LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume LII, Issue LIII, 3 February 1908, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The StxK-k Department (says the Strat ford Post) has almost succeeded titx wip mg out the^lackleg scourge in that dis tnct. lhe Rev. R. Haddon returned fron Upper .Woitara on Saturday, where h< haa beenjengaged in.' mission Fork amoa^ the naitiyjjjT _, He reports encouraging one satisfactory ;, Results. The rainfall at Momohaki Experimenta .barm during January was '.2s inch Rail fen on three ,days during the month, th< maximum .15 on the 30th and the mini mum .04 on the 31st. Corresponding month last year 4.31 inches. lhe vital statistics for the borough o; Hawera for . January were : Births, 23 deaths- 5j marriages, 5. The figures fa the corresponding period of last" yea: were: Births, 16; deaths, 7; marriages 5. According to the Manawotu Times, th< Hon. R. McNab will probably inspect th( dairy school sites at Hawera at the erw ox the present week. When the. Hawew ana Feilding sites- have .been inspeotec the Department will come to a decifiior with regard to the location of the school Calculations lately made show ijhat tin quantity of water used between the intalo ana: the borough boundary is nearly 10U,0Q0 gallons pet 24 hours. On th< town side of the boundary the coneump tion per 24 , hours Is set down at aboul 11^,000 gallons, According to the last number of th< Labor Journal, /the <-rate of wages/for ~aa skilled labor in New Zealand^ has risar greatly of late -years. A few years age the wages offered to farm haaide'Svariec from 15s to £1 per week, whilst at pre sent from £1 5s to £1 10s is given foa exactly 'similar work. A witness giving evidence before th< Conciliation Board at^Waimate, said is reply to Mr Thorn, that he had yratftifa tor some years on his father's farm without wages; but later on he added thai he might get something yet, if, after the demands of the Union had been satisfied, his father had any of hi?- farm' left* (Laughter.) " " x Good arrangements are being made foi the Leap Year dance to be,, held in the Okaiawa Hall- on Wednesday *ne*t, February 5. Music and "supper arrangements are i/n good hands, and the floor will be m good condition. ' If thie fine weather continues .there should be a large attendance. The Auckland Observer states -that it hears an excellent authority that (the Labor' party have communicated with the Hon. W. P. Reeves, the H'gh Commissioner, asking him to return- to New Zealand* and Hake the leadership of the party, and that Mr Reeves is likely to accede to the' invitation. Business men having dealings with New South ; Wales firms will doubtless be interested -to leara that by -an Act of the Parliament of that State, which came into operation on January Ist of this year, no diuty stamps axe required in connection with 'ordinairy -receipts.' ' It is now "up to'? New Zealand (remarks an exchange) to follow suit, and to remove the irksome regulation which compels the affixing of a dai^y stamp on ordinary receipts for sums of £2 and upwards. The advocates of State control would probably find something to give them pause if they travelled to Mount Cook. The hotel at Pukaki is a State-owned house, and the traveller who partakes ot a cup of tea thereat is charged a shilling; in addition the State hotelkeeper has to make out a receipt in triplicate. When the traveller goes some distance further on and comes to oia ordinarily run hotel he is able to get a cup of tea for sixpence, and no one is bothered about receipts, either, in duplicate or triplicate. - _ During some recent correspondence a point arose whether Mr J. H. • Sellers had entered as; .bred by exhibitor" certain grade cattle *or competition . at last Egmotnt A, artel P.- Show. "Mr /Sellers I denied that he -had so entered/ the^ cattle," amd on Saturday in company' with Capfc. Mitchell and Mr James Crocker. he hod the original entry forma turned up *'fqr inspection. W«f are authorised^ Gipt. ;Mitch«ll -and -Mr Crocker to say that the entry forms show that Mr, Sellers did not enter the cattle as "bred<by exhibitor.". Apparently these worde> were: by"v clerical error inserted, when the entries were tm-\ ing transcribed; for. cataloguing puriM&ljfi.'

Motor caira and motorists came ur fot a /good deal of adverse criticism at a meeting of the Hutt Borough Council the other evening. It was- admitted that, there werexmany motorists who were always cautious and paid doe regard to the general travelling public; but the attack was on the others who 'dashed recklessly round corners and dangerous places, and appeared to derive the height of enjoyment from travelling at excessive speed.- The /Wajnui-o-'mata road was stat- . ed fo be the most highway.It was said to. be. often frequented by moforasts who travelled round corners at a most dangerous speed. "It is the greatest wonder to my rnwbd,"" explained a councillor, "why "there hns not been ai number of fatal accidents on £he road,'' The Taieri Advocate ' records a wonder-, fui escape from- death whKh a boy had recently while travelling on a train from ' Dutaedm to Mosgiel. A, passenger on the train had occasion ,to go out on to' the c t piatform' of. the -carriage he -was" .in just as the /train emerged from the south end ' ox the Oaversham tunnel^ aihd ,<he -saw- . the boy hanging to the couplings: between the ciuriagee. Be immediately brought '■ another passenger, and/they" rescued 1 thethoroughly . frightened •< boy ' f ronv v his perilous position. He. had- been banging there ever since the train had left Caver- - sham station. To those familiar 'with this particular locality,- the lad's -escape seems almost "~ miraculous, as "_ he hnm have been hanging to the couplings 'while ' the train covered over a mile, most of . which is steep gradient, «od~ therefor*, traversed slowly. 1 , JAeports from Wanganui state that B. Tresidder, the challenger for the "world's sculling championship, is going along well in his training. 'On Saturday he turned^ the ecale ;at 12st ll^lba. He is sticking to his training -closely, and his trainer, considers . .that he was never in better form in bis Mfen_ The champion, 'Webb J (says 'the Wangamui Herald) returned to ; . town on Saturday from up-river, , whitHeor he went in border to have, a few -days* ' spell, which appears to have benefited him considerably; An idea* . seems ' -J&, - have got abroad, that the spell "was ten- c dered necessary owing to Webb's health, ' not being satisfactory. - However, these fears ore quitg unbounded, ac Webb wa»S never better in hie life. All going well ~ in the interim Webb shouM strip fitter, than ever he did' in his' life, jwhen, ths. convincing day arrives. _•. --'_-- The* Wgler, does not. complain' if n« catches' more fish: thai' he has 'need , for, ; but complainte about, the great .waste, ot fish at-Rotorua have been rife' lately. It is impossible -to buy- the fish and 'eb, apart from the few used as food by the ' anglers and' their • friends, the trout are merely killed* "for* spof£ ; ". Probably > the Kotorua Maoris, will not, be angry ' if double ths number nbw^caught" aae killed; for. they are) .complaining bitterly thai the koura : (hativle crayfish and -a great favorite with the natives) ie ' being 'destroyed by.the:tiiout. .'The Maoris aie not pacified by the fact that they are not permitted to catch trout without hoiding-ae .they do that -the fishing. rights ' extended to them, undpr the; Treaty of V Waitangi should moludt fl^cUmatisedlfish. They .are backing up ibeia: argumentfl by demonstrating the ; great waete trout that daily occurs in the Rotarua district aiw}, elsewhere. \ ' xlxe seaiaibilities of the traveller whooiaKes a pilgrimage to, Seddon's gray« are likely to Teceive^a;, shock ,jsayß a. cor- . respondent of the Oamaru AuiiJ). -' Afteir ciimoing the hill -upon- which the cemetery is situate, the guide points to \a dmgy-lookmg corrugated -. ,ir<M ' shed, end exclaims; "Behold the restingplace of a great statesman!" The pilgrim is quite prepared to think he is beimg hoaxed; but r further^inepection, xeveals a. couple N of side WimibWßj r aiKlVthere' v oan ; bi> ,£©en through tiie /gloom the 7 slabs covering the tomb. / Alter' the! great flourish? Una enormous expense attending the late Premier's intermemt, the preßent f condition of his seating>pia|e/and^| surrouoid-. mgs etrikee tbe;mand*as being sordid is the. extreme, amd Seddoa'ff bittereafcrpoMtical .opponent couid |npt vn&tf ioit-my-thing woj\se "than^ thai" the present 'condi-tions-should'continue. whole affair - is a .perfect example of the work of those mentioned; in Holy Writ. who alart to build aiiower without ••oototit^Vther^oßt;' ' ana alter haying laid the foundation are unable, to proceed further, afod^hus be- , come a laughing stock and a by-wend, - , There are ;ilttp6rtant developments pend- - iiig 1 in regaid M\ the i»akaer^»nig«a/wioi'k« > ana the,. , que^t^ons, of^. municipal gae, aa}d ',- electric fighting (fiay*'< the ''Manewatu JUxmea).'. "f J i6r Feilding a inevemebt ha» been initiated -to' challenge the charter'/ 01 the ,Gas Company, and an injunctionhas 'been. applied lor tb/the f 6apreme; CJourlon tvfo groudfl^r-first, that the Gas Cornpay has committed a breach of its agnesment f in-;failissg^t!iii<?arry ait/tfie leqU^H of the Council ' to supply .gas to certain parts- of the town. This the Gas Company denies. The second ground is th* most revolutionary in that it holds that the agreement- made-, with- tlje. . Gas Compa»y is ultra' -raeii, in^hat line municipality had not power -to give to the company .the right to cut up the streets m connection miX *&!&s£& supplying gas. obvK>u^y^fereAhi<-1»M to be so, a concession which could mot be exercised in practice would be/nTaiifigLrTKeVmatter w^l be heard -before •> the Supreme Court in Wellingto^^xt^jwnth.; -Xn.-oon- L nection with the moveiqent Jctr,. municipel gas and electric"- Y^ht for' Pilmefston a committee _was §et up by the] Borough - Council to go into the questidn of the Palmerston North Gas Compafly's posi- , tion, and! -the rights it holds |fr<wh .the • Council for the monopoly of gas supply, and for the option of -electric .light ef power supply .before any oiherlbody or the munienjal|ty itself can «riply-,elec- - taacity. This oommittee has piwarjßd its ' report, which; we fmnderstandjw: practically on theSlioiel.of th^' posiEori 'teken - up at Feildimg, vizr/'ihat made bj the Borough, Council 'when the gwwora were started was \ulfcra vires, and therefore would apt be legally binding on this Coun<4l if ft decidedi-to municipalise go* i and electrfe" sdpplies' Should this view be upheld by the CbnrtTtt must obviously have a far-reaching effect, - «d itia quejtionabfewbotherlthe^ companies o f the Dominibn would alfow . I,- tbei)e - Certainly the^Feildinff sheep and pig netting, w " n Bews».8 ews ». Alessrs Jackson atndi Co. will* offer a , And Sumach Troubles it is necessary to take ajttr'meate some harmless preparacharacter ia Dr. • Sheldon's Digestive Tabules whkh contain a n the . £££ digeatante wihich nature requires "or .prompt digestion. One or two.iaken after and acidity and ensure complete digestion, wd assimilation. For safe by chem-