RANDOM REMARKS.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 666, 6 May 1914, Page 2

RANDOM REMARKS.

By Onlooker,

The advent of shooting season is heralded by various signs and portents which , cause the blood of the true gunman to course wildly through his veins, and inspire him to an unwonted eloqusrice. His general activity ia also stimulated to an unusual degree, but chiefly his loquacity is the outstanding feature of the occasion. Shooting stories become extremely monotonous,and" the number of wounded birds which are lost in scrub or Btream aggregate formidable pr tions by the end of the season. This does not, of course, apply to the King Country, where game is plentiful and the sbootist ia game. To the angler who can retrieve his own fish in a stream, the retrieving of a few birds ia a small thing in comparison. It is an open secret that une member of a shooting party which visited Waimiha this week was invited because of his retrieving ability, while another owes his invitation to his unerring acuracy in shooting dead or wounded birds on the ground.

It seems rather a pity the meeting called for the purpose of considering the liquor question in the King Country should be held during the winter. The proper time to deal with a drought subject is in summer when the opinions of the delegates may be expected to be well defined. On the oUier hand the conveners of the meeting in fixing the. fourth of June have exerdsed consideration towards loyal subjects by allowing them the opportunity of drinking the King's health on his Majesty's birthday which falls on the third, before committing th®ir honest convictions to print. It stands to reason tbat in deference to advanced thought, and in view of the illuminating discoveries of scientific research, the delegates of the King Country local bodies will decide that in the interests of progress and social purity the liquor traffic should be abolished. In fact, in the interest of everything but science the man who indulges in liquor appears to have the worst of matters. Moreover, aB man is of little use as a subject for ssisnce until he is dead, few will be found competing for the position. As a progressive people it appears to be certain that King Countryites will voluntarily abolish the traffic.

The end of the bowl'ng season at Te Kaiti has been announced, and those who take their pleasures seriously are wondering whether life will be worth living during the next few months. It is understood some of the bowlers take an interest in shooting; some prefer football; others golf, whil9 some have been heard to mutter dire threats about devoting time to the garden and other domestic duties The bowler's garden,as described by a prrominent member, of the local club, is likely to become proverbial, "Docks and weeds, instead of flowers and vegetables," is the pitby description but this only applies to some bowlers. The bowling habit will evidently lead to the practice of winter gardening, a form of husbandry to which far too little attention is paid. It is the must profitable and interesting of all branches of gardening and affords unspeakable delight to •the members of one's family, while, as a manifestation of industry it brings credit to the town and inhabitants generally. I have always approved of winter gardening, and will be glad to see it practiced generally by my friends. The bowler's garden in future will be seen to the best advantage in winter.

In connection with bowls, a threat tas been extended in the direction of holding a bowling tournament at Te Kuiti early next season. Many of the important details have already been discussed and practically settled and little remains to be done save calling for entries. The tournament rs supposed to provide funds for the carrying out of extensive improvements in the shape of a two-atorey pavilion with a cellar, the celllar to be utilised for storing bowis during the dry weather. In the hot dry months of summer, when the bowls are mpstly in active use, they ars apt to loosen their tryes and lose thfeir bias and thus become an easy prey to the multitude of ills which cause bowls to play badly. Many a good buwler is seriously disheartened though his bowls refusing to do what the bowler intends them to, and the solicitude of the committee in this respect is to be commended.

The local musical and dramatic society is now in full swing, and the winter nights are to be rendered thoroughly profitable and enjoyable, not only to the members of the society, but to the public at large. The term "long suffering" is frequently used in connection with the public,but in the instance under review, "fortunate" may be applied with equal effect. It is rumoured that an opera, or something .of that nature, is to be produced by the society during the winter. In view of the whole circumstances it was probably unnecessary to state wheiher or not it was to be comic opera. The performances hitherto staged locally have been so well received by the public that it is not surprising to find the ambitions of the society have been stirred. It is said the musical and dramatic society will probably seek the co-ODeration of the debating society in producing something tbat will stand as a monument to the histrionic powers of Te Kuitiana. In such a combination much is to be hoped for.

The Borough Council bye-election is worthy of more than passing mention. The interest and excitement of the electors was intense, and was only equalled by the excitement of the candidates. "Progress on sound lines" again emerged triumphant from the contest, while "clean administration" again received the

endorsement o£ a discerning public. It could taarly be otherwise seeing that all the aspirants stood for the time-honoured principles. It is also practically certain that the election will rot result in a revolution of the present methods of the Borough Council. The new councillors will no doubt gain valuable experience concerning the working of things municipal, and mny be able to throw light on the antics of the electric installation. Possibly also they will be able to suggest a better scheme of river deviation than that which was placed before the people recently. If the Mayor's utterances on the latter subject are any indication of events full opportunity will be afforded of improving on the deviation scheme. Still, there is little use anticipating, there is ample work ahead of both new and old councillors.