact, the jersey worn by Webb when he won the championship was presented to Mr Mackay, Mayor of Wanganui, at the smoke concert the night of Webb's return to Wanganui. | The Petone Chronicle says : — There 1 was a time when members of Parliament had some idea of the real nature of the duties they had to perform for their country, but that time seems to have vanished and with ,it all financial concern. The elec- ' tors who rejected such faithful watchdogs of the public interests as Messrs T. E. Taylor and F. Pirani tfill live to wish both men back in their old places in the House, and that not before long. Indeed, we shall be ' very much surprised if both men do 1 not contest the next election and b© returned. by substantial majorities. j The country has need of them, for the majority of members of the present Parliament have been tried and found woefully wanting.' Mr C. H. Poole, M.H.R. for Auckland, who is to lecture here en Monday night in aid of the funds of the Wesleyan Church Pipe Organ ' Fund, arrived in Feilding by the mail ' train at noon to-day. Mr Poole's , lecture will have a big attendance, as : he is well known as one of the most brilliant speakers in the House, and , was chosen by the Government to ' move the Address-in-Reply at the opening of the present session. He '• is an Irishman possessing a very full share of his country's gut of humor, and the subject of his lecture, "Making Friends with Uncle Sam," in which he will give an account of a trip through the United States, will ' give him plenty of scope to bring his talents into play. Mr Poole is an interesting personality. j The confidence trick was cleverly ! worked again in Paris recently, the : victim being a wealthy South American, named Napier. Mr Napier is unable to speak a word of French, and was delighted when he made the ! chance acquaintance of two' welldressed men who could speak English. One of these posed as a follower of Mr Carnegie, stating that he was very wealthy, and was desirous of giving away hie fortune. Apparently genuine bank-notes and valuable jewels were flourished, aut! Mr Napier was induced to part with his well-filled pocket book as "a guarantee of good faith " in return for cheques made out for several thousands of pounds. A merry evening around the cafes followed, ending in a game of hide-and-seek amid the trees which border the Champs Elysees. In the course of the game the Parisian Carnegie and his friend vanished, and Mr Napier is now bemoaning the loss of his pocket book and the money it contained. Woods' Great Peppermint Cure for Coughs and Colds never fails. Is 6d »nd 2s 6d.

In Dunedin cauliflowers have still to be imported from Victoria — such . is one of the legacies of the long spell of dry weather last summer. Every Melbourne steamer now brings 1 a consignment. The foredeck of the I Tarawera was highly suggestive of a ' greengrocer's shop on her last trip. Referring to. the farm laborers' agitation a local farmer clearly indi- ; cated the employers' intentions to an Ashburton Guardian reporter. If the demand for the extra wages was granted, he said, the farm hands would simply be told to pack their traps and go. Farmers could dispense with a number of those they employed, and could even do work deputed to the men. He blamed a few agitators for stirring up the trouble. The farmers had no objection to paying a good wage to .a good man, but preference to unionists would mean that the same high amount would have to be paid quite irrespective of merit. The departure from Johannesburg a few weeks ago of the first big batch of 800 Chinese coolies en route for Durban, where they embarked for China, was made the occasion of a demonstration by crowds of strikers, who, decked out in red rosettes, raised ironical cheers as the coolies passed to the railway station, the Chinese responding in a strange jargon of hybrid expressions, which they have picked up during tneir sojourn at the mines. A pitiful feature of the departure was the reserved saloon on the train, set aside for the large contingent of wounded coolies who had become blinfr, maimed, or limbless as a result of blasting accidents. Our correspondent writes : — On Thursday evening a farewell social and dance was given to Mr J. Hopping and family in the Beaconsfield schoolroom by the residents of the Beaconsfield and Waituna districts. The hall was packed, and a very enjoyable time followed. Songs were contributed by Messrs 0. Puesell, E. j Duncan. W. Walters, Goldsbury and Furniss ; Mrs and Miss Bismark sang two pretty duets, and Mr R. Leach gave a comic recitation. Messrs Perichon and Foden supplied the inufic. Mr Goldsbury, after a short address, presented Mrs Hopping Avith a set of silver teaspoons on behalf of the residents, and presented Mr Hopping with a Rotheram watch, suitably engraved. Mr Hopping replied on behalf of Mrs Hopping and himself. Supper was then handed round, and the hall was cleared for dancing which was kept up till the small hours of the morning. Many thanks arejlue to Messrs A. W. Smith and R. Leach for the efficient manner in which they carried the social through. An echq^of tfie past comes from the Gualeguaychu (Argentine) correspondent of the Dunedin Times: — Most colonials have been led to look upon the settlement established by Lane and his Socialistic companions in Paraguay as a rank failure. That, however, depends upon the point of view from which one looks upon the settlement. One thing is certain, New Australia still exists. Its members, like those of all experiments outside the beaten track of individualism, have from time to time had to endure the sad feelings of parting with old friends who did not care to longer conform to the rules of the New Australia colony. However, those who remain seem content enough. Easter this year was celebrated in true Australian style, with the school treat or picnic and sports. There were races of all sorts, foot and hurdle, three-legged, obstacle, and sack, jumping, skipping, etc., the outing winding up with a performance in the local school-house by the Dramatic Club, after which the floor was cleared in colonial schoolhouse style, and dancing was kept up till the dawn broke. Anyone fresh from the colonies would have imagined he was at a colonial up-country school, except that Spanish and English were mixed in a way that would puzzle the colonials. The usual meeting of Oddfellows was held in the Oddfellows' Hall last evening, when a fair number of members were present. A large amount of correspondence was received. Two candidates were initiated and three proposed for membership. The lodge was very satisfied with the draft of agreement with chemists sent by tho Friendly Societies Council. After business was put, the lodge went into harmony and cards were indulged in . The prize played for was a plush pouch presented by Bro. Currie, and the winner was Bro. Hollier. The Challenge Cup will be decided next lodge night and an exciting finish should be witnessed. P.G. Bro. A. W. Watts is leading with 32 points, P.G. Bro. Trask 81, B»o. A. M. Ongley 30. and there are several with 28 and 29 to their credit. Dealing with the dairy industry the Aucklaud Herald says :— Present indications are that a great number of the factories will .return to the old order of things, end send their shipments on their own account, as the dealers ] are not prepared to pay the prices asked. Collectively, £100,000 represents the loss during the past year sustained by buyers all over the colony, being the amount paid on New Zealand butter than wa sactually worth on the London market. This amount is practically what the buyers would have to make up this year, but the factories have reaped in that money now, and they appear to be likely to keep it. This time last year practically all the output was disposed of or arranged for, but this year the difference in the hiyers' and producers' ideas of the value is holding up transactions, and at the present^ time practically none of the output is arranged for. Last year the buyers were racing each other in order to secure the output of the factories, but this year the factories are looking for the buyers. The market indications are that the prices at Home will be up to the true values of last year, but not up to the boom prices paid at the opening of the 1906-7 season. Moreover, there are various contributing factors in connection with the world's butter supply which promise good sound returns to New Zealand. The closing quotations last season were lljd, but it is not expected that this season will open better than 10id for choice butter. There is, however, every possibility that consignors will make much more, as the true value last year was a little better than lOJd. Buyers are now offering 9sd to 9|d, and some offers for the choicest butter have been made up to lOd, and buyers generally may be said to be holding back for a good safe margin.