LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 8143, 15 December 1904, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Reports of the Patea County Council and West Road Board appear on fourth page. Mr F. D. Sargent, of Mr Hd«'. wells office, passed the first section of ?m> julici tor's law at the recent examinations. ) Mr Newton Kins reports the sale of Messrs Drake Bros, farm of 480 acres at Mahoe to Messrs Mills, Bayly and Mills. Owing to an epidemic of measles it has been suggested that the Campbell street School, Palmerston Noth, should be I closed. There is a considerable amount of sickness in Palmerston at present, says the Standard. . Cases of diphtheria have occurred recently. Faulty drainage is said to be the cause. Last night was probably one of the coldest nights that has been experienced during spring. Friends are wondering how the mountaineers got on with two blankets and a rug. The Lyttelton Times Wellington correspondent says : From well-informed sources I learn that the Government has virtually decided to appoint the Hon. W. P. Reeves, Agent-General for Jhe colony, to the new position of High Commissioner, for a period of two years. The Land Purchase Board (the Ne* Zealand Times reports) has given notice of its intention to resume 4000 acres of the late Mr C. R. Bidwill's Tawaha station, close to the east side of the Wairarapa lake. The price has not been agree J upon, and there will probably be ft compensation case to determine it. The Cabinet has approved (says the Christchurch Press) of the proposal to secure space on behalf of New Zealand at the Crystal Palace exhibition for an exhibit to be representative of the colony. The Agent-General is being notified accordingly. Mr H. E. P. Adams, of Patea, has been elected member of the Education Board in the place of Mr R. A. Adams, deceased* The voting was: H. E. P. Adams, 169^ A. Fraser, 139; J. Smith, 135; W. Carncross, 105; 0. Pleasants, 70; W. White,

01. The butchers of Timaru are so satisfied with the contract system of killing, as carried out at the Timaru municipal abattoir, that they have asked the Borough Council to give the present contractors an extension of their existing contract. The butchers have further given their opinion that the contract system of killing is the most economical and satisfactory. Tne usual meeting of the members of the Fire Brigade was held last night in the social room. Owing to the absence of a number of members on the mountain trip there was a small attendance and a large number of apologies. Fireman Emmerton suggested that members of the brigade should attend practices and roll up gear for the team which was to go to Dunedin in March; otherwise only routine business was transacted. A youth named Paterson, son of a settler in the Mataura district, narrowly escaped a serious accident lately. While w'ping the muzzle of a double-barrelletr breech-loading gun, which was loaded, the butt of the weapon struck the floor. The charge exploded, and young Paterson, who wag liolding the gun at the muzzle with his left hand, had two fingers blown off. "Let me put a case," said an employer, when he and his colleagues were discussing the Workers' Compensation Act at a meeting in Christchurch. "Suppose a man got bitten by a mosquito while working for his master, and the bite induced a fever, would the employer be liable for the payment of compensation?" After some consideration, the president said that, in view of the judgment in a recent Southern case, the employer would be liable. The ways of the Maori mind are beyond the comprehension of the average pakeha. In a case at the Taihape Police Court a native who was accused of an offence against the law, elected to have an interpreter. At the conclusion of the case, when he was found guilty and fined a substantial amount, he stood up and said to the Bench in excellent English : "I have go no money jupt> now, but >f you give me time I will pay it!" An instance of how a telephone service may be disarranged was afforded at Gisborne last week, flays the Herald- A gentleman who visited a country jureau, left hi« spectacles behind, and the telegraphist, on finding them, placed them on top of the telephone. Tnip short-cir-cuited the current and caused trouble in

I several offices. Greytown shopkeepers are voluntarily going in for early closing. A majority of them have forwarded a requisition tc the Minister for Labor desiring that all the shops in the borough shall be closed at 6 p.m. on four working days, at 9 p.m. on Saturday, and at 1 p.m. on the statutory Half-holiday-, and the Ttfinis'ter accordingly directs By notice in the Gazette that those hours shall be observed. Similar steps are being taken at Gisborne. A remarkable railway accident occurred on October 9 in the Cania tunnel, under the St. Clair River, on the Grand Rapid line. A train having broken in two when within the tunnel, had to be taken out in sections. The engine-driver, the conductor, and the brakesman, returning for the fourth time, were overcome by the noxious air, and died. The superintendent and two meh went to the rescue from the American end of the tunnel, and the superintendent and one man died.' An engine from Sarnia, with six men, then went to the rescue. They were all overcome, but revived, with the exception of one man, who died. The fatalities were probably doe to heavy fog and a strong east wind, which encountered the rescuers entering from the west. The' air' in tfie tanner is

always foul. . - AFTER TWENTY-ONE YEABS. One woniH b« incline^ fe> believe that • t would be impossible to cure a dfsftsa that had clutched Its victim for twentyone years. But fthenmo conquers chronic rheumatism. Mr E. M. Rodman, of Collingwood street; Nelson, writes: --' "It gives me grtat. pleasure to Be 'able' to say that by using yowr wonderful medicine Rheumo I have T)een completely cured of goqt and rheumatism, of which I hare been a sufferer for the past twenty-one years. I maf say I hf re not Km| tlfe

Through a break down near Porirua the express was delayed 45 minutes last night. By a careful examination it is estimated that the Government would lose £7000 per annum in duty if the recently gazetted regulations witu respect to patent medicines were enforced. There is nothing like gqing the "whole hog." An orator at Strathmore the other day, in proposing the Parliament of New Zealand, remarked that "the Old Country had not men to equal its members. ' And Mr Syme, who had to respond, did so without a blush. Speaking at Strathmore (the Stratford Post reports) the Hon. Hall • Jones said, with regard to the question of freehold versus leasehold, the State had entered into a contract with certain people with regard to land. He said, "Keep that contract inviolate." If they kept to that contract they need fear no revaluation. If they kept to their part of the contract they need have no fear. If they had single tax where would they be? Some friction had been caused by the Land Boards. If there were any undue restrictions imposed by Land Boards they would have to be removed. When a guest in Japan has outstayed his welcome the mistress of the house does not grow outwardly impatient at his presence, but she prepares, the daintiest luncheon imaginable, and puts it . into the prettiest of boxes, which she ' wraps in rice paper and ties with a ' ribbon. Then, some morning, when no other members of the household are j present — all having been warned to keep out of the way— she puts the lunch box, with the sweetest of smiles, int§ his hand. Before the lunch hour the guest, if he be wise, has vanished like a morning cloud. The Wanganui papers relate a story of how -a winsome little lass who is among the scholars of the Kai Iwi public school, with a keen eye for a good opportunity, pulled her pony across the road and i quietly "held up" a load of municipal ex- : cursionttfts and levied a collection for her , school prize fund. Her happy inspiration, and the pleasant way in which she did it, captivated the travellers, the hat was sent round, and the little maid, brimming over with thanks, rode away the happy possessor of a pound more than she would 1 have had if she hadn't the courage to bail up the municipal party. At the distribution of prizes at the ' Wanganui Technical School Mr W. Gray, M.A., congratulated both teachers and students on the year's work. As an instance of the value of technical schools, he said that a fellow student of his at the , University in Dunedin only 13 years ago was a clicker, in a boot factory. He was bent on learning, and devoted all the , time he could to study, and after a distinguished scholastic career was to-day a Doctor of Science and Professor of an English University, That was an object lesson in the value of Technical Schools. The Wellington Post reports a sharp rise in the price of potatoes, old potatoes that were hard to quit last week at £4 meeting with a ready sale this week at from £10 to £11 per ton. The supplies : coming forward from* Hutt and Otaki are still very short, so that Wellington has to rely for the bulk of the supplies on , Auckland, where a disease is now raging ; among the tubers. Prices on Monday for best new potatoes from Otaki and the ; Hutt were from 22s 6d to 25s per cwt, old potatoes selling at £9 per ton. The shipments from Auckland contain quantities affected by blight, but good samples of kidneys from Auckland brought from 17s to 18s per cwt, and others 11s, while Hutt "flukes" reached 20s. The sum of £3000 was voted by Par- ; liament last session for distribution to public libraries. The last Gazette contains the conditions governing the distribution of this money, which must be ' expended without delay in the purchase of books. The distribution will take place on February 6, 1905, and no claims will be entitled to consideration that shall not ' have been sent in due form and received by the Secretary of Education, Welling- , ton, on or before January 30, 1905. A , library, to be entitled to a subsidy, must , be public in the sense of belonging to the public, and of not being under the control of an association, society, or club, whose membership is composed of a section of the community only, and if within a borough it must be open to the public free of charge. Berlin will shortly be able to boast of possessing the largest hospital in the world., The new institution, which is to be called after the famous physiologist, the Rudolf Virchow Hospital, will be fitted with accommodation for 2000 patients. When fully equipped it will have a staff of six hundred and fifty physicians, nurses, attendants, and servants. In connection with the hospital there will be a patholoi gical and anatomical laboratory, bath house with medico-mechanical institute, section for Rontgen apliances, and a separate building also for apothecaries. : Hitherto the largest German hospital was that at Eppendorf, near Hamburg, with accommodation for 1600 patients. The size of the new Berlin hospital may be best shown when compared with the London Hospital, with seven hundred and eighty beds, and at the Marylebone Infirmary, with seven hundred and fortyfour. The fact that the New York baker, Louis Heischmann, has passed away, reminds the newspapers that he originated the famous "bread line" for the hungry waifs of the streets of New York. About ten years ago Mr Fleischmann observed at night the crowds of tramps standing over the sidewalk grating at the bakery, sniffing the odor of new bread and rolls k being turned out in the basement. He then began to Band out loaves of bread to all who stayed until 1 a.m., and once begun, the practice has never ceased, j "The bread line" has sometimes consisted j of 500 hungry men in one night. Before long Mr Fleischmann began to receive letters from persons who protested against that form of indiscriminate charity, but the baker's invariable answer has been : "If a man will stand on a kerb two or three hoars to get a loaf pf bread or a few rolls, he's hungry. That enough for me." A curious fact (says an exchange) has just come under notice in connection with that well-known and oft-sung song "The Holy City." It appears that the famous Mrs Maybrick, who was recently released, after serving fifteen years' imprisonment on a charge of husband-murder, was the first person who ever sang the song. The song was the work of the younger brother of the man Mrs Maybrick was convicted of poisoning, his norn de plume being "Stephen Adams." He was her most relentless enemy, and was mainly instrumental in securing her conviction. Mrs Maybrick was a good musician, had a great liking for music, an excellent voice, and a love of convivality. Her husband owned a fine yacht, a feature of which was a music saloon. Michael Maybrick, who had just leaped into fame as the composer of "Nancy Lee," was present at one of these -musical evenings while the yacht was anchored in the Mersey. He produced from his pocket a manuscript song, which he said. he had written that afternoon, while dreaming the time away in his cabin and listening to the splash of the waters. He had caught the inspiration of Weatherly's words, but the voice part only had been jotted down. The accompaniment had still to be filled in. Sitting at the Piano, he vamped an introduction and asked his sister-in-law, Mrs Florence Maybrick, to sing "The Holy City" from the voice part. She was an excellent reader, and readily did this, he filling in an extemporised accompaniment. Thus it was her voice which for the first time stirred the air with strains destined to become as well known as Sullivan's "Lost Chord" or Faure's "The Palms." Viscount Hayashi, the Japanese Minister in London, after the battle of Shaho, oncp again referred to Japan's determination "to go on." "The loss of life in the battle," he said, "is appalling, and s fel| deeply by all qf us. But what help, its there? All wh.o knew the existing conditions must have recognised what a determined war this would be. There is nothing to do but to go on. It !■ not for Japan to judge if the time has come to talk about peace. This rests with the Government of the Czar.

The only thing that must not be forgotten is that we never sought to bring about the war." Discussing the further progress of operations, the Minister said: "There is nothing to prevent fighting going on continuously, for in some respects the Manchurian winter is more suitable for operations than the summer. The war will lie continued through the winter, for the weather will not interfere with out transport of stores and ammunition. The next point of real importance to be taken is Tie-ling and when that is accomplished there is nothing to stop our advance to Harbin.'! Wifli regard to the ' peace references made in telegrams from Tokio, Viscount Hayashi said : "A desire for peace it but the natural feeling of humanity, and a result of the horror we all experience at the awful carnage which is taking place, but it is late in the day to be terrified at what is happening. It should have been foreseen and prevented." ' ' «