PASSING OF AN OLD SETTLER.

Feilding Star, Volume VII, Issue 1882, 24 September 1912, Page 2

PASSING OF AN OLD SETTLER.

One of the original settlers of tho Manchester Block, in the person of Mr John Jeffries, died in the Palmorston Hospital on Saturday, at the age of 76 years. Mr Jeffries carried on a butchery and general store in Halcombe for some years, and also had c farm. He had lately been living in Feilding. Mr Jeffries leaves a grown-up family of three daughters and one son.

Premier Massey's new Land Bill may come down to-morrow. It is a unique occurrence for three brothers to live with their wives long enough for all to celebrate their golden weddings. In the year 1859, Mr Charles J. Elwin, then a surgeon in London, was married, and in 1909 he duly celebrated his golden anniversary, having lived in London all his lite. In 1861, Mr James J. Elwin, then the master of the Clive school, hi Hawke's Bay, was married in Christchurch, and in 1911 celebrated the goklen event in Taranaki. In 1862 Mr Williams J. Elwin, then a settler in Hawke's Bay, married, and last month he, being the third brother celebrated his golden wedding at Turiroa. Tho other afternoon Mr W. PL H. Young, auctioneer, of Stratford, while driving his motor-car on the Gordon road, near Toko, had the misfortune to meet with an accident which might have resulted; much more seriously ithat it <lid- : Tli© steering gear of the car unexpectedly went wrong, and tho car skidding, collided, with a tree stump, Mr Young being pitched with considerable force through the wind screen, landing on the wank sorao distance away. With the exception of several cuts about the face, he escaped injury.

Labour Day will bo celebrated on Monday ,October 28.

The Public Works Estimates are not expected in the House- before' next week.

The new member for Egmont, Mr C. A. Wilkinson, (takes his seat in the House to-day.

Counters do Cisneros paid a visit yesterday to the dried milk factory at Bunnythorpc, and. was greatly interested in the process.

An enlarged photograph of the now infant school at Wanganui. said to be the. finest infant school in the Dominion, may be seen at the Star office.

Mr T. Andrew has had the misfortune to lose his well-known Clydesdale horse, British King, the animal dying suddenly at Shannon. Mr Andrew will be a heavy loser, as tho horse was a very valuable one.

"Wore not afraid of yabbits," says Mr G. J. Anderson, AL.l\ ior ALataura. '• Rabbits in .southland have done more to break up large estates tlian all the land laws oi the Great .Liberal Party."

The formal gazetting of Mr Fred. Pirani as a member ox tho i'eilding ji'ire Board is an acooinpiisiied laci. Somo interesting particulars of the reason why Mr jfleasants delayed his resignation make amusing reading.

According to .Hoard's iMiryman oi August v, a shortage or butter is reported in Buenos .Ayres by the United otates Consul. The price on June ? \Vi\ti i.OO dollars a kuo (i!.2U pouiuis). Hie importation of iOU,UUU kilos oi Australian butter is contemplated.

" Dome of these motorists only recognise two classes or people —uuj quicK and the dead/ epigramatically seated fciub-inspector iiendry at tue Auoiiiunct l'oiioe (Jourt, wiitui prosecuting eight motorists for exceeding tho speed unlit.

The performers in " Tiny Town : wore passengers uy tne morning tram irom nungmuii io-day ior me soiitn. -1 number or sightseers on the .station were nu- ol interest, m tlie little ioik, lour oi the little lames circssed aliiie seated in a, row on one or tne seat-b ueing specially admired.

. The Key. i< , . McDonald, pastor in charge- ol the I'afinerstoii uaptist ouuroii, has accepted a unaniiuoub call iroin the ALosgiel congregation. ah- McDonald has done so uiaiiny through health reasons, having felt the- strain ot ins worn in I'alinerston rather severely. It has been remarked as a. curious eom-cidcne that the u>tal jiumuei of votes polled at the Jilliiiani booth on 1 u-usday last "y Messrs \\ llkmson and Astbury was i.J.00, and that those east ior Messrs MacKu-uzie and Jjive at the same booth in December together made exactly the same total. The details of the Public Service Bill will be the principal matter lor consideration in tno rlouse of Representatives this week. The House wih probably go into committee on the jjSiJl to-morrow or on Wednesday. Half the measure has been passed by committee oi the whole no use, anil it will probably bo reported, to the Jtiouse after next sitting.

Forty-two motor-cars were landed k\ Duncdin ex Whakatanc and Matatu.i last week. The shipment came to tho order of an inver-cargul iirni, and represents the largest number oi cars ever landed in lmnedin in one week. The cars are for distribution all ever Otajjo and Southland, the majority of them having been sold to fanners.

It is understood that Captain T. E. Estcourt (2nd Dragoon Guards), aide-de-camp to his Excellency the Governor, will- join the New Zealand General Stalf at Headquarters alter Lord Islington leaves for India, and will probably, it is stated, be attached to the personal stair' of the General Officer Commanding the Forces, MajorGeneral A. J. Godle.y, C.B. Tho Education Committee of the House of Representatives reporting on a memorandum of tho Education Department, which referred to the

system and mode of conveyance oi

public school children to and from country schooLs, recommended that the memorandum be referred to the Government for favourable consideration.

A special train with the Parliamentary excursionists from Wanganui passed through Feilding at 1.30 a.m. to-day. Two members of the Wanganui Education Board took advantage of the quick run to .come as far as Martou and Feilding respectively, the trip to Feilding only taking two hours! as against 3-V hours by the ordinary morning train. Tho case of the Marseilles Customs officers who assessed an Egyptian mummy as "dried fish," 'had. a parallel a short while since in Now l r ork. A naturalist in Africa sent home a case of tropical -butterflies, and the Customs authorities were perplexed, hi the end they taxed them as "poultry," because they had wings. As the scientific victim remarked: ""They Avould probably have put a consignment of archangels in tho same class for the same reason." According to the latest statistics thero are 11.483,876 Jews in the world, 8,876,299 of whom are in

Europe, and 1,880,579 in America. Tho Russian Empire contains by far tho greatest number of Hebrews, it having no fewer than 6,215,505. The United States follows second with 1,800,000, New York City alono_ having a Jewish population of 905,000. This veritable Jerusalem embraces one-thirteenth oi' tho entire Jewish race —moro Jews than ever before- be-

ing gathered in oho city

A form for tho remittance of money, primarily i'roin husband to his

wife or family, is in use at tho post offices. Tho advantages are ap-

parently not sufficiently known, for only a few people make use of the privilege. By paying an extra penny, tho Department sends out cash, remitted to any office, to the

person to whom it is sent, and pays over the money on obtaining a receipt. The advantage to anyone, living some distance from a moneyorder offico is quite obvious, for it just means that the money is delivered on tho spot.

Stolen fruit, like stolen kisses, is proverbially tho sweetest, and the truth of this has been verified during tho time that tihe Star of Canada has been ashore at Kaiti beach, near Gisborno. There has been a crazing for souvenirs, and these have been got by fair means or foul. Numerous

articles have been purloined during 4he past few weeks, and the store of ship's crockery has dwindled down to nothing. "There were 15 dozen of every article of crockery," said Captain Taylor to a reporter, "and now there is not oiio piece marked with the ship's brand. A number of people boarded tho stea.incr, and the last Tyser dinner plate left the galley during the day."

A few months ago a very old identity of Campbell's Creek, Victoria, Mr J. W. Stansmore, died at the age of over 80 years. He lived alone, having no relatives and left his property in trust for scholarships at the State school. He was somewhat eccentric, and examination of the property disclosed a dog cemetery. He was fond of dogs, and as each died he placed it in a coffin, and then in a cement vault, over which was inscribed the name of the dog, its age, and date of death. There were about a score of these vaults. Another discovery made was that he had carefully kept all the love-letters he had received since the year 1839. They were from six different girls. The letters were in bundles of 50, and as there were 46 of these bundles, the letters numbered 2300.

Coleman Weingott, piano tuner, who has filed a petition to bo adjudged a bankrupt, was examined by the Wanganui D.0.A., Mr W. Rodwell, yesterday. In his written statement, Weingott said: "I have been carrying on business for some time past as a piano tuner. It has been a struggle, and I have got considerably behind. My largest creditor is Mr Gilbert, his claim representing damages given against me in a slander action. 1 have been endeavouring to pay tho most pressing claims, and a few days ago instructed my solicitor to write the creditors with an offer that I should pay him £1 a 'week out of my, earnings, to bo distributed among them. Several of them consented, but some issued summonses, whilst Mr Gilbert issued a judgment summons. I had therefore no alternative 'but, to file." After an examination of the bankrupt, tho meeting was adjourned.

Dominion Day was very quietly recognised throughout the Dominica yesterday.

The. Hon. F. M. B. Fisher speaking at Benheiin, foreshadowed a local government Bill to force the amalgamation of local bodies.

Contracts .are being entered into in the iUanawatu flaxniillkig area, for the supply of hemp at £26 per ton. a rise ol about £2 on last week's offers.

In a letter just received from Mr It. McNab, who is now in Sydney, he states that ia searching through the files of early Sydney papers in tho Public Library of that city for information dcalin™ with the early European colonisation of New Zealand, and more particularly for the moment with the whaling industry in Cook Strait, he unearthed a very lengthy "journal' , letter giving de_ tail accounts of the attack by the northern tribes on the Taranaki (Moturoa) pa, in Januarj' and February, 1833 (1832 P). Tho account appears to have been written by one of the ten Europeans constituting the shore whaling party at Moturoa, and who assisted in the defence or the pa, and gives details from day to day. There are five letters in all, so that we may anticipate some light being thrown upon this most thrilling episode in early Tarauaki's history. Tho freezing woriis stand just about in the centre of the old Otaka or Moturoa pa, which was successfully defended by the local natives and the whalers against the Waikato invatiers.

During the hearing of the claim of tho Australian Postal Electricians' Union in the Commonwealth Arbitration Court recently, Mr W. Clemens, who appeared for the Commonwealth Commissioner, had occasion to question a witness for tho union in respect to a clause demanding that employees should bo paid Is Cd compensation when debarred from getting a meal on special duty._ "We ask that Is 6d be paid," said witness, "as compensation in such cases." Mr Clemens asked if the union demanded first-class tickets travelling to places over 100 miles distance.*" "Yes," said witness, "1 always travel first-class. The union pays* my fare." "When going into the country for pleasure, how do you travel?" The witness explained that ho always travelled first class. "If it is not too pertinent a question," said Mr Clemens, "have you private means F" A smile played over the witness's features. "No private means," ho said, "but I have an economical wife." The assertion was greeted with a sedate ripple of laughter, which burst into full volume, and resounded through the solemn chambers of tho court when Mr Justice Higgins added, "Ah, that is quite as good as private means."