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Mataura Ensign, 26 January 1912, Page 4

At 9.30 o'clock this morning the radio station at Wellington advised: "The Arawa, Ulimaroa and Moeraki will bo within range to-night, and the Zealandic this afternoon."

In trie motor-car case at the Invercargill Magistrate's Court yesterday, Mr G. AV\ Woods, motor expert, said that some people know so little of the working of their own cars that they will send 40 miles to get a man from the garage to turn on the petrol.

At yesterday's meeting of the Bluff Harbor Board, the chairman reported that receipts for the period ending 31st December amounted to £24,437, of which sum the ordinary revenue was less than the amount received in 1910. £24,398. This latter sum was £938 The expenditure for 1911 was £25,547, or about £2145 more than in the previous twelve months. The Board's Sinking Fund stands at £38,922 —an increase of £2200.

Speaking to the meeting of Edendale dairymen on Wednesday evening, when the proposal to instal a butter-fixnn-whey separator was being discussed, Mr H. E. Niven (secretary) made the startling statement that fully £l3 15s of good nioney was being dumped into the company's drains every day their factories were open. He reasoned it out in this way\(says the 'Farmer'): The butter-fat separable from the whey which they threw out amounted to, on close calculation, 2001b. daily (1001b. at Edendale, 601b) at Menzies Ferry and 401b at Brydonfe). From 2001b of fat 2201b. of commercial butter could bo manufactured, wfych, valued at Is 3d per lb. retail, came to £l3 15s. The statement created v, sensation. The meeting unanimously decided to instal a plant that would put a stop to this big leakage in their profits.

Speaking at Winton on Wednesday night at the social tendered to Mr J. R. Hamilton, the unsuccessful candidate for Awarua, Mr G. J. Anderson, M.P., said that "unless the Reform party when it took over the management administered the law in a businesslike way the Labor party would come Jn and both the other parties would be swept out of existence. Mr Massey had attained an end for which he had fought for nearly 20 years. The men wanted in his Cabinet were not theorists, but men prepared to deal with the affairs of the country in a businesslike way. He had the opportunity of filling his Cabinet with such men, for he had~a. number of them in his party. The gentlemen elected in the North Island were good, commonsense business •men. He was not going to refer to the South Island members because they might think it was a matter of self-j praise; but there was an opportunity of j making a Cabinet of business men, conscientious men, men prepared to place the interests of the country before anything else, and if Mr Massey formed that Cabinet without regard to geographical position and carried out what he (Mr Anderson) had suggested he was satisfied the Eeform party would hold the Treasury benches for years.—(Applause.) l

The ordinary revenue of the Bluff 'Harbor Board for December wa.5&1827 •3s 10d, compared with £2327 13s Id for the same period of 1910. For the month of November last there was also a falling off in revenue of £551 9s 4d.

The shipping returns at Bluff Harbor for 1911 show that 307 vessels entered of 548,084 tons nett. This is a decrease of 22 vessels, and 31,165 nett tons respectively compared witli 1910. The trade of the port in tons, however, shows an increase compared with 1910 of 3952 tons, the 1911 figures being 135,631 tons. During the month of December 17 vessels, of 44,885 tons, entered Bluff Harbor. The outward totals | were lTvessels aggregating 48,683 tons, a decrease compared with December of 9865 tons inwards and 9353 tons outj wards.

A well-known young lady, Miss Greer, mistress of Edendale School, met with a painful accident last Saturday afternoon. Having taken train from Edendale to Edievale on her way to visit friends at Hae's Junction, she started out on her bicycle to complete the latter part of the journey. Unfortunately her brake proved out of trim and her machine got out of hand on her reaching a decline on the road. Miss Greer was thrown heavily, with the result that her collarbone was broken and she also sustained some very painful bruises. Help was soon at hand, and the 'Farmer' reports that Miss Greer is now progressing as well as can be' expected.

At a meeting at Edendale on Wednesday evening to discuss the proposal to manufacture butter from the fat in whey, Mr James Sawers (instructor) gave it as his opinion that it was advisable to discontinue the practice of making cheese from winter milk, as it all had, more or less, a turnipy flavor and hence was unpalatable and unpopular. More cheese would he consumed locally if it were of better quality. By putting winter-made cheese off the market, the merchants would be obliged to supply retailers with the summer make. That would also leave the winter milk for butter purposes, which factories with d\tal plants would be able to cope with advantageously.

Inquiries made in. Auckland show that there is no scarcity of registered barmaids; in fact, the supply is somewhat greater than the demand (says the 'Herald'). Some of the publicans have replaced barmaids with barmen, but this is not evidence of the scarcity of the fair sex. When registration of barmaids was made compulsory by law a number were unable to obtain their registration papers; consequently the number of barmaids in Auckland to-day is smaller than was the case before the law was brought into operation. The Act draws a. net around: the profession and preevnts any more women adopting work in bars as a- means of livelihood, so that some day the barmaid will cease to exist in New Zealand.

Another -'message from the sea" has arrived in New-. Zealand. A Maori named Tine Tukere has reported the discovery, near the. Waikato Heads, of a bottle containing a slip of paper. The paper bears an inscription, neatly written in indelible pencil or ink, as fol-lows:—'-Wrecked h 25 L<> 140, 8 days on reef; making for Thursday Island, W. Killie, Man." The writer was evidently in too great distress to write down the name of his ship, if he had one. An investigation of the map shows that the wreck involved no risb of drowning. The latitude and longitude indicate a spot in a dry-looking area in the south-western corner of Queensland, and the nearest chartered water seems to be a creek of only intermittent wetness.

Since leaving Westport on November 22 last, the Union Company's cargo steamer Kanna, which arrived at Auckland on Sunday, has made a long voyage, which has carried her right round tho Australian Continent (says the Auckland 'Herald'). The vessel took a load of coal to Thursday Island, and after coaling H.M.s. Prometheus she went on to Samarang, where she loaded a full cargo of 6670 hales of kapok for New Zealand ports. Leaving Samarang on December 20, .the vessel came down the Indian Ocean, and called at Bunbury, West Australia, on December 30. After coaling she left Bunbury on January 1 and had a fine weather run to Hobart, where; she again coaled on Monday, January 9. The Kanna readied Dunedin on January 14, and, after unloading 1000 bales, came on to Lyttelton. At her second port of call in New Zealand the vessel put out 1451) bales of kapok, and then proceeded to Wellington, whore she discharged 2300 bales. Tho Kanna will discharge the remainder of her cargo at tins port, which amounts to 1912 bales, and then goes to Kaipara to load timber tor Melbourne.

The Defence Department's scheme of forming district or group rifle associations in the military districts throughout New Zealand lias nofappeared in a favorable light to a- number of riflemen, in' Auckland. Government control of championship meetings has frequently been objected to, and the Auckland Rifle Association has refused to affiliate with the Auckland District Rifle Association which was recently formed by the defence authorities. Captain Shepherd (chairman of the Management Council of the Auckland Rifle Association), who was interviewed by a reporter, is one of those who was strongly opposed to the scheme. The whole of the expenses for shooting matches were, he said', provided by the competitors themselves, and the only things asked from the Government were railway passes. "We cannot see why any Government or any body should say how wo are to spend our own money, especially when the Government does so little. It gives the men, for class-firing, 100 rounds of ammunition a year, and 100 rounds a year is no earthly use to a. man who desires to make himself a first-class shot." The objectors cannot see any valid reason for the Government to run prize meetings for which the men subscribe the prize-money. When Colonel G. C. R. Wolfe (officer commanding the Auckland military district) was asked' for an expression of opinion he said that he would prefer not to discuss it at present as General Godley would arrive in Auckland in a few days and might wish that any official announcement should come from himself.

The enfant terrible is to be found in New Zealand as well as in France. A :i other with two little children was travelling in a first-class railway carriage not 100 miles from Invercargill yesterday, and the guard duly called for tickets. The lady presented hers. "Are these two children under three years of age?" he asked the mother. The lady replied that they were. The guard turned, and as he opened the carriage door the elder child, a boy, exclaimed in a shrill treble, "I'se four, I is!" "Hold your tongue!" said the mother. What happened afterwards deponent sayeth not.

l)r. Karl Kumm, the explorer and lecturer, who recently gave a series of lectures in New Zealand upon his African experiences, passed through Auckland on Friday (says the 'New Zealand Herald') by the Mara ma on his way Home from Australia. Dr. Kumm was married during his stay in Melbourne, and he is going to the South Sea Islands for a short holiday, which is to include a stay of a fortnight at Honolulu. Thence he will go to San Francisco, where he will speak before the Geographical Society of the United States; and he will afterwards visit the American universities. Dr. Kumm will go on to London, where he will make his home for some time. In October he proposes, according to his present arrangements, to go again to Central Africa to do some further exploring work. His intention is to follow the watershed between the Nile and the Congo, which is the borderland between British and French territory and lias so far remained unexplored. He will then visit the place where Lieutenant Boyd-Alexander (the well-known explorer) was murdered last year, after which be will return to London.

Most people will admit that tho weather conditions of the past season liavo hoen of a most offhand nature. Drapers certainly have certainly found them so and consequently Summer Stocks are heavy. To make a pronounced Clearance. Thomson and Beattie have decided to offer some unique bargains at their Sale, which starts on Saturday, February 3.

At McGruer, Taylor and Co.'s Summer Sale.—Special purchase just opened to-day for school excursion and picnics: 25 Ladies' Coat and Skirt Washing Costumes, usual price, 22s 6d; sale price, 5s lid. Lot Ladies' Fabric Gloves, in assorted colors, see window display. Salo prico, 6d per pair. Lot Japanese Silks in assorted colors, suitable for veils, etc. Sale Price, 6d per yard. 1

Boy wanted. General wanted. Cattle impounded. Residence for sale by private tender. Mr W. Arkley and relations return thanks.

Mr Baxter Buckley's farewell concert to-night.

Blascheck, Society Snap-Shots on Thursday next. Meeting Carpenters' and Joiners' Society to-morrow. Holiday excursion tickets in connection with Forburv trots.