LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LIII, Issue LIII, 9 January 1908, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Kapiti sailed for Patea at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

At a special meeting of the Hawera Borough Council on Wednesday night it was decided: "That the statutory half-holiday for 1908 be on Wednesday of each week."

The Hawera Borough Council has fixed the dog tax for 1908 at 10b, and the contract for supplying the collars has been let to Mr Bach at 6d per collar.

The lady friends of the Convent School are organising a groat "Dominion Fair" for February 11. There will be during its progress a grand display of fancy dances, etc., to arrange for which a meeting is called for Friday evening at the Convent School.

Mr J. Brunette, of Hawera, wrote to the Patea Harbor Board on Tuesday expressing pleasure at the prompt manner goods had been forwarded, and expressing his intention in. future oi having all his goods sent via Patea, instead of through New Plymouth.

The . secretary submitted a statement at the meeting of the Auckland Harbor Board on Tuesday showing that the revenue for the year 1907 was £92,986 13s 6d, as compared with £82,357 Is 6d for 1906, showing an increase for 1907 of £10,629 12s lOd, or over 12£ per cent increase for the year, and more than double what it was ten years ago.

An, accident of an unusual kind happened to a motor car recently, on a road at the back of Albury, South Canterbury, the leaders in a team of draugh horses, which were startled by the car coming round, a corner suddenly, jumping on to the car instead of away from it. One of the occupants was a good deal dazed and bruised, and the car was upset and extensively damaged.

The Customs duties collected at' the port of Patea for December, 1907, totalled £304 13s 6d. The amount collected for the corresponding month of 1906 was £381 18s lOd. The exports for the month of December, 1907, were— Butter 4406cwt, value £21,231; cheese 15,547cwt, value £43,532 ; frozen beef, lOOcwt, value £70; New Zealand phormium, 16 tons, value £421; tow, 4 tons, value £28 ; tallow, 6 tons, .value £88; wool, 65,0421b5, value £2259; total value, £67,530.

The account from Mr R. J. Hughes of £B 8s 6d (alterations and supply of firebell apparatus) was again before the Borough Council at its meeting on Wednesday night, when the Mayor (Mr B. C. Robbins) moved that it be referred to the Finance Committee for a recommendation as to what amount he is entitled to, if any.— Cr Whittington seconded. — A desultory discussion took place on similar lines to that of the last meeting. Cr Campbell moved an amendment, That the account be referred to a committee of old councillors who were acquainted with the facts, the committee to comprise Crs Pacey, Morrissey and Whittington. Cr Morrissey seconded. The amendment was lost and the motion carried.

Cr Brunette complained to the Borough Council on Wednesday night that it had been reported to him that the tables and reading desks in the Public Reading Room were in a dirty state. He thought the matter should be looked into. The Mayor said he had also received a complaint to the effect that newspapers received by the midday mail on Wednesdays were not filed until late in the evening, or perhaps not till the next day. He thought these were matters for the Library Committee to enquire into. Cr Brunette explained that he did not wish to cast a reflection upon the librarian, but he understood there was a man at the library whose duty it was to keep the place clean.

At Wednesday night's meeting of the Hawera Borough Council a communication with reference to the agitation for public access to Robertson's lakes was received from Mr C. E. Major, M.P., suggesting to the Council the advisableness of communicating with Mr Dive with a view to his making provision for access by road to the first lake and between the first and second lakes. Should Mr Dive not do so, then without delay the Council ought to move the Government to take the necessary road under the powers in the Public Works Act ere. any claim for vested rights may be set up. The Mayor said he had written to . Cr Foy (who was in Auckland) asking him on behalf of the Borough Council to interview Mr Dive with a view to obtaining the desired road. Mr Rdbbins stated he had also forwarded to Cr Foy, for Mr Dive's perusal, a copy of the Star containing the letter of "Aquaticus" and a sub-leader on the subject of opening the lakes to the public. Ho went on to say that he did not know whether the Council were prepared to go to the extent of taking the land under the Public Works Act. However, he would suggest allowing the matter to stand over until tho return of Cr Foy. Cr Wilkinson moved in that direction. The resolution was seconded by Cr Brunette and carried.

Tho news that tho Hon. R. McNab is to leave Wellington at the end of this week to inspect sites which have been offered to tho Government in Feilding and Hawora has caused a mild sensation m Feilding (says the Manawatu Standard). Tho Feilding people hnvo offered the Government tho use of their Technical School for experimental purposes, while as a permanent site for the school, Mr Lothbridgc, M.H.R., has come forward with a grant of 50 acres of land, upon which no restrictions aro pkced.

Evidently tho change in tho titular designation of Now Zealand <Hd not sond London into nn ecsbtsy of joy. In tho on v rat of n lofcter Mr Juntos Kowin. well known throughout this district, says: — "Tho irnnsformntion of Now Zwiljutd into a Dominion sowiia to bo a matter that interests very fow of tho goavornl public, 1 <lo not think there are a dozen people out of tho 60,000,000 who ohm a straw whether Now Zoaltuul bo n colony or n Dominion, and I really cnainot soo that it can make much difference to tho Now /ml and pooplo themselves, I fancy that tho price of buttor <vnd < % hooso is a matter of much more importance."

Tho days of disagreeable, hard mcdi« einea are past, and Chamberlain's Tablet* top the poJl aa the moat pleasant to take, ipildeat and gentlest in effect, safest and surest in their result. Try them next time you need a purgative, and you will be more than pleased. For sale by W. K. Wallace, chemist, and H. B. Harris, grocer.— Adrt.

On Wednesday Mr A. M. Conroy received the following wire from J. Fuller and Sons: "Cancel date, reorganising stronger company to play about end of month." , v - - ,-

fcionie idea of the value of a professional footballer in England these days may be gathered from the. faqt that the ofter of JtJiiJLK) made by the Black ourn Kovera and oi £1500 by Chelsea for the transftr of Jonii Simpson, ot Jj'alkirk, was refuse^.

Northern papers record that the 'potato blight in and arouand Jtiannlton is making its presence severely felt, and tfriq year the ravages ore nojt. oonjoed.^to. tine potato, as in many instances tomatoes, onions, and cauliflowers. have bean; -attacked, and completely destroyed. • ' '

.deferring to conditdom, political and social, at Home, Mr James h.owm writes as lollows, under dart* November 12:—

"We are having rather stirring t.imy here. London ia alive with the excitement of entertaining foreign visitors, anct Emperors and Kings axe getting quite tommon. Our King Edward is getting more .and mor-e popi^Hy and is credited with rare good judgment in his peac4preserving policy, at, the. same, time maintaining the dignity of the nation. t5» socialistic and democratio section do ail seem to make much headway,* although they get a lot of toleration agd* are allowed to blare and spout treason as muot as they please." /

A Palmerston North, contraptor informed a ' Standard reporter that vessy high prices are ruling at present for draught horses, notwjfthstanding the foot that a great number of horses have beeuji coming into the market from the Ma^i Trunk line as the various contractors liave finished their work. Four and fi^e year-old heavy draughty gjoo^ honest workers, fetch £50 and upwards, whije two and three-year-old heavy draught*, unbroken, were sold the other day lor £60. A prize-winner at the recent show, about six years old, was bought by a. local firm for £65. Light draughts realise

from £30 to £45, all of which tends tp prove that at the present time honebreeding should be a profitable industry, especially in the class of horses referred! to. Oats and chaff are' selling at nearly double the prices charged three yearns

A letter written by Mr Archie Holmes, late of Wairarapa and now living at Vancouver, is published in the Waiiarapa Daily Times. In the course of some interesting observations Mr Holmes says: — "I am firmly of the opinion that it would pay the New Zealand Government to have a bureau here, for enquiries concerning the Australasian colonies are numerous, and many people who are in ignorance of the special advantages of New Zealand pToceed to Australia instead of to New Zealand. New Zealand is submerged in Australia, in the minds of some people. Even during the short time I have been here I have directed the footsteps of several towards New Zealand. In my opinion more trade should be done between this part of Canada and New Zealand than at present, and there should be a direct •pa ganger a«nd cargo service [between New Zealand and Canada. I can assure you that the quartette o! which I am a member will return to New Zealand ere many years have ptipaed. We have all been found good positions ; I am starting newspaper work this week ; but "there's no place like home." It is only by travelling abroad that a New Zon lander learns to appreciate the good work accomplished by the New '.Zealand Government, and it makes one proud of being -a native of what I believe to he the finest country on God's

The Kaikorai band, in explanation oi their refusal to play at the New Plymouth hand contest with Mr Herd as judge, wrote through their secretory to the Dimedin Star as follows:— "To rejieve a possible wrong imptessidn in- the -minds of the public, we think that there are plenty

of men in New Zealand who, musically, are quite competent to judge a first-class contest. Among that number we think

that we may place Mr Herd, for he has undoubtedly proved himself a good and

able conductor, as results will show. It is not against his musical ability that we have our objection. It is because his actions at a recent band contest have sfnken our confidence in him very much. For instance, at Masterton it w^s.common talk that he got th« points out of the judge for the first night's play, 'atnd to make matters wdfcse he admitted this at a meeting held the next day. If that had been done under the x)ld New Zealand Bund Association he would have bean disqualified, but apparently in the NorthIsland Mr Herd can da no wrong. Again, on unimpeachable authority, we are infoTmed that Mr Herd found out the name of one of the test selections for. the last New Plymouth contest, and cabled Home, and also to Italy, and' thus procured the full score of 'Sebreo' before it was given out to the bands, thus giving him an advantage. In the face of these facts, we ask tho public whether we were not justified 1 in deciding not to spend £200 in going to a contest to play under Mr herd." A wedding in which considerable interest centred took place in the Hawera Methodist Church on Wednesday, the contracting parties being Mr Manson Barraclough, 'eldest son of Mr L. S. Barr,aclough, and Miss Winnifred Mary Murch, third daughter of Mrs G. Murch, both of Hawera. The church was prettily decorated with flowers, and an arch containing two" silver bolls was constructed at the altar rails, under which the bride and bridegroom stood. The church was crowded with friends. The Rev. Gibson officiated. Tho bride, who was given away by her brother (Mr G. Murch, of Wangnnui), was attired in a white- silk dress trimmed with embroidered lace. She wore the customary veil and orango blossoms, and carried a beautiful shower bouquet of maidenhair ferns and white flowers. Tho bridesmaids were Misses Dora Muroh and Maud Barraclough, who woro white silk muslin dresses trimmed with embroidered lace, gold neckphnina presented by the bridegroom, and earned shower bouquets of crimson flowers. Mr H. Barraelough supported his brother as best man, and Mr Cyril Mnrch acted in the oapacitv oj groomsman. The couple left the f.w SV 0 s V rftinß of Mendelssohn's "Wedding March," played by Mies Bone. Afternoon tea was served in a marquoo on tho lawn at the home of Tl,T 1 , • ™ , 8 n l othw *o a large number of friends and relatives of Mr and Mrs Barraclough Their honeymoon will be spent m Napier, whither they have gone. . They were the recipients of many useful present*.