LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Feilding Star, Volume II, Issue 494, 12 February 1908, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

This morning's Manawatu Times states: "Mrs W. W. Johnston, of Highdeii, Awahuri, wife of the late Hon. W. W. Johnston, has intimated her intention of presenting the Feilding Roman Catholic Parish with a new I brick school, cost of which will amount to some thousands of pounds. ; The building will be designed by- Mr i Natusch, architect, of Wellington, and will be built with ample accommodation, and convenience for one hundred and fifty' pupils. The new building will be erected on the vacant section between the Catholic Church and present Convent, on Derby street, and will be put in hand at once." On being interviewed on the subject by a Star representative this morning-. Mrs Johnston absolutely contradicted tho statement. She said she had given no instructions for the preparation of plans, and no promise of funds for building. She had done nothing beyond discussing the matter witn the Rev. Father O'Meara, of Feilding. Nothing had been decided, and no one had any authority to make the statement referred to. Mrs Johnston added that if she had decided to support the scheme outlined in the Times, there would not be the slightest objection to its publicity ; but she decidedly objected to the publication bf references to the matter without "any , authority. • A floral fete, in aid of the funds ■ of the Society for the Prevention of • Cruelty to Animals, is to be held in Feilding on March 25. Walter E. Axup's application for a discharge, made at yesterday's sitting of the Bankruptcy Court at Palmerston by Mr Haggitt, was adI journed for twelve months. ! At a meeting of the members of i the Feilding Brass Band, held last ; evening, it was decided to accede to ; tlie request of the Feildiug Cricket Club to play at their garden party on i Wednesday next. 1 Great interest is being taken in the • 1908 Band Contest at New Plymouth commencing on the 24th of this month. Special trains and excursion railway rates are being arranged. This presents a good oporptunity for the Feilding public to enjoy a pleasant . holiday in New Plymouth during the Carnival week. A Press Association message states that Mr R. B. Smith, who has been manager of the Bank of Australasia at Dunedin for the jpast three and a half years;, has received the appointment of manager in Wellington, in succession to Mr Webster, recently appointed inspector. Mr T. T. Miller, of Palmerston, will succeed Mr Smith at Dunedin. Referring to a certain design for a church that was. being considered at yesterday's meeting of the Wanganui Presbytery, the Rev. Mr Jolly told h good story. It was reported, he said, that Spurgeou, on looking at a church building that had a very, pretentious front and an exceedingly modest exterior, said that it was "Queen Anne" style in front and "Mary Ann" style behind. A meeting of the Committee o£ the Horticultural Society ; was Jieid yesterday afternoon, when it was decided to abandon the autumn show this year, owing fo the unfavourable weather. ' ' The members of the committee agreed to offer assistance to the Technical" School Committee in the .holding of a fruit, vegetable, and flower exhibition on a smaller scale at the opening of the Technical School. A wedding tiook place at tho Presbyterian Oburcji yesterday afternoon, when Mr Jolni K. Waugh, of Kiraboltpn, was married to Miss Frances Ada' 'Robertson, of Bunnythorpe. The bride, who was given away by her father, was very tastefully dressed, and was attended; by her sister,' Miss D. Robertson, aa bridesmaid. Mr H. D. RobertsoiiV acted as best man. Tbe contracting parties afterwards left oil their • honeymoon amidst the good wishes « their relatives and frktedt.

I Dr. Eleanor Southey Baker- com i menced duty last week as locum tenens for the medical superintendent of the Northern Wairoa hospital. She is believed to be the first lady doctor to occupy such a position mi the dominion. The engineering classes at the Wanganui Technical School this year . are being attended by students from the surrounding districts. Three students are attending from Feilding, two from the Eltham district, ' one from Fordell, and one from Kai Iwi. , A shearer, who has just finished a round of sheds, commencing in the Wairarapa in October, and finishing at Kimbolton a few days ago, says that his aggregate tally was jußt }JOO sheep, and that his cheque would b© a little over £80. Including the holidays in the period, this amount works out at about £5 a -iveok. The Rotorua Times of Friday states that the activity of the Malfroy geysoi ■ has been somewhat affected by the present drought, and the large cauldron surrounding these gevsera is practically dry. As these goysera are responsible for the heating of tho Blue Bath, bathers have had to be content with cold water during the past few days, as the activity of the geyser has only been sufficient to take the chill off the water. A remarkable statement is made by Mr Thos. F. Thomson, keeper of the refreshment rooms at Kaitoko (in the Rimutaka incline). He took over the rooms in May, 1905 — there being then in stock 37 1 dozen cups. Up to December last he purchased 668 dozen cups. He estimates his total loss of cups in two and threequarter years to have cost him £160 2s 7d. In addition to that, there has been a large loss in plates and spoons. The Taranaki News says that an applicant for the erection of a street lamp on or near Woolcombe terrace waxed eloquent, thus: " . . . .1 trust the Council will grant my request, not only for myself, but more especially for lovers and others who do congregate on the terrace at the time when the stars, those everlasting blossoms of heaven, begin to ?hed their silvery light through the ethereal sky." In place of the butter factory, which was totally destroyed by firo at Aj>iti a short time ago, a creamery is now being erected that is to do duty until tho factory is re-erected. The building of the new factory is to be taken in hand at once to have it ready for next season. In the meantimo the cream is being sent to the Cheltenham Dairy Factory, where it ia converted into butter pending the completion of tho factory at.Apiti. Instructions has been given to the manager of the Culverden Estate to have all the stock off the place by March 31 preparatory to the Government taking possession. A petition has been sent to the Minister of Lands asking him to reserve the portion of the estate now used as a racecourse and rifle range for a domain, and he is understood . to have given the request favourable consideration. Mr Alfred Hay, of Boomanoomana, Riverina, saved his lucerne^ crop from a swarm of grasshoppers recently by tho ingenious expedient of organising a driving movemeftt of all hands, armed with bells, tins, and other noisy.;, instruments late in the afternoon when the insects were preparing to alight on the ground to feed and camp. By noise and hustling the pests were kept constantly on the move till dark, and not allowed to rest during the two days they swarmed over the paddock. On the morning of the third day they disappeared, and the crop was saved. What must surely be the very highest price ever'paia for bread in New Zealand, if not in tho world, is re* corded by the Mataura Ensign in a biographical notice of Mr D. M 'Leash, a well-known resident of Gore, who died last week. "Mr M'Leish," says the Etisign, ■" oarae over to Dunedin in 1861. at the first of tho gold rush, and went up to the Dunstan, where he started business at his trade. We growl at the prico of flour nowadays, and the 41b. loaf ia considered at famine price when it exceeds 6d. Mr M'Leish had to pay £120 a ton for his flour on tho diggings in those early times— £2o .in Dunedin and £100 cartage to his bake-house. In return ho charged 10s per loaf." An interesting comment on the present condition of San Francisco is given by Mr Herbert Dix, formerly of Wellington, and now of the former city, in fhe course of a letter to friend. " Thousands are out of employment," ho says, " that fact being primarily due to the banks failing to advance money as readily as they should in such a oity. Hugo buildings of from ten to fifteen stories high are at a standstill, or in some cases there aro only a handful of carpenters etc., working on a job whero there should be any thing from 200 to 300." Wages he adds, are uot too good outside trades, and so far as he can see clerks azid salesmen are not too well paid. The growth of Utiku, on the. Main Trunk railway, between Mangaweka and Taihape, has been exceedingly rapid. As an evidence of the way in which the township has expanded, says the Post, Mr Remington, M.P., mentions that three years ago a lady was able to transact all" the business of the local Post Office and telephone station with the greatest ease. Now there is an experienced officer of the Post and the Telegraph Department in charge of the branch, and the staff is frequently working at high pressure to cope with business. Mr Remington has got a promise from Cabinet that it will call for tenders for the erection of a Post and Telegraph Office iv keeping with the growing importance of the township. He has also been informed by the Minister for Education that the Education Department will provide £300 for the erection of a schoolhouse at Rongoiti road. In the course of a conversation with a Standard reporter with regard to bhe high prices of butter now obtaining, a dairy expert a<fc Palmerston gave it a3 his opinion it would pay the various factories better to sell' their butter in the colony instead of consigning it to tho Home market as they are all doing at present. Asked as to the reason, he stated that the whole point lay in the fact that although factory managers were at present receiving cablo advice to send as much butter Home as possible, there was no guarantee that the same high price would be ruling when tho shipments arrived in six or seven weeks' time. It was altogether a matter of uncertainty and in 'his opinion it was far better to sell the butter locally at about Is per lb. than to sond it Homo on the chance tliat j the market would remain as high as at present. He stated thatat about the 'time shipments which are at present being sent from here arrive at Home the Danish and Siberian butter will be commencing to ooine in, and there is always a probability of its affecting the market. The public examination of Henry Crowhurst Cullen, of Feilding, grocer, took place in a Bankruptcy Court sitting at Palinenston yesterday beforo District Judge Haselden. Mr Ongley appeared for bankrupt and Mr lnnes for the creditors. Examined by Mr lnnes, bankrupt stated that be bought a business in Feilding, for which he paid £606, This jtnoney he borrowed from his father in Hastings, who took a mortgage over some property in Hastings owned by bankrupt. In addition «fco this he had £100 of his own. He had never paid his father any of tfoe money back. In May, 1906, - bY took stock and discovered that' he was £20 out. The stock, ho alleged, was not what it was 'represented to be, and he had to write it down, wlhioh was the cause of the deficiency. H« had never taken proper stock since then, although he had done so roughly in May, 1907. The books had only been handed in to the Official Assignee this morning. H« thought he drew an average of about £3 10s per week out of his business, but was not certain. He had kept all tho .railway dockets for freight, etc., but had kept no books. His gross monthly turnover was about £200. He was first pressed by his creditors in September tost. To Mr Ongley : During the first twelve months he lost considerably through bad debts and^ bad stock, but after he had had th« business for 12 months it improved considerably.^ He had made arrangements to sell his business from January 1, but ero the saJe had. been completed he had bcien obtirp%ar*i to afe.~StkTi<Snxl. • *

Captaiu Edwin telegraphed at 11.50 a.m. to-day :— South-easterly moderate to strong winds; glasß ris» slowly. A Wellington telegram says that Mr Charles Townley Brown, who was for many years connected with the police and detective departments of the dominion, being Chief Detective in 1880, died yesterday, aged 82. The Christchurch Fire Brigade was holding its annual dinner when th« alarm was given on the night of the big fire, an a had just got through the serious business of the evening. The informal business was done, and the brigade then settled down to toasts and songs until it wag rudely interrupted. A local chemist, referring to a paragraph reprinted in the Star yesterday from the British Medical Journal concerning the big profits made on patent medicines, says it is a mistake to say that the chemists reap these profits. They go to the maker of the proprietary medicines, and not to the retailer, very little margin being left for the chemist. The Medical Journal, he also pointß out, has grossly exaggerated the percentage of profits. A Pennsylvania man has devised a machine to date hen'B eggs, so that . the purchaser may ascertain their age* at a glance. His scheme is to provide a nest to which is attached a rubber chute, which conveys the egg to the dating appliance. The chute is arranged with rubber stops to lessen the speed of the egg aB it rolls merrily on its way. The dating attachment is operated by clockwork, and one winding will keep" it running a ve.'ir. As tho egg reaches the ; clater it js caught in a clutch and held in plate while the stamp is applied. The egg then runs into a basket. ! The stock markets at Addington and Burnsido are dull, says a writer in a Dunedin paper. Exporters are active in fat lambs, but fat sheep seem to have little interest for them, and the fat sheep maTket at present is practically a butcher's one. Owing to the dry weathor in Canterbury and consequent lack •of feed, there is not, by any means, tho usual business in buying store lambs for finishing in Canterbury. We shall have to- produce our "prime Canterbury" this year in Southland, and shall not see tibe stock going through Dunedin railway yards as in the past. Even last year the quantity was much less than *ever before. Colonel Robin, C.8., Chief of Staff, told a Times reporter that never before had there been such enthusiasm in the ranks of volunteers for Easter manoeuvres. Colonel Robin attributes tho revival of interest in defence matters to instructional schools and olasses for officers. Under the present system of military education every inducement is given to officers to perfect themselves as far as may be in military science. The enthusiasm which has been shown by officers has. in many cases become epidemic among the men, hence there is a far better trained force in the dominion than before. There is of course secrecy : about the district operations for the Easter manoeuvres, because each of- : fieor commanding a unit to be engaged is responsible for a "special idea." : : - ' • On a recent Sunday evening duiiiig the time when some of the ships of the Australasian Squadron were in " port at Lyttelton, several men ■ f ihe : warships were standing listening to a Socialist orator in Cathedral • '-"c-ra : They- were approached by one of the supporters of Socialism and asked ! their opinion of it, but before giving '■ it they aaked for an explanation, -i i the aims and objects of Socialism. j They were told that it meant shortening the hours of labour and generally the pulling, down of the mighty j from their seats and the exalting of I those of lout degree. "Then," said i one of the sailors, "the captain and i first mate would be sent to the stokej hole and the engineers and stokers would be put on the bridge. L? A me tell you that if that was done vhe ship would be on the rocks ii) no j time." ! Remarkß regarding the smallness of j the world are an everyday commonj place, but despite this apparent j shrinkage of the terrestrial globe the, ! chances of two Scotsmen who competed in a.polughing match in Dumbartonshire for a gold medal thirty-four years ago meeting each other at the j Addington saleyards would seem to be somewhat remote (says the Christchurch Press). Yet such a' coincidence happened last week when Mr Samuel Wallace, a Scottish farmer who has settled in England, accidenj tally met Mr John Allan, of Wai- | kari, at the weekly sale of stock ac Addington. Mr Wallace had no idea that his old-timo opponent in - the Dumbartonshire ploughing match was a resident of this part of the . J). miinion, nor was Mr Allan aware that his friend was visiting this country. Their pleasure at renewing their frieu r l&hiu m such extraordinary circumsta.if es was considerable. The Makino Lodge of Druids met last evening,- A.D. Bro. Hyland in the chair. It was decided to invite tho Palmerston and Rongotea Lodges to take part in the Church Parade on Sunday week. Nominations were received for the office of Arch Druid Bard, rendered vacant by the resignation of Bro. Farley, owing to his leav- , ing the district. .. The election will be held next . lodge night. . % It was reported that the cricket 'match with the Oroua Lodge will take place at Palmerston on Good Friday. On account of the Webb-Tressider match it was depicted to hold the quarterly sumr moved mooting this night fortnight, the 26th insfc., instead of on Tuesday, the 25th. One candidate was initiated and four proposals received. Leave of absence for the remainder of the term was granted J.P.A. Bro. Hastings, who will be installed as president of this district in March. After passing accounts -for sick pay and transacting routine business the Lodge was declared closed. That the cost of living has considerably increased in New Zealand cannot be doubted, and in Feilding and its surrounding district one of the heavy items in the house-keeping account is the bill for wood and coal. That this will always be so, owing to our inland position, is hot a pleasant prospect for housekeepers. The only hope is an ample supply of coal or, better still, the discovery of a payable seam close at hand. For some time past some of the coal measures near Capo Farewell (the most northern point of the South Island) have been actively prospected, with such success that the coal can be sold at a very handsome profit, and the Seaford Coal Company is now being floated to seriously work these fields. The prospectus shows that the new venture is of some interest to us, for it indicates the bringing of coal direct to Foxton for supplying this extensive centre. The enterprising company is being quietly floated (Messrs Barraud and Abraham are the local representatives) by men prominent in business circles in Wellington. There are no promoter's shares, and the prospectus reads like a sound busines proposition. Therefore we hope that the company will soon be at work, and will place its coal on the Feilding market before the winter.