LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume II, Issue 121, 7 May 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Native Land Court will sit at Hastings to-morrow.

Those in search of the best of dairy cattle should make a point of attending Dalgety and Co.’s sale at Mr. P. Ericksen’s, Meanee, on Monday next. The 50 Holstein cross and Jersey cross heifers are due to calve to factory dates.

The Hastings Orchestral Socictj are giving a concert in the Village Hall, Havelock North, to-morrow evening. A drag to convey member? of the orchestra will leave the cornei of Heretaunga and Staten streets at 7 p.m. sharp.

We again draw our readers’ attention to the general meeting of members of the Young Men’s Christian Association of Hastings in the Council Mr. E. T. James will briefly outline the present position. A number of committees will be formed.

The chairman of the Hawke’s Bay Education Board (Mr. C. M. Whittington), the members for the Middle Ward (Messrs G. F. Roach and J. H. Sheath) and Mr. R. B. Ross will inspect a number of sites for the proposed new school for the south-west portion of Hastings to-morrow, and report to tie next meeting of the board. S

Special railway concessions to individual districts may be political necessities, but the provision of an adequate number of trucks to carry the produce and merchandise of the Dominion is a business proposition of oaramount importance to the department over which Mr. Myers presides. —Mataura ‘'Ensign.”

The Under-Secretary of Public Works has informed the Mayor of Christchurch that Mr. Parry, chief electrical engineer to the Department, has been requestd to confer with the council, and negotiate for a contract for the wholesale supply of electrical power to the city from the Lake Coleridge works.

An American lady, twenty-seven years of age, 12 times married in 10 years, but undivorced from any of her -husbands,” was recently charged with bigamy. Her defence was that she was trying to secure a good husband before she died. Evidently she was determined to find a solution to the problem: “Is Marriage a Failure I” or to perish in the attempt 1

At a meeting of representatives of the various local bodies in Wellington yesterday the following delegates were appointed to attend the Dominion conference to consider the Local Government Bill: —Mr. James Trevor (chairman of the Hospital and Charitable Aid Board), Mr. D. McLaren (Mayor of Wellington). Mr. R. Lee (chairman of the Education Board). Mr. F. W. Venn (chairman of the Horowhenua County Council),l Mr. J. W. McEwen (borough conn- j nils and other bodies). j

The Hauke s Bai County Council neets on Mondav. The order paper .s net a lengthy one.

With reference to a statement oy :he Wellington papers that owing t t» nail matter having been sent to "Van louver instead of San Francisco, th. Manuka, with English and American nails, could not leave San Francisco refoi-e Thursday, the Union Con.mny states that the vessel picked up he mails, which will be landed .n Yew Zealand on the due date.

The Wairoa was expected to leayJunedm for the Auckland Isianci ■> ,-esterday in search of the General Grant’s treasure, but apparently the ;uccessive coats of paint have obliterated her Plimsoll mark, and another vill have to be placed on her befor;he can sail. It may be necessary to lock the vessel before the Plimsoil nark can be located.

A good deal of shop-lifting goes on n Auckland, but the testimony of business people goes to show that it s not increasing to any great exent. The action of some people in prose ‘uting those they catch is considered o have a salutary effect. Of the hefts inside the shops the delin•uents seem generally to be women, vhile men appear more prone to nake a casual selection from wares lisplaycd outside. A special meeting of the Hastings ’orough Council will be held to-mor-•ow afternoon to appoint a delegare o attend the conference of local jodies in Napier to consider ♦■he \ocal Government Bill. The Public 'Vorks Committee will meet <--n Thursday evening to consider imiroveinents to Stanley road, extea Ing footpaths in the borough, the Slectrical Engineer’s report, and ♦!>? Local Government Bill.

Though there is no immediate prospect of a general election, measures are being taken by the Auckland Political Reform League to prepare ’or an active campaign at any time its efforts should be required. A definite scheme of organisation has been adopted, and branches of the league arc now being formed in all parts of she province. Though lacking the stimulus of a pro-eleqtion campaign ’the organisation is being undertaken .vith much enthusiasm, and members are being rapidly enrolled by the branches already formed.

The Palmerston North Chamber of Commerce have written to the Hastings Borough Council enclosing a :opy of the following resolution e-,-ently passed bj’ that body : —That his chamber desires to express its apreciation of the attitude shown 1 y he Minister of Defence in connection wipth his expressed intention ol mforcing the law relating to ht aompulsbry provisions of the Defenct Act, and that this resolution be f:;rvarded to other Chambers of Com merce and all local bodies concern ?d in the welfare of the Dominion .vith the request to endorse same il :hey approve of it.

Following the advance that has occurred during the last year or twe in the prices of articles and lines ir everyday use and consumption, fur Cher increases in the prices of gen sral groceries are probable, and ir. some instances certain. An Auck land reporter, during the course o’ enquiries, learned from one of the largest wholesale distributors in the city that the prices on finely-cut gro eery lines are bound to advance vein shortly. After a careful calculatioi it has been ascertained that a whole sale importer’s business costs at least 1| per cent, more to tun nov than was the case two or three year: ago.

A story need not be new, it need not be true, it needs only to be good, or at least “not bad.” As this for example, a coal-stealirig story borr of the strike:—An old man found his store dwindling faster than the household consumption accounted for. He sat up by the kitchen window one night to keep watch. Presently a dark form was distinguished stooping amongst the black heaps of the coal corner. “Now, then,” called out the watcher, “thou’rt pyking out the loomps again.” “Thou are a liar,” replied a voice recognisable in the darkness; “I’m takkin them as they coom.” Possibly the only gleam of humour that the strike has yielded.

The estates of the Messrs. Telfo;d in this district (says the Balclutha “Free Press”) were brought before the Prime Minister on Saturday as being suitable for acquirement by the Government for closer settle ment purposes. Otanomomo com prises 5469 acres, and lies on botl sides of the road from Balclutha tc Port Molyneoux. Clifton (with Car terhope) has an area of 15,676 acres bounded on one side by the Mair South road' to the Waiwera river, then by a block line to the Poma haka river, and then by the Poma haka river to the Clutha river. Th< capital value of Otanomomo is set down on the county valuation roll a: £42,025, and that of Clifton at £94,120.

Gathering up some odds and ends of correspondence and disregarding other odds and ends received too late for this week, says "Civis” in the ‘Otago Daily Times/’ I note first that the Hon. Thos. Mackenzie has presented to his old constituents of the Clutha "a two-faced clock.’’ (Comment by my correspondent omitted.) The incident, as a former Otago University Professor used to say, “wears a double aspect.” On the one hand the Roman Janus, a two-faced deity, was held in high respect ; on the other, Bunyan has a "Mr. Facing-both-ways’ ’of whom he intends us to think lightly. Giving Mr. Mackenzie the benefit of any doubt there may be, I quote for his

own use and for the encouragement of other politicians who at this moment may be hovering on the brink cf change, Lord Randolph Churchill’s defence when accused of turning his back upon himself:—“l neither withdraw nor apologise for anything- I have ever said at any time, believing as I do that everything 1 have said at any time was perfectly’ justified by the circumstances of that time, and by the amount of information which I may have had at that time in my possession.”

The Department of Public Works has asked the Hawke's Bay County Council to submit applications toi grants for the next vear.

At the Orchestral Society’s concert at Havelock North on AVednesday next all items which were given at the Hastings concert will )><> repeated.

The Hags on Government buildings in Napier, and on the PoU Office at Hastings were flown at half-mast toJa.\ as a mark of respect to the late Hon. Jarnos MacGowan.

At the Wellington Magistrate's Court yesterdnv Homy Incledon nd John Danks. trading as Incledon nirl Dunks, were each finer! .tp - anil cos.s for having sold milk adulterated with water.

A draft of the agreement between the Hawke’s Bay Couniy Council and the sawmillcrs for the next twelve months will be placed before the council at its meeting on Monday.

Another burglary occurred at Parnell on Friday, when a dwelling was entered and a number of articles of personal attire were stolen. A man was arrested on Saturday evening in connection with the crime and remanded for a week.

, A meeting of all local bodies within the Hawke’s Bay Hospital District will be held in the Council Chambers, Napier, on Thursday next for the purpose of selecting two delegates or representatives to the conference on the proposed Local Government Bill to be held at Wellington on Mav 21st.

A petition bearing forty-three signatures has been forwarded to the Hastings Borough Council by the livery-stable proprietors, expressmen, bakers, butchers, and general horse owners in the borough, requesting that they should be allowed, to drive their horses, instead of leading them, through the streets from the paddocks to' their stables before 7 o’clock in the morning. The petitioners point out that it is impossible to catch each horse when they are running loose in a paddock, whilst on the other hand it is easy to halter them at the stables and lead them to the paddocks in the evening. The request will be considered at the next ordinary meeting of the council. The alleged unfair treatment of Wellington by the Fire Insurance Companies, as far as rates are concerned, was again discussed by the council of the Wellington Chamber of Commerce yesterday. A letter was ■ead from the Underwriters’ Association stating that the association had no particulars with regard to fire losses in Wellington for the years 1909-10-11. consequently could not supply the information sought by the chamber. The letter also stated that no alteration could be made in “A” area. After a lengthy discussion a motion was adopted requesting a conference between the Chamber of Commerce and the Insurance Companies’ representatives with the view of discussing the whole matter.

There has been a good demand at the Hastings Post Office for Savings Bank Home Safes and the innovation is becoming very popular. The home safe is a small handsomely finished and substantially made steel safe, with an ingenious slot arrnngemenh »vhich readily permits of the deposit of all sizes of coin, but prevents its removal except at the Savings Bank, safes will be issued to any dcn< i;or applying for them on payment of one shilling, a debit of a- furthc: sum of two sb.ililngs being made to 'he Savings Bank account while Unsafe is in use. In consideration of he issue to a depositor of a u s expected that he will deposit his .avings with the Savings Bank noi ess frequently than once a month. Should the deposited wish he may at any time return a safe. If it, ;s m good order the debit of 2/- to his ae-: ?ount will be released. If not, or he closes his account without r> - | burning the safe, the 2/- will be collected and retained. The idea is a very good one for encouraging thrift imongst children, as money once /laced in the safe cannot be taken >ut except at the bank, where it must be deposited.