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Mataura Ensign, 22 March 1909, Page 2

Auckland is following in the steps of Wellington In regard to the establishment of a crematorium. Only I'our-aud-twenty years have elapsed since cremation became legalised in I'higlaud, and the first cremation took place in the Old Country in 188."i. From that time onward the progress of the movement has been gradual. In 189:1 the cremations totalled 101, but last year the number had increased to "i) 5, and now K! crematoriums are at work throughout the I'nited Kingdom, and of these six are owned by municipalities. A country district Jiugby Union, in explaining to the. Mew Zealand lUigby l.'uion why an importunate creditor's account had not been paid, staled that on the strength of a bank overdraft the union entered into certain liabilities. When only a few of the resulting debts had been discharged the hauls stopped the overdraft and called upon the guarantors to discharge, the amount overdrawn. "Vou will see why this man's account has no', been paid yet," naively concluded the letter of explanation from one of I lie union officials, "we were tooslow in making use of our overdraft opportunities." An evidence of tho progress of business in Gore is shown in tho fact that John Jamie, tho well-known watchmaker and jeweller, has found it necessary owing to extended trade to remove to inoro convenient and centrally, lituated promises in Hollaud's Buildings, on tho opposite side of Main Street, next to Mr Chas. Steams. His watchmaking and jewellery manufacturing department has increased so largely that he linds his present workshop too small, and in the new premises will locato tho workroom upstairs. Ho intends to open out a complete, new dock in tho new premises, and with that object will hold a sale of his present stock, which he is propared to dispose of at 10 per cent, below cost - Advt.

Mf Neil Marquis, veterinary surgeon of Timaru, liilcly discovered in a bullock a parasite which was unknown in the days when lie studied his profcs-| sion at Homo, and ho handed it to Mrj A. M. Paterson, tho Govern men t veterinary surgeon, for identification (says the 'Herald'). Mr Paterson says it is what is known as Ainphistonia conicum. H was found in tho first stomach of a. bullock, and is a little white cone-shaped creature somewhat resembling a bleached grain of wheat. Myriads of them attach thomselves to the stomach, and they so sap the vitality of tho animal thut wheu another disease conies along it is unable to withstand it. This is the first time Mr Marquis has come across it iu New Zealand.

Tho 'lMorus Guardian' states that .Mr C. Mills, of tho Hai Valley, witnessed a contest in the Tinline river. Iu a deep pool he noticed a trout that appeared to be about 41b in weight and harrying the lish were nine eels, l he largest of which would go about 131b. After a. lot of worrying by the eels tho trout was driven out of the pool into shallower water and its enemies began a vigorous attack upon it. I he big eel would deliver a broadside that sent tho unfortunate trout scurrying through the shoals, but the smaller eels would head it. hack with vicious .-naps. It fought valiantly for some lime, but eventually became quite exhausted and whilst in that condition the big eels, with a wrenching snap, pulled the poor creature's head oil' and swallowed it.

diving evidence before tlio Arbitration Court in Wellington, Mr W. V. Aggers, land agent, .stated that thor» had been a great reduction in the rent "I the houses in the. oily and suburbs of Wellington during the past fifteen months. At the city end ol' Xewtown I here had been a reduction of from 12J to 17.; per cent., whilst in the suburbs' the reduction had been from JO to 10 per rent. There were many houses ti> let at present in the suburbs, and he prophesied that a general decrease in rents was coming in the city. He did leu think that more families living in one house was the cause of so maiiv houses being "to let," or that the reduction of rents was due to tin- small builder who built one house and mortgaged it- to build :iMother and was compelled to keep tenants in thorn to pav his interest until the house was sold. ' The deep-laid schemes of land-seek-ers to avoid the irritating letter of the law are many and various. The delinition "landless" often stands in the way of business, and causes many win. would otherwise take a dip in the lucky bag to be uierelv lookers-on. However, a .North Olago man who held too large a holding found a way of removing this disqualification. He entered into an agreement with his neighbor to purchase the properly he already bad with the stipulation that be wh's to baud it back if unsuccessful at the ballot. This agreement come 10, he appeared before the examiners and was passed and figured among those who drew prizes. "It was very shrewd and very ingenious, but,'' says tbeOamam '.Mail,' "we are not convinced that it was exactly legal or perfectly honest in the strictest acceptation of the term." ,

The most remarkable banquet re- . corded in history has just been given by Professor Hens, of the Imperial Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg. Every article of food served at the banquet was more than a thousand years old, and the piece de resistance was, according to conservative scientific estimates, fully 20,000 years old. This was a magnificent joint from an ancient hairy mammoth, who died in the old Stone Age and was buried beneath the eternal ice of Siberia. In addition to that there was bread made from wheat stored in the Pyramids by the Pharoah, Rameses the Great; wine that had been buried beneath the ruiM of Corinth when that most luxurious city of ancient Greece was sacked by the Romans; fruit that had been concealed and preserved beneath the ashes of Pompeii overwhelmed by Vesuvius; plates and goblets found beneath thasito of Bahvlon, that hadj»rhaps been used in the feasts of lung Nebuchadnezzar, and many other authentic relics of the earliest antiquity,

The Southland Frozen Meat Company announce elsewhere that they will receive rabbits for freezing at their works at Mntaurn ami Bluff on and after Monday next.

It is Himounred in Wellington that a reward of £SO is offered by Mr J. C. Cox, of Wellington, to any launchmen who will locate the wreck of the Penguin. There is a very strong opinion among seafaring men that the Penguin did not striko a, rock at all, but that she came to grief through striking the derelict Kio Loge, which is supposed to be still flouting about somewhere.

Wo Are Keeping Busy.—Every day sees us busy—engaged in carrying, Customs, and express forwarding work. Our cients aro delighted with out service, and ever; day send new people along. May we assist you Y We paBS entries, forward goods, remove furniture, store goods, provide sample rooms. Our facilities aro unequalled, our methods sure, our rates reasonable. — The N.Z. Express Co., Ltd. 1 Colonel Moore, of Loudon, who, with his daughter has been staying for some time at Kotorua, informed Mr

T. E. Donne that during their sojourn there thoy caught no less than a ton and a-half of trout. Colonel Moore expressed the opinion that there was no place like Kotorua and its surroundings in the world for trout fisbinj;. He has now gone to Nolsou for the deer-stalking season. Away in the north of Auckland a miniature shipping war is raging. The company who has for years sent the only trading stoamers from Heleusvillo to Dargavillo and up the Northern Wai. roa river was threatened with extinction by a rival steamer built spocially for that trade. The old company responded to the challenge by taking passengers to Dargaville, a distance of (iO miles, for the nominal fare of one .shilling. How long the fight can last is a matter for conjecture.

The other day Desmond, tho champion show jumper of New South Wales, put up a new record for the State, u feat all the moro uotablo from the fact that tlie horse is well over twenty years old. Tho record was put up at Tentorfield, Napoleon and Desmond being the only competitors. The jumps started at oft, and both horses cleared up to 6ft 9in. The bar was then raised to (ill llin. Na|ioleon knocked the bar down twice and baulked at the third attempt; whilst Desmond cleared it at the first attempt, and won amidst deafening cheers. News For Married People.—Shifting] is troublesome work, isn't it '< But you can minimise tho bother considerably by getting tho N.Z. Express Co. to move you. They'll tako down your furniture, pack it securely, and deliver it safely either locally or throughout the Dominion. If necessary, they can store it for you. li you contemplate shifting see them and get quotations. Office : Maiu ■ Street. 2

I'rol'essor Vivian H. Lewes, lecturing in London on fho wonders of water, bad something to say about lli«- bursting ol the domestic, water-pipe after ii frost. Hi- gave u simple remedy. If ii householdcr has iiu outside leaden pipe which is ill the hubit. of bursting nil lie has to do is to gently tap il with ii mallet so as to slightly flatten it. When the next frost conies round there will he no bursting, hill the nine will torn itself a little towards the ciicubu again, and the succeeding frost, will prohahly bring the i»iiM> back to its original rotundity, when tint mallet will have to he again brought into use. We are informed (says the '(Hugo Ouilv 'i'inies') by Mr A. .lames, prcsi dent' ol the Law Society, that he ltn.received a letter I nun the senior member ol the firm of solicitors referred to in the .judgment ol Mr Hutchison. S.M., relened to elsewhere, re<|!K'Sting that the council ot the society set up a committee to make lull inquiry into the matters in question. The partici concerned court the fullest inquiry by the Law Council. Tim son ol the pen skmer relened to ill Mr Hutchihon'i judgment, has called on us to protest against the remarks made by the niagis Irate, which he characterises as un called for and unjustifiable as theactua' facts of the case would clearly nliom on investigation. The pensioner's son says that at the hearing his lather told the magistrate that lie was thoroughly satislied and bad everv confidence in hi.* solicitor. He also adds that he and lib lather are still the clients of the fun of solicitors and that during their relations as solicitor and clieut, extending over a period ol some 11! years, that confidence has never been shaken. The Horowbenuu County Council nt a recent meeting whs called upon to consider a strange objection, contained in a Utter from the llev. C. Smith, ol Otaki, requesting that the cemeteries under the jurisdiction of the Council be rcgiaded. Hi' stated that the corpse; were not laid "castwisc," i.e., with tilt feet towards the east and the head towards the West. He was painfully struck with this at. his first funeral n't Otaki. 'lbis might appear a very small matter to some, but it grievously offended the religious susceptibilities ol Christian people, so much so that he had known graves reopened for the purpose of laying the bodies east and west. At his first funeral at Otaki he was painfully struck with the fact that the. graves were north and south, but not being suro of bis bearings, being a stranger in Otaki, he said nothing; but when lie officiated at Miinakau the irregularity was very evident. He mentioned tho matter to the gravedigger, who said lie had dug the grave as directed. The reverend gentleman did .not think these things should he. It I was just as easy to dig a grave oast and west as north and south and so avoid

offence. One of the councillors said that Mr Smith had spoken to him about the matter. He (the councillor) would not trouble if his feet were put oast or west.

Hef erring to the recent report regarding the suitability for irrigation of lands in Central Otago, the 'i'uapeka Times' says: "Compared with the area of the whole- Dominion, which is (38,913,320 acres, the percentage of irrigable lands in Utago would he only about .3 per cent., or about one pari out of 333. If the whole surface ol New Zealand was represented as a square n foot long each way, another square in one of the corners nieasuring a little more than an inch each war would depict the quantity of land winch could, according to the ro]X)i't in question, he induced by menus of a State system of irrigation to vield up its la ten I stores of plan! food. ' Iu face of these figures the application of the terms "immense," "enormous," prodigious," "extraordinary," "gigantic," "vast," "colossal," to the locked-up agricultural wealth of Central Otago is ludicrously misplaced—-in such an extent, indeed, as to border on bathos and vapidity. Yet these bombastic epithets have been iu constant use hv scribes advertising the potentialities of Centra] Otago. Gasconade of this description in the long run defeats the very purpose for which it is employed. 1 ho rest of the rival provinces uiav be impressed for the time hoing, but when the truth conies out tijid food for scoffs and jeers at poor Otago trying to revive her past predominance, hv filling herself with wind."

We are making another display of the new D. and A. Corsets—the distinctly new idea in Corset Fashions. Many of the styles have quite new features that only require to be seen to receive your approval. Unlike most novelties they are decidedly Low in Price, two different styles, with the Double Hip, being quoted at 4s and 4s 6d. Among the special lines is a Pliable Bodice for Women, a Golfing and Athletic Corset, a Corset without Busks, and many other styles of interest to you, of which the "Brassiere," for women who do not wear Corsets, is a notable feature. Have a look at the display in our Main Street Window; or, better still, see the goods in our Showroom and let us demonstrate their good points to you. MACGIBBON AND CO., LTD., The Main Street's Busy Corner. Rooms to let.

Oirl seeks employment. Wm. Cubbin returns tbanks. Cooper's Oporascopo to-night. Henderson nul Co. sell st'ick .it Wyndhani on March 25. Farmers' Coon, hold Waikika sale on March 2G.

Warner's rust-proof corsets ensure a graceful figure. Gore Stock Agents bold local sale tomorrow.

Ladies, see Thomson and Beattie for coats, skirts, and blouses. J. G. Ward and Co. bars turnip feed and straw (in the stack) for sale. Latest materials for fashionable wear are to b« had at the D.1.C., Diinedin.