DISTRICT PARS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 176, 26 July 1909, Page 2

DISTRICT PARS.

A meeting of the Te Kuiti School Committee will be held in the "Chronicle" office at 7.30 p.m. this evening— Monday. Attention is call.d to the meeting of members of the Te Kuiti Golf Club to be held tomorrow evening. It is intended to arrange a Ball under the auspices of the Club at an early date, and the meeting is for the purpose of discussing the matter and arranging the necessary details. The death was announced last week of Mrs Hattaway, relict of the late Catpain Hattaway, of Pakuranga, and mother of Messrs V. S. and F. M. Hattaway, and Nurse Hattaway of Te Kuiti. The deceased lady who had reached the age of 75 years had been rtixy-three years in the Dominion, and had seen stirring times in the Auckland Province. Mrs Hattaway resided in Auckland before her marriage and afterwards accompanied her husband to the Bay of Islands when the Northern Maori War was in progress. The bouse in which Mrs Hattaway died had been her home for forty-two years. A family of thirteen are left to mourn their loss. In consequence of the reorganisation of the Department of Roads and Bridges, a considerable amount of hardship has been caused to men on the roads of this district. In the Kawhia district a considerable amount of work was being done, and in many instance* parties of men had jsut started on contracts at a considerable distance from the town. These men had to have two or three months supplies packed into their camps at considerable expense, and when word came to stop all the work the goods were left on the mens' hands. Together with the expense of packing this means a serious loss to the men concerned. For Chronic Chest Complaints, Woods' Great Peppermint Cure, Is 6d I aod2s6d.

• Mr M. Forsyth, who was for many years in charge of the Government I bridge work of this district, and who j was among those officers who were re--I trenched owing to the amalgamation of ■ the Roads Department with the Public Works Department, has lost no time in procuring employment outside the Government Department. Mr Forsyth will be associated with Mr J. E. Scott in the contract for the extensions and improvements to the Kawhia wharf. The contract price for the work is about £I4OO and the Kawhia people were fortunate in securing the services of such an experienced and capable contractor as Mr Forsyth to undertake the work. Owing to the recent heavy rains the | roads of the district are in a very bad ! state. The main Te Kuiti-Awakino ! road in particular has some very bad i holers and it is wonderful that the coaches are able to run. Lewis's coach still maintains the time table on the Te Kuiti-Aria run and to see the coach arrive in town after a trip one is led to conclude that King Country roads are quite as bad as they are represented. An interesting case was heard in the Magistrates Court, Cambridge, on Thursday last, before Mr Loughnan, S.M. J. Brown was charged with having procured a bottle of whisky for a Maori named Jack Heta for consumption off the premises, in a part of the Dominion which had been duly gazetted. Mr Lewis, for defendant, pleaded not guilty, but admitted that whisky was supplied in the street. He quoted the case of Gibbs v. Fitzpatrick in support of his contention, in which Judge Chapman ruled that a train was not a "place." The police relied upon Rhodes v. Bowden, in which liquor was put in a sack on licensed premises. The Magistrate said he interpretated the Act that a person could fill up a Maori man with liquor on licensed premises, but could not supply him v/ith liquor to take away, excapt internally. He upheld Mr Lewis' contention that a street was not a "place" within the meaning of section 70 of the Licensing Act of j 1908, and dismissed the case.

A strong syndicate from Hawke's Bay has just completed the purchase of a large area of flax land in the vicinity of Foxton with the object of turning out hemp under an entirely new process. Under the new system which is said to be much cheaper than methods hithero adopted, bleaching in the paddocks will be done away with, and the fibre is said to show better colour. The machinery is already on its way out from London. The indications of a hardening of the London hemp market are producing a more hopeful expression on the faces of many milt-owners of the district. Palmerston will welcome any rise in the price of hemp, for, although it is not generally known, the Manawatu district produces about a third of the ! Dominion's output.

The High Commissioner's cable from London under date-July 21, states: —"The wool sales closed with competition not quite so keen as at the close of the May sales. Americans were not buying so freely, and were purchasing only light, fi"e grades. The consumption is large, and supplies will be moderate so that prospects are favourable. The estimated values of wool, according to condition are as follow:—Superior merinos. Is to Is 2d; medium merinos lOd to lljd; inferior merinos Sd to 9Jd; fine crossbreds of all grades, Is to Is 2sd; medium crossbreds all grades lOd to Is Id; coarse crossbreds all grades 7d to lljd.

A large and representative public meeting of Native lessees in the town of Greymouth was held on Thursday last when h resolution was carried empowering the Borough Council toacquire the freehold, and pay the Natives the rent they are now receiving. It was stated that on a lease falling out tne Public Trustee raised the rent from 100 to 150 per cent. The Mayor suggested that if the member for the district failed to effect a remedy he be asked by his constituents to join the Opposition. The mine tailings menace is troubling the Piako County Council and the question of removing the proclamation allowing the rivers Ohinemuri and Waihou to be used as sledge channels was discussed recently. The Council is supporting the Silting Committee with a view to preventing tailings going into the river. Meanwhile a man has offered to stack the tailings at Is per ton, and offers to guarantee that he can do it. At a meeting the Piako County Council last week it was resolved to experiment with a specific patented by Mr. W. North, of Te Awamutu, for the abatement of the willow nuisance. This specific is said to have been used with complete success by the Mangahoe River Board. Advices received by the Labour Department show that there is no grumbling by the 117 men bushfelling on the Rangitatau block. The rumoured defection of the men through being placed with unskilful workers is not confirmed. The few departures have been for reasons of health and family. His Majesty the King through Lord Knollys, his private secretary, has expressed much gratification that the metropolitan police have been granted a week Ij' day of rest. An astronomer great, he was sitting out late, With his telescope turned to the stars, When to his furprise, there flashed down from the skies A most palpable message from Mars. He did not understand, but a code book at hand, Which be hastened at once to procure, Made the message quite plain—"lnfluenza again, Can you send us Woods' Peppermint Cure?"