LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LI, Issue 9074, 24 April 1906, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL. —

What is supposed to be the largest flying fish that has ever been secured was caught by the chief officer 'of it-he steamer 'Delphic on heT recent voyage out to the colony. The fish measured 24 incßes from head to tail, whilst the outstretched wings spanned 25 inches. One of these, measuring 10£ inches, has been beautifully preserved. In a letter (dated March 28) received by Mr P. Duncan, of ,Matapu, from,' a niece in San F\ancisco, the writer said: "This promises to be a very good 'year for faimers, stockmen, orchardists,. and miners. Business is good along all lines, and merchants are happy. (This was before the disaster.) If the farmer "isn't prosperous you soon see 1 the merchant wearing a long face." Referring to the newspapers of New Zealand the writer said: "I wish I had a nice paper to 6en<i , you. We do not have the fine magazines that you have. We take the daily papers, but they are mot like the papers you send us." . A competition promoted by the proprietors of the Sydney Daily Telegraph, and eadd to be the first of its kind ever carried out in the world, took place recently at the Export Depot of the New South Wales Government, at Porymont, Sydney. Some 800 head of cockerels, capons, and diucklings weire exhibited in export crates ready packed and frozen for shipment to London, whither they were despatched as the final etage of the enterprise. A competitive show of dead poultry had not previously been witnessed in Australia, and It was the~ prevalent idea that people could not be induced 1 to interest themselves in dead poultry. The large and keenly-interested- attendance a* the exhibition, however, dissipated this assumption, and no live poultry show in Sydney has attracted more patronage,, and none has been accorded a more critical or appreciative inspection. For Childrenis Hacking Cough at Night,~ Wood's Great Peppermint Cure, 1« 6d and 2s 6d per bottle.—Advt.

The average roll number at the Hawera Public 9chop! during the year ending ~-^ March 31 was 512 and the average attendance 437. The roll number of the. High School was 52 and the average attendance 42. Government servants throughout the col- * ony have received" notice from* the-Depart-ments in which ..they are employed) that they are not to engage in. music .teaching. The .action, t of the department -(says, the) Southland Times) is, presumably 4ue,.to the receipt of information that JGoveninient ' servants have been supplementing their incomiee in the "way indicated. *-"> It may (says the. Christdhifrch Press) be of interest to those "who loidw.'anything of field firing, or the chances of War, to know that the infantry at the South Canterbury Ea6t*T manoeuvres fired 6051 rounds of ball ammunition, and mad*; 179 hits. The .mounted . men, .proportionately speaking, "'did a. trifle,. better. In actual .warfare 'the effectiv€ft«»' v would aotjiave, been as great as that Apparently small total, because the targets would F not lie stationary ones. The 'monthly meeting of the "Hospital and Charitable Aid BoaWw'astp hava been held to-day,:but sufn&tot : memb«i» to form a. quorum did not present them- , selves .at the ;Board'« .office, so it was decided to adjourn lor. a. week. At an informa! v meeting, jat which, the. Chairman (Mr Bobbins), Messrs Dumb. and. Marx ,were present, Mise C. H.'SneligioTO/Masrton, was appbiivted nurse, arid Miss* Hodsdonett, Wellington, probationer. One more probationer ,wUI be appointed! at the meeting a week hence. . A remarkable prayer meeta&& .'was held by the We&leyanß of Plumstead, 'England, last month. Six hundred .;meh and < women gathered ab,the;WesJeyan. i Hall "for £he -conversion of Mt Robert, Blatchford', the editor oV the Clarion-, anjd' a. leading opponent of Christianity." Intense eaa'rvestoteft \sa& the keynotoe 61 the proceedinge. .-The Rey. Stanley "Parker, -'in a - short address, fceferred i» • the 'enormousi power which Mr Blatchford. ("Nuaquam") ;exe>ci&ed over the workers of the country, airuTsaid it "wae,a great pity'.that,so bril■liant- a l wrot6r,who carried thousands, with him, should have lately ,co>dHct«d a'cam.paign 1 against Christianity in the columns of "his journal.* ."That a-hoWof wofkiig-.BK^-.by means of these attacks; had' been Tedi from the, light • of. the Gospel to the darkness of . infidelity was only too certain. A decidedly sharper -enquiry has set .in at Timaru for . gradn. .-^bdtfr wheat ana C':&at<?.,., TjLa (sayfi the OimstciuTch-Pjpess^ is attributed, 'in. part at alLeye<nte,.t« the probable reduction in" freights. Should this eventuate, .there will be a las«e .quantity of %raih-6hippid_ %ome 'from Timaru,: and if the local marfe&b is thus bared, .prices must go up ccSwiderably. Sellers had jio difficulty in;bl>taaning 3e for good, wheat in Tinferu iba Saturday last. It is thought probable that millers will offer a still better, price, 'ik order to prevent, the expor* of ' too !jnuca, c wheat, and having obtained full stocks, 'increass the price of flour." The Home market is .not, /the only one offering" just now, for 12jOOQ bags, of oate are to be" sent away from Timaru in one bottom ..this week, to the Cape. Another factor.that will make for .Better pricas in. oats is,tq,.be found in the fact <t-hat a West of E'nglaM^buyer j is expected to be operating in South Canl terbury this week. * .Another religious queetion^which^is being mooted just now by. various bishops 1 * and <&*rgy is formulated" by them' as. ''tHe tyranny of choirs." It is being itroingly urged, writes a. London press coraajpon"den^jthat^mucn of the devotion arid earnestness of 'the church jseryioea ia Gocrificed>owadays to the mere desire of 'ee?f--display on the part of the cTfoaro; and that, except in'raofe aiia specaal cases, VucE'as those o? Irhe -great cathedrals with their' - foUy-equipped choral -instibuttbos, the singing of elaborate anthems'raifd. equally elaborate canticle services;6boßJdube''abandoned, more c^hgregataonal .methods of chanfcuig'being aHo^'ted aod^greaierpaiiw being" taken "to insure aieverent and expressive interpretation *of tb^e hyiftiß It isfi^y^assertea'tnat-manyorgannfte and choiimasters ."scamp" rin, ?(*» most careless and perfunctory way thefmere: chanting and hymn-singing, .devoting all their efforts ito ensure— not always with entaTo '•••cee*— «n effective and sometimes dramatic performance of florid servioasto the canticleß and) of "highly* elaßb^,te and 6om«tinlee strikingly operatic and.unsuiti- . able oratorio 'BeJectioins-as "oathems," sometimes even actual adaptations from secular operas being employed. A "very pretty quarrel," or at any 'rate a-some-what acrimonious - controversy, ' Kds"^ fair to develop .from these episcopal amid, priestly utterances. When. Mr E. Hardcastle Was dear-stalk-ing inThe- Dingle, North, Otago, the week ■ before last' he captured a kea by shinning it. with a stick. The" 'bird was kept tethered at camp for several days, .'and it x ate. readily, being mo^t > pariiaf.;to r fi,t, ito first meal the day after its caipWre/being 6ome: kidney fat taken from J a stag. It wae'intended to bring th©'Kird"fiome' f alive, but, unfortunately, a, ferret -decapMtied ifc .one night. When 'in. the district Mr Hardcastle ■ made enqiumes • as to-the alleged sheep-killing habits- of the kea, and found that, the statements Tthade "recently were fully confirmed! He was also informed that some years ago.'a man 'was accidentally : ki!led- by a- fall on the Tanges, JQortn,of Lake Wanaka. A large party went out to recover" the body, -:on 'which were found 1 a-number of keas. ~The man's clothing had been torn open, ;and both kidheys-had beec/ removed. Mr Hairdcastle's informant was the gentleman who wa6 in charge of the party. Owing to the rough nature of the country they had to bury the body where it was feuad. Shortly before going south- Mr Hanlcast3e was told by an eye-witness of akeurattacking a pack mule that was tethered close' to a camp, aaid the animal could only drive the" bird off his back by lying and polling. Three years ago, when-deer-italking in The Diriigle, Mr Hardcastile j and a companion disturbed a flock of keaa that were at the. carcase of a stag killed that day by another member of the party. It was found that the birds had been pulling at the flesh upon the neck of the stag, from which the. head and skin, hod been removed. BABY COUGH MUST NEVER LINGER. Nothing is^more; distressing Ijhan. to see a helpless . little infant suffering. .wiEh, a cough, and to be. fearful of using a remedy which may contain same harmful fninedient. The makers of Charqber.lain'B CWh Remedy ppatively-guarantee .that th» w& paration does not contain opium in>anv form, or any other: harmful fiuKstanc/ Mothers may confidently give this-w^ki-to their Kttle lief, and is perfecUy mb. FlfcF Ifc S^T 1 CTU T V*™j' For safe bvW V K. Wallas, chemist, and H P wLj * grooer.-Advt. »«■«.& Hard*

Mr Andrew B. Wallace, pianoforte and organ tuner for the Dresden Piano Company, is in town. Mr Wallace brings excellent credentials from the Old Country, including a certificate from the well-known firm of Collard and Collaxd, of London. Our Opunake correspondent writes : — _A stir was caused in town this afternoon (Monday), when a fire was discovered in -the workshop of Mr Goldie's furniture .store. It is believed that a match carelessly thrown down set- fire to some tow ■2nd) spread to the kapoc and other inflammable material. The blaze was immediately noticed, aid a few well direct•«d buckets of water soon extinguished it. Referring to the telegram published on .Saturday 'saying : "If any one in the col--ony haying relatives, in Sara Francisco gives -the AanlfePand addresses of such relatives to the Premier, he will telegraph to the Government t mail agent- or ittie -iesidiant : .•Government agent. at San Francisco -re^ 'specting. their safety," a correspondent us "to say whether "any other condi--tione. attach", (presumabjly; conditions .of .'We have no information other than that contained, in the. telegram, buib "interpret :it to mean that the cost of'enquiry will be borne "by the colony. Chark* Mollwo, a Russian, who in hie time had' a-jf&ried Career, died in the Weilingtop. Hospital .last week. Many *ago he yr&s sufficiently -.prominent to rex•cite the "attention of .the governing autho-" pities of his naiiye land, Russia, and was %ot afraid to express 'discontent with the methods, of the autocracy. He became, a -.1 'marked i'nian," and -had to~Bes& safety in iflight, ", eventualy reaching New 'Zealand. "He -ultimately settled in Wellington,, "where his personality won him many* friends. - • The Government pomologist, Mr W. r .JBoucher, left by last mail steamer for San Tranci6co on Friday, in connection with' dompere's recent discovery of the parasite of the codlirii moth. , -He takes a fur, ther consignment of codlin moth, which is being exchanged by the .Government of .New Zealand -with the United "States 1111 11, 1 «s food for the parasite divring the winter anonths. While in America, Mr Boucher -will ateo enquire ipfoUhV fruitgrowing in-dustry,-abd 1 more partiiMaTly Vith regard r to^>est6 and their remedies. HeJwill like--ly^.'be absent 3 ,fpr -about., fchfee; months, and adiarmg^naj^tlme'wfllj travel- through Cali36nua and the Western States. In the further report on the stores ordered for; the, late -S^th- African, waff and subsequently • disposed jof, reference 5s made by the Comptroller, and Auditor-? General to large cargoes of New 'Zealand! oate, which cost, with freight, £45,000, *iand.had, to ; be!sold!in' Durban for £5000." .Jbe Army CeuneiLAeld that the fault was* -Avf .io } tJ^/'indiffeM&V.lquality" of the. rgrsun passed, by the .graders, in the service, •pf^th'e New^^Zeaiand. Government. Thereplied that the bats had- baeoQi Sept eleven months, and the Army Cqunv idil finally, -while "not' prepared to accept the statements of the New Zealand decided that" no good purpose" 1 -would- be served by pursuing the question' cfuirthei. , t In the retirement from the School Committee .of Mr "R. ,W. : Sargeht (the late' Chairman) the householders have been of the services, of one who has ?had a very wide experience on school comt <■ -jmfctees. Before coming to Hawera, Mir was for 15 years on the Cambridge 11 years as Chairman. Hd -was returned to the 'Hawera committee 11 years, and was Chairman on several occasions. .At .the. meeting of householders on night, Mr Sargent was nominated •for election for the ensuing year, but de- • -dined. Before the meeting concluded, Iklr Bobbins moved a hearty vote of thanks ito Mr Sargent for his services in the,pa6t. Mr Robbihs 6aid he hoped that as Mr •.Sargent would not consent to being again $>laced on the committee he would be made the representative of some of the other "todies from which, the Advisory Board dor the- technical classes was to come. The. anotion of thanks was carried by accJamai,ion. On his way to England, Mr Fowlds, M.H.R., spent a month in South Africa, j Me visited' all the battlefields of the late j twar, stopped at Johannesburg, Pretoria, Bloemfontein, and Kimberley (where he aisedl to live before settling in New Zea- j land), and then went up to., Mafeking, whence he travelled south, to Capetown to join the Briton. At Johannesburg Mr Fowlds had the honor of lunching with ix>rd and Lady Selboxne. He also dis•cussed the Chinese labor question with , <some of the mining magnates and the re- 1 TpTosenfotiTOS-of 4abor on the Rand, and for himself die conditions under which ■*he Chinese coolies worked. In his •opinion, those conditions could not be isaid to bear the taint of slavery. The "Chinese were well treated, and, though lodged in compounds, permission! to visit .Johannesburg was readily granted to the coolies. Mr Fowlds saw many Chinese -about the streets during his stay thexe. The conditions of their employment, he «ays, are -not nearly so rigorous as in the case of the Kaffirs in'the diamond mines .at Kimberley, where the natives are shut Tip on their location -for the whole tlwea months of their engagement, in order to •prevent illicit traffic in diamonds. Wellington had 12 Tainy day 6in March. The report of the Government meterolojgist (Mr D. C. Bates) for the months states that the total rainfall was generally Sielow the average, and the weather -changeable, but on the whole more chilly ,-amd duller than usually experienced in mrid autumn in New Zealand. The mean snonthly temperatures at Wellington, Auckland and Dunedin are about the low<est eveT recorded at those cities for the of March in the previous fortyi>hre© years, and these following the low--temperatuie records of February a-bready constitute a remarkably cold autumn seajson for this yeaT. The conditions, however, were not so severe as bare reports would lead strangens unacquainted with our climate to imagine. Taking Welling■ion as an example, 57deg. F-, the mean monthly temperature for March last, -which is *the lowest on Tdcord, is only "3.sdeg. below the mean for the month. During the past month the highest tem--perature at Wellington was 71.8deg., and •the lowest 40deg., with a mean daily Tange of 12.2 deg. The month wae -ushered in -with fine and pleasant weather, "but on fche 4th somewhat sultry and Tuimid conditions and northVeasterly "wind* heralded the approach of an area of loy barometric pressure from the north. ThiM on the 6th and 7th Drought.a-bundftnt rainj In all parts of the North Island, except ing Taranaki. The same disturbance al« -'■ .-accounted for raine in the South Island. It was followea-by .remat&My-cold south--westerly winds, which in both islands pTO Jraoed snow on the mountains and frost* in it he valleys.

The many friends of Mr J. W. Deem, local stock inspector, who has lately Buffered a severe illness, wiil be glad) to learn that he is able to get about again. Captain Tinney, acting pilot, informs the Patea Press that the sea running outside the Heads on Friday was, despite th© fact of ite being a calm day, the heaviest he had ever seen in (that locality. A peculiar feature was. that the breakers extended as far as the eye could each. The captain is of opinion that only a seismic distubance could have poduced such a phenomenon unde the weather conditions prevailing. The family of the late Sir Julius. Vogel have recently com© in for some bequests under the. will of the late Mt Benjamin Isaac ;of ; the firm of Isaac and Samuel, commission merchants, 22, Great •Winchester street, London, aged 52, and left estate of the gross value of £359,327. Under the; will, the. testator bequeathed JBoOOOin trust r for : Phoebe Vogel, £6000 to Frances. Vogel, £3000 to;. Henry B. Vogel* and £5000 to Julius Vogel. Note is made by the Timaru, Herald on the lack of interest by the farmiiig community'of ifie" district on technical 'education., "Lastly ear wool classing, .though any excellent 'subject for a young farmer to have a knowledge of, and though taught by one of the best^men in_the district*, )Vas the-. worst attended . class at the Temuka technical school, and now, in reeponse to a request for a class in practical blacksmithing, pupils weTe this year advertised) for at* Temuka with the Tesult that one pupil' applied." The discovery of a ten-pound note at Kariiak, Victoria., has fortunately cleared .up armystery. 'Riding thorough a paddock an observant horseman saw the edge of a piece of paper projecting on each side of a hoof-print. He dismounted, and found it to be, the note, nearly illegible from 'decay. .Nine months previously a young woman went to the local store, taking a ten-pound note in her reticule. After making some purchases sihe found that the, note was missing. By coincidence a* young man left her^mploy while the purchases were bejng.'inade. This circumstance led to his being- suspected, and- he wa6 followed and interrogated, but i strongly- protested .his innpcence. . He, was permitted to ? take.~his "departuTC, but has ever- since >ramarried . "under .a cloud."- TJ?e note, which^ reached the bank in fragments, wae iduly honored. , , . („-.Those( „-.Those millionaiTea have funny ways of spending their- money. : Recently the Lontkat papers 'were Jull of.tne extravagance of a youthful 'American, with more dollars than sense, who had /the courtyard of the Savoy Hotel tunned into a lake, and dined -along: with; a dozen- boon' companions on, a .platform in the -middle of it; , swans swimmingrround it. .That foolish feat has oeen emulated ,by -Mr H. Baraato, ,who gave tlie manager of the. Gaiety- restaurant carte blanche on, a recent occasion -to. celebrate the Renewal of the Anglo-Japanese alliance. A feature of • €he; entertainment was a huge' tank,- .in' 'which' floated model British and , Japanese , warships, and there was also. a , model of- Port. Arthur. Whem the gueste.-entered a semi-dark room splendid fireworks blazed' out , from fort and ships. When the lights, were tuxnedi up lovely ; decorations and flags- of the two countries "were everywhere. One item on the menu was a lamb Toaisted whole, brought" in on, a. ; pony 'is. back, and taken in this .way round the table, so that everyone helped himself. , The dinner wa» brought to an- end "by two 6hips, caTved out of ice, being wheeled in, on a trolly, fireworks playing over them. The torments of Tantalus must have been small compared, with those of Frank Campbell. The latter gentleman lives, much against his will, in- the Nebraska State penitentiary, U.S.A. For 'another year he will remain within ite walls. And he might, but ior his misfortune in being convicted of embezzlement at a most inopportune, "be dissipating a sum of £5000. It seems the irony of ironies that at 6uch a time and in such a place he should be declared! the winner of the prize offered to him who should correctly guess the attendance at St. Louis Exposition. But worse remains -behind. When compelled i to leave the society of his fellow-men Campbell made arrangements with a lawyer to look after his outside interests, the arrangement being that if the £5000 should fall to the convict's lot the lawyer should receive half. So £2500 is a.ll that will fall to the. unhappy wretch, and even that will not be at his disposal till twelve months have been consumed in melancholy visions of what might have been. To be so near to money yet so far from it adds grossly to the tortures of imprisonment. "The case of Scotland y. New Zealand'" forms the subject of some very straight talk by a candid critic in "C. B Fry's Magazine" for March. He declares that the treatment of ibe> New Zealand footballers in Scotland is "for ever a blot upon the fair fame of Scottish hospitality." That his treatment is no imagination may. lie says, be clearly shown by narrating the series of things winch happened which should not have happened : (I) Refusal to give dates. (2) Refusal to award cap vto the Scottish team, vhich at once brought the game down to the level of a mere exhibitdon, a decision' that was in itself a alur on the New Zealanders. (3) Non-pro-tection of the ground from frost or snow. (4) Colonials given no option in choice ot hall. (5) Chilling reception by the crowd o? a great victory won in the last four minutes by a feat of scoring on such a pitch that was probably quite beyond the powers of any other team that has ever played! (6) Wrongful accusations of rough and foul play by writers of tihe press. In this matter no blame can be attached to the players or officials (7^ Jsnoring of the guests by the Scottish players. In the same issue the muchdebated question, "Did New Zealand Score Against Wales?' is also reviewed by the candid critic, whose verdict is that the weight of evidence is all in favor /of an affirmative reply. "Never," he concludes, 'was try more truly ecored." THE SIGN OF HEALTH. When the stomach or liver fails to act, it soonvtouchefi the good, health indicator. Indigestion, biliousness, sick headaches, and simila* symptoms assail us. Yellowness around the eyes, face flushed;, puffy or sallow. The skim presents a dry, harsh, or muddy appearance with blotches, pimples, or eruptions. Briefly, the complexion is a. sure indea to fhe state of health. "I have derive^ .great benefit from a course of Impey'i May Apple. It is the most beneficial pre paaration I have used." — Miss A. Nicholl New Plymouth. | Impey's May Apple i© a, certain cut< for indigestion, biliousness, stomach an< liver troubles. 2s 6di per bottle every where. Sharlarid and Co., Ltd., whole saH£,a«ent«. .