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Mataura Ensign, 21 June 1915, Page 4

To-day is the shortest- day. I*, is reported that one, . of. tHe • Tla-jvko’s Bay freezing; companies are dispensing with all single men and 'faking on in preference married men. . The officer in charge of the administration of •the Vermin -■ Dos traction- Act iu Victoria states that lor eight months ■ended in '’February last _ this iDopart- • rnent was instrumental in having •n« Fewer than -1-5,0(50,000 .stryehnined . rabbit- baits laid, and- about five times that on anti ly in free food, '['he death-rate was close on 10,€GC,000... Mr Allen, is of the opinion that over 2*00,000,000 rabbits are killed every year iu the State. ’■ •- Various correspondents have writ ten askino- for directions as to the’ son-dina 1 , ■of newspapers, books, etc., to w wumed Few Zealanders (says the Christchurch ‘Press’). They may he, addressed to the () fit c e r-( loin m a lull 11 g, Cairo .Hospital Alexandria Hospital, -Malta Hospital f dr sn-h oilier-hospital where Few Zealand soldiers may be patients, and add a note on the address, “ I‘or Few Zealand Patients Only.” The. ordinary newspaper postage rates will-have to In? paid. - ■ , / The stormy .- weaLheiV.-ol'_ the' past ■week culminated in the Heaviest tall of bmow experienced here, for the past 12 years (writes our 'Wendousidc correspondent). The snow in the open is nine inches deep .and in many places it has-drifted to depth of two .or three feet. On the- lulls it, is much deeper. If it lies tong the outlook-for sheep and other stock will be serious, as all growing feed is epihplol.eiy buried. ", :w, '.Patriotic women workers in Wellington;,, as ’ we!) as all over Hie Bmpire ■ says the ‘Dominion’), have tlppso ’ a gi ; oat deal in-, the way of making garments for-the troops since war broke out, and their efforts have received recognition in. a ponular comic song to the effect that ““Sistor .Susie’s Sowing Shirks •of Sailors. If the Germans keep Tip their use of noxioUs gases at the front, a new outlet for Susie’s activities will bo found, for sho may bo employed in ‘.‘Rolling Respirators for Regiments.” ' ■ ’

The firm of Messrs G. W. Woods and Co. '.announces that it has secured the services of Mi - Arthur Jones, as cycle : and' motor-cycle . .expert. Mr Jones has had a largo and varied ex T perience extending over a period of 14 years with sortie of the moist’ reputable firms throughout tlie Dominion, and is well known at Gore where lie has resided for the last three years. All work entrusted’to him wilPreceive his prompt and careful attention'mud his appointment to his present position should add still further to-the reputation enjoyed by G. TV. Woods and Co for so many years. 8' The Minister for Defence gave to a ‘Dominion’ reporter the other day a memorandum on the complaint recently made by a candidate for enlistment that lie Iml been rejected for defective eyesight in tlie- face-of a -recommenda-tion"'-by the examining medical officer that as he was otherwise very lit- he ■might be employed at clerical work or in the Army Service Corps. The Minister stated, that the examining officer had apparently not realised the; purport of the .regulation.s } which were that for auy military -service with the 'Expeditionary Force an applicant nurst be able to read certain type at certain., distances -without glasses. In this east! the candidate could not pass this-tost; ami whs therefore' unfit-. ' This testmust be applied for. ad hraho'ier, of the vservice jn terms of the'regulations. Considerable sentimentaj. interest, atdied to the auction sale of one of the gift articles ■ sold in aid of. the Anokland Hospital Slop Fund Estates tlie ‘Herald’). This was a silver- teapot which had been' taken to tliMp .auction room- earlier in- the day .by .‘alf ■-elderly.iiiiiii nsa tho only contribution ’ that he. ami his wife were able to offeii to the I'uml. The teapot, was a. wedd/ng-pror •sent, and the old couple, who described themselves as simply ”!D. and K.,” decided to .part- with it as an earnest of their patriotism. The teapot,fat tlie first offer, was knocked down aljf2 15s. ‘‘Put it up again,” said the Inuers, ami the article was resold eight times, at prices varying from £1 Ts,s to £2 15s. “Give it back to the old man,” exclaimed "tlie last duiyer. amidst a -storm of applause,- and the old (ouple, while retaining a cherished memento of the daysMif the past, will have the sati-sfae-. Dorr of knowing that they have been' the means of adding over £lB to the fund.

A recent ea ~e of n lending 'firm .at. Feilding being fined-10s and eosls for not stamping n receipt had it;-; seouel in the Feilding Court lately; Mr .las. Donald, of Stratford, recently sent-, a snih of money to iMessrs Ongley and Kellv in payment of interest due on .a mortgage from a friendly society. The legal firm implied in a letter pointing onr that- the .sum■- sent was insuMcient, and asking for further money. This Icier was held o be n receipt, and-ns it was not stamped, Mr Donald handed It to the noliee and a prosecution resulted in the fine. They have appealed against the maoktrate’s decision. Stiliseqnentiy Mr Donald sent a further letter to Messrs.Ouglov and Kelly instructing thorn, to hand ovor to another all moneys held hy them on Ins behalf. This letter, which constitutes a hi!! of exchange, was not stamped, and a' ■second .noliee prosecution resulted inDonald, being fined 7s and costs T)s>. Defendant's solicitor said a conviction must follow, hnt he suggested that no fine should he imposed as the general public w.ere not aware of the law.. The magistrate said .the best way. to edu—cate the public wae to impose a fine.

.Last night '■ was ' the coldest .experienced this year, eighth degrees of Irost ‘being recorded. Public* interest in Treniham is growing- to such an extent that it..has been found necessary .'to. 'increase ■ the train service on Sundays. A line of oats waft, sold the other day at -Is net- bushel, f.otb.,. Prank tort. This is the highest price; obtained in the district <lm‘iug the past 20 years. The fall of snow on Friday and Saturdav was general through l >.it- me district.' At Ball’oiir the-fall was the heaviest experienced for. years anil was 11 inches deep/ :-Owing to_ the subsequent frost the snow is melting away very, slowly. On the hill county; the fall was very heavy, and ifc is lea re a that sheep will have a severe time for some clays to, come, The fall of. snow at Mataura was ■ the heaviest on the flats that the oldest • settlers can remember, this being the-'opinion of Air 'l. McCartney,, a resident, of tile .district for over -10 years. Several of the residents'" measured..tile.. show .yesterday, tlie average depth being between Cin. and 7in. Snowballing eyas - a. favorite pastime on Saturday night, and: was engaged in by young and old. of both sexes. Tobogganing attracted the attention of a huge number yesterday, and Taylor’s. Hill was at times, almost black with people. . . " A. letter from the. agidcitlhiral editor of, the ‘Auckland .Weekly '.Vows’ was received at a •meeting' o! the • North Canterbury Education i Board on .Wednesday. Th(v writer •suggested that a. t‘seod campaign” should ;be started, among young people attending schools in order to grow • more .agricultural seed, as it was expected-that the supplies' from Europe would he cut off. The Board expressed ; its ■ (Sympathy with the idem, and- referred the letter ■to -the- Normal School and -Manual Train ing Com mittoe for' cousidefation. •An iu.stanoo of the practical sympathy of residents at and around uaikalca is illustrated in.- a commtxnication from the local agent-• of the Public .Trustee (Mr A. H.' Aitkim), wild desires to acknowledge from Iter. Jt. 1C Evans and Mr John Turnbull joeoipt of., a..cheque for £3l 12s, to he applied towards ■'the- benefit of, the wife, and children of a former resident. of Waikalea who had the .misfortune■ wliilo engaged at his occupation of d rod gem an to meet with -an'accident causing total pmniiauent incapacity.- On behalf of the. wife and children Air Ait ken; desires to express his grateful .‘thanks; for the generosity of all who assisted and were instrumental in raising tlie money. * • ' ’

A Wellington telegram states: The Postmaster-G-eneral announces that he has agreed with the Postmas-ter-General of the United Kingdom to ■phs.s ’either way -■ between ' New Zealand and the United Kingdom literature for the blind/ printed, in raised Braille "characters, as followsMaSimum weight to be raised to Gib, the present'rate of bidv, lialfpenhy' for two ounces to be retained up to and including a weight of 20 ounces, but thereafter one uniform rate of od to be levied irrespective of extort Weight up to .the six pounds. Therefore for a packet of 20 ounces in weight the postage will be sd, and for one weighing as" much as six pounds the postage will he--only lOd.

i London; ‘Truth’ has the■ _ following paragraph in its issue of April 2S: “An inquiry reached une- (the editor of ‘Truth’) from New Zealand last week as to' the bona (ides of an advertisement in the Wellington "F.vrhihg Post’ asking lor cheques,..and ' postal orders to be sent to the 'manager of the G-cne-rah.A'dvico Agency, 39 -Victoria-Street, London, S.W., ihoorder-■ to 'Supphy'-help nrgen tly nceded' ti by: .Belgian' fafiii]i os' stranded' in Englaibl. , 1 sent a re.priv somativo to GO Vdctaria : -Stfeet to learn what sort of nysponso New Zealand had made--to this appeal, and discovered that both the. manager and the General Advice Agency had ■disappeared about a month ago. It does not seem likely, therefore, that the distressed. Belgian* will benelit to, any considerable extent by the Agency’s philanthropic efforts On tlieir behalf.” This paragraph should - warn benevolent' people not to send money for the Belgians through any agency, hut coniine their-subscrip-tions to schemes promoted by the Government,

•The., annual, meeting .of the -Southland Champion. Ploughing Match 'Association was hold at Invercargill on Saturday; alien there was a satisfactory attendance, '..Mr-TV. Ronald (president) occupied the chair.; The report of the secretary (Mr Gilkison) on. the work of the past year 'was received as very satisfactory.: The year was commenced with a credit balance of £SO ■los 9d and finished, up with a credit of £65 3s lid. A general discussion ensued upon the question - of postponing future matches until aftpr the' war ended. It wa« stated that many ploughmen had- gone to the war, and it was contended that owing to so many calls vipou' business' people it would be more-'difficult this year to collect donations and special prizes than formerly. On the' motion of the chairman, seconded by Mr . James Fleming, it; was resolved, “That further, matches ho postponed until after the conclusion, of the- war.’’: It was resolved, “That the .present officers should:hold 011100 until a.'general meeting of the association is called.” The secretary .was.'authorised to invest the credit balance.

One of the- most interesting undertakings in eonnection with Auckland’s share of the equipment of the ■ hospital ■ship. ’i.s thsi tof tlio Auckland Powerboat Association in building and equipping its gift motor-launch within the short ’space of a. fortnight. - All. the boat-building members of- the-;'associa-tion, ’• five in * number.- have given their services freely, . and . they, with oilier Avilling helpers; have carried on the Work aiight and day, with the result that an entirely new boat, .-built of-the .host of materials' and: well equipped and found- -in' every respect, lias been launched.’’’The boat, has been named the Awhina, meaning “to 1 1 elp’’ or “to succor.'’ 'The launch, is 29ft long- and of 7ft Gin beam and is fitted with a IG-h.p. engine, capable of- developing a speed of 10 knots. It is also equipped with electric light, cushions and other fittings in accordance with the specifications of the • Defence Department, everything being turned out in a most workmanlike manner. - The total : outlay is . between £-100 and £SOO. .‘i

Ladies who have/noi'vhri'ecl' tdie failoreub factory-made costumes, supplied bv Thomson and Beattie at £2 15s each should lose no fcimd" in- iiknn-g soV‘"'the tweed that, we ire. •offering, is a. real warm line lor winter wear. Satisfaction guaranteed. vOoppingjand to lei. ' Vacancies for teachers. 'rutty, tailor, for suits. Tnrnins and gross to loti . J MiSs:’T)uggaVt'lnsdrls ‘ ho.lic.Q.’i ’ Sochrl at Kaiwera on Friday. ('oncert at Riversdale on Friday. 'Handy man wants employment. T.' Stark sweeps chimneys, etc. Pictures, Theatre. Royal, to-night. Pictures, Princess Theatre, to-night. . . d.frs .Cook resumes teaching to-mor-row. - Knnpdnk* M I. Society meets to-mor row. On to Hancock's for the shortest way to Tipperarv. , ' Thomas .Green and Co. sell property next Sa lurday. f - . Wright, Stephenson, and' Co. hold horse sale on Saturday. . . Southland Education' Board inserts notice re examinations lor certificates. If you are -thinking of' Ring-mg the BeUepeaUand see Baker’s rings:' ■