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Mataura Ensign, Issue 1145, 5 February 1903, Page 5

Mr John McQueen addresses the electors of Gore on Harbour Board matters this evening, and speaks at Mataura on the same subject to-morrow night. It is stated that Mr Justice Connolly's resignation from the Supreme Court bench will take place after the March sitting of the Court of Appeal, and that Judge Edwardß will probably take up circuit work in Auckland; Justice Cooper residing in Wellington. This, it is understood, will lead to the successor to Judge Cooper being appointed President of the Arbitration Court.

Another ancient industry is at its last gasp, namely, the hand-knitting of Kilmarnock bonnets. The bonnets of the real old Kilmarnock style, such *i w>r<j worn by Souter Johnnie and Tamo' Shanter, were knitted by hand, many sizes larger than desired, and then thoroughly shrunk. They would wear a lifetime, and were heavy and tough. The Scottish team of curlers who recently departed for Canada wanted to be rigged out with oldstyle Kilmarnocks. They would have none of the light machine-made stuff now in vogue, and it took much searching before the order could be executed. It was then found that of the many hundred knitters who made the name of Kilmarnock known throughout the world a generation or two ago, only one remains. By working night and day for about a fortnight she provided all the bonnets needed by the curlers. Equipped with Buch headgear, the curlers can safely appear in Canada before their Scottish brethren and not be open to the charge of having degenerated since the days of the ' great clearance.' The Executive of the Dunedin Council of the Churches has decided that, with a view to giving effect to the recent decisive vote of the people, a vigorous effort should be made to nominate a strong temperance' committee. at the next election of a licensing bench, and that the names of the following be submitted for approval as candidates :—Dr De Latour, Messrs A. C. Begg, J. A. Wilkinson, D. C. Cameron, and M. W. Green.

The poll on the question of joining Greater Christchurch was taken in Sydenham yesterday, and carried by a great majority, the figures being: for amalgamation, !tB9; against, 421. Special interest was attached to this poll, as all the other outside boroughs had proclaimed in favor of amalgamation with Christchurch, making it a condition of their coming in that Sydenham should also decide in favor of amalgamation. It will be remembered that at the time of the Elingamite wreck the unfortunate people who were on the raft, declared after their rescue that on the Monday or Tuesday night after the wreck a small steamer came close to them and stopped for some time, but failed to pick the raft up. In conversation with Captain Aas, of the auxiliary schooner Tortagen, which has just arrived at Auckland from Woolongong, a New Zealand ' Herald ' reporter learned that the vessel seen by tho=e on the raft was the Tortagen. The vessel was bound from Newcast'e to Gisborne, with a cargo of coal, on the occasion, and was in the vicinity of the Three Kings when the Elingamite was wrecked. On the night in question the weather came up very thick, and Captain Aas decided to stop and take soundings, so as to be sure of his position. This took somewhere about twenty minutes, at the expiry of which the ves?el stood on her course again, the crew little knowing that men in the most desperate straits possible were so near in need of assistance, and which would have been willingly rendered had their near presence been known at the time.

Several old age pensions for various amounts were granted or renewed this morning by Mr Cruickshauk, S.M., and one was refused.