Local and General.

Gisborne Times, Volume XLVIII, Issue 4473, 14 February 1917, Page 4

Local and G eneral.

Impoundings made during January by the borough poundkeeper were 87. Fees collected were £l4 19s 6d.

Before Mr. W. A. Barton, S.M., at the Police Court yesterday morning a first offender for drunkenness was fined os and 2s costs, in default 24 hours 1 impriso'nmeijt.

It was reported by the Mayor at the Borough Council meeting last night that the rates were coming in freely, and that at present there were only £6OO outstanding.

It was reported by the inspector and acting manager of the borough abattoirs to the Borough Council last" night that the stock slaughtered during January was 172 cattle. 883 sheep. 189 lambs, 3 calves and 105 pigs.

The dislocation of the shipping service is holding up here a large number of racehorses which competed at the recent meeting. Some of them have engagements at forthcoming meetings in the south.

Thicler the borough engineer’s sup)ervision. the work of overhauling the Sievwright memorial has been practically completed, some sample fittings which had been overcarried on account of the watersiders’ dispute delaying the completion of the work.

Tramway returns for the fortnight ending February 3, as reported to the Borough Council meeting last night, were as follows: Revenue £76 9 s 6cl. wages £45 Os Id. power expenses £T7 10s 4d. The passengers carried numbered 12.394. the mileage 1630, car hours 304.

The borough engineer reported to the Borough Council last night that 10 building permits were issued during the past fortnight having a stated value of £6951. The schedule included additions. £605. dwellings £550. business premises £lßoo,church hall £350, two school buildings £3610.

The Mayor reported at the Borough Council meeting last night that he had approached the Harbor Board* with reference to obtaining land at Sponge Bay as a recreation reserve, hut the Board had declined to part with any of the foreshore under its control. There was a piece of foreshore adjoining which he understood was native land, and His Worship undertook to make further inquiries regarding the matter.

A Press Association telegram from Wellington states that Sir Ernest Shaekleton was entertained by the Commercial Travellers’ Club at luncheon. He announced that in recognition of the generous assitance rendered to the expedition, he would present the club with a sledge and a pair of seals. The Mayor also stated that Sir Ernest had presented an historic sledge to the City Council in trust for the Wellington citizens as a memento of the many kindnesses he had received here.

Results of the last local examination in Pitman’s shorthand have been received". Certificates have been awarded to the following:—Theory : Rose Schwabe, Irene Wilson. Lilian York. Elsie Lawrence, and Jessie, Robb. Speed:' Miss E. Judd. 70 words per minute; Elsie Lawrence and Rose Schwabe, 100 words per minute; Rose Schwabe and Jessie Robb, 110 words per minute; and Jessie Robb was also successful in passing the test at 120 words per minute,- which is a very creditable performance.

Captain Pitt, President of the Returned Soldiers’ Association, has received a reply to his offer to Sir Jas. Allen of the assistance of the Association in the event of developments in the waterside dispute tending to interfere with supplies to the troops in the Motherland. Sir James says; “Your telegram received. I am verv grateful for your kind offices, but. 1 hope the difficulty will be settled without any necessity to resort to Government control.—j. Allen, Acting Prime Minister.”

Cr. Hill suggested at- the Borough Council meeting last night that when the Town Clerk was preparing the main roll for the forthcoming borough elections, lie should make it' plain to the public what the qualifications of a borough elector were./ He said that at the last election many electors thought that the Parliamentary qualifications- entitled them to a vote, but found that when they entered the voting booth their names were not on the roll. Other Councillors agreed with Cr. Hill, and .suggested to the residents that they should, make sure that they were on the roll before going to the booth.

. British pianos deserve, your support apart from the patriotic aspect. In their scientific construction is embodied a quality not equalled by the foreign instruments.' Farr and Hall have a splendid range of the best of British pi agios, and anyone contemplating purchasing should visit Farr and Hall’s showroom and hear these beautiful instruments, and learn on what easy terms they can. he placed- in th&Jiome. —Farr and Hall, Pianoforte Specialists, Gladstone Road, Gisborne. ’Phono 857.* I

Entries for the June exams. of Trinity College of Music close with the local secretary, Mr. C. J. East, at noon on Friday.

A special prize given by the late Hon. Hr. McNab for knowledge of New Zealand history has been gained by Ethel Black, of Te Aral, a school girl 12 years of age.

For the third time in succession B Company, 25th Reinforcements, commanded by Captain J. R. Kirk, of Gisborne, has won the principal Medical Officers’ Cup at Trentham...

It is expected that a start will be made on Monday in connection with the taking of the tolls for the use or the Commission applied for by the Mangapapa Town Board for the apportionment of the cost _of maintenance of its roads and bridges.

The Horse Competitions at the forthcoming Autumn Show of the Hawke's Bay A. and P. Society, included ladies’ leaping, pqny jumping, maiden leaping and open leaping matches, turning competition for either ladie’s or gentlemen, musical stalls for ladies, and the same competition hagirls tinder 14, and a competition for children’s pony trotting. The prizes for these competitions are nearly ail presented by private donors who have subscribed on a generous scale.

The Military Service Appeal Board sat at Wairoa on Monday. Fourteen cases were called, three of which were withdrawn by appellants. Three cases were adjourned sine die, one to be reviewed before the First Division was exhausted, and the other two appellants to report each month to the area officer; one appeal was adjourned to enable the appellant to go into camp with the Maori Contingent which is being formed at Wairoa; while in the other cases various terms of leave, from 30th J larch to 27th April, were granted.

The Acting Prime Minister lias notified the Auckland Presbytery that Cabinet has * considered its request for a suspension of all totalisator permits during the war, and that it has been decided- to defer the matter for three months, when it will be necessary' to consider the issue of permits for" the next racfng season. The Government, it is stated, will then give very serious consideration to the representations made by the Presbytery and others concerning the issue of totalisator permits.—Press Association telegram.

The Alanakau County Council Isas endorsed resolutions by the Franklin County Council to the effect that “Whilst farmers as a class are as anxious as any other section to see a victorious peace, the Council is of opinion that the farming community is being unduly depleted as compared with other sections. Further that the present indiscriminate depletion of the able-bodied fanning class will shortly result in a serious shortage of produce for export and greatly increase the cost of living.”—Press Association telegram.

The quarterly meetings of the Alakaraka and Gisborne Domain Boards were held last night, Drior to the meeting of the Borough Council. The annual balance-sheets were dealt with and the c-lerk reported that for the ilakaraka Domain there was a balance in the bank of £357 14s lid. and the receipts for the year totalled £-12 The statement for the Gisborne Do. main showed that £2O had been paid for sanitary conveniences, and that the rent for the Domain was in arSome or the members of the Board stated that they understood that the sports bodies concerned were approaching the Board with regard to the rent.

The Aluhanga stream bridge, near Ormond. Jias just been completed. The span is 25 feet. The design is by Mr. D. X. McMillan, structural engineer (late of the Public Works Depart, The bridge in question is the first of its kind in Poverty Bay. and it is worthy of mention that Air". McMillan was the first engineer in the public service m the Dominion to use reinforced concrete. Apart from reinforced concrete work. Air. Alc-Alillan has built probablv the largest and longest suspension bridges in the Dominion. i.e., the Aloteo bridge. Puketapu, Hawke’s Bay. with a span of 424 feet, built in 1906. and the Hangaroa river bridge. Povertv Bav. at Hangaroa township, with a span of 21S feet, also built in 1906.

| _ The output of wedding rings is serI inusly curtailed for the want ot gold i (says the London Evening News of vDecember 11). "We have nmnb.'rs of orders we cannot fulfil,” said the man- | ager of a big firm .of manufacturing jewellers. Tnti] a litt.e white ago it j was possible, with great difficulty" and 1 at a high price, to obtain a little gold lor manufacturing pur noses. Now, | however, not a particle* is to be obtained. for everv ounce of gold coining <-uito the country goes direct to the Bank of England, to be used for Govj ei nment purposes only. But the e : eerI thing is that not- "even the absence j " edding rings will stop the cou- , pies from getting married.

'■The Maori patriotic dance held at \\ aimrere hall on Friday night was a very successful one. Before the even, mg was well spent crowds of playgoers appeared. _ attracted by visions of a merry ending of the night’s enjoyment, and they were not disappointed.- Those of the pakeha friends who attended greatly enjoyed themselves, and spoke highly of the function. Musical items were rendered -ru i lss -^ uru * Miss Benson. Miss Tuckey, and Messrs., Rangiuia and laipo. The. amount of 2Ss collected for the _ prize -dance was donated to the patriotic fund bv the winning couple, Mr. T. Brown and bliss" S. Brown. Supper was provided. The receipts at the door was £2l 9s 6d. The total takings amounted to £3O 2s 6d, including donations. Messrs. Hoekau and Taipo acted as M.CVs. This is the beginning of a series of dances to be held in and around Gisborne in aid of the Maori Wounded Soldiers’ Fund.

Here is a pen picture of Roumania’s.'Quoen by Hamilton Fyfe. “Daily • Mail” special correspondent in Rounianja, who recently interviewed Her Majesty at the Palace Hospital : “There was nothing to distinguish her from the other nurses, except that across her forehead she wore an ermine bandeau instead of linen. Yet, without that even. I should have rei cognised her at once, for her portrait is to be seen in almost every houseIt is customary to sa-r of queens that they are beautiful. But the beaut? of Princess Marie of Edinburgh, niece of King Edward, cousin to King George, was admitted and spoken a > out long before she was a queen. , Fair-headed, with blue-grey eyes that suggest the image of deep pools, no" tranquil and smiling, now dimmed b? passing clouds, now flashing and piercincr ]ilvC the sliflits or * with • clearly cut. slightly aquiline profile, tender in repose,' she had been from her childhood marked«not only by those charms of feature, but by that subtler, far less common quality, distinction. And as her mind and soul have developed, so that gift of distinc. tion has become more and more noticeable. At 40 she is still a very beautify *roman; and many say ‘more beaugM thaii ever.’ for the spirit that through the flesh has been tried it the fires of pain and of joy, lias sounded the depths of life and drawn from them knowledge and sympathy and strength.” Of all the attraction? \if life none make a grater appeal to every race of mankind than oomforjt, more especially the comfort of heme with its pleasurable occupations made thoroughly enjoyable by perfect sight a* supplied by Haig Graham, opposite Common, Bheltoj»'s, Bing 'Phone Bts for appointment.