LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS

Marlborough Express, Volume XXXV, Issue 88, 19 April 1901, Page 2

LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS

Rates. —Unpaid rates in connection with the Lower Wai ran River Board are to be sued for after the 27th inst.

Administration. — Probate of the will of the late Mrs Seymour has been granted by the Registrar of the Supremo Court on the application of Mr Rogers to Ml* A. P. .Seymour, the executor appointed by the will;

Property Sale.—lnvestors, speculators, and others are reminded of the auction sale at Messrs Griffiths & Son's rooms to-morrow at noon, when Mr P. G. Douslin's fine residence in Hufcchesou Street, and Mr Kirfoy's neat little property in Weld Street, will be offered.

'Progressive Wanganui. — One of the most progressive towns in the colony at the present timo is Wanganui. The Mayor's annual statement, just published, is an indication of the general prosperity of .the place. The principal ventures foreshadowed are municipalisation of gasworks (already sanctioned by ratepayer.) and an auxiliary water supply, probably from the Wang-anui river, at an estimated cost of £51,500.

Judgment Summons.—This morningat the Magistrate's Court tho case W. Litchfieid v. F. Tansley, partly heard last week, in which applicant asked for a judgment order, was again before Mr J. A lien, S. M. A letter was road from defendant detailing his position, and asking for an adjournment for three months. By agreement ib was decided to adjourn the case for two months to give defendant an opportunity of paying some portion of the debt or making some offer.

Horticultural Society.—A well attended meeting of the Committee of tho local Horticultural Society was held at the office of the President last evening-, when further arrangements for the advancement of the show to be held on the 2nd May next, were made. In addition to names already men tioned, schedules may bo obtained from Mr W. J. Perano, Picton, and Mr W. Buckman, Havclock.

Ladies' and Girls' Knitted Woollen Singlets, at Is and Is Od ; worth double. Extra heavy and warm.—R. Allan.

Wesley Church.—The Rev. G. W. Spence, the.newly-appointori minister to tho Blenheim circuit, arrived in town yesterday, and immediately commences his pastoral duties in succession to the Rev. W. Keall, who left last week for Rangitikei. On Wednesday next it is intended to formally open a line new young men's classroom which has been added to the Sunday School : and, as Mr and Mrs Spence are expected to be present, advantage will be taken of the opportunity to heartily welcome them to their new sphere of work.

Poultry and Dog Show.—A largely attended meeting of the above was held at the Grosvenor Hotel last night for the purpose of considering matters fully in connection with the coming show, which is to be held on the 12th and 13th July next. It was decided to have the schedule printed at once, and that the Society purchase a number of canary cages, and that more be purchased if the entries warrant it. Several letters from the Wellington and other outside fanciers were received guaranteeing large entries, and expressing a wish that the committee would do all in their power to bring the show up to its old standard. A donation of two guineas was received in tho room. Tlitrcommittee meet'again on Tuesday next.

Gents' Mackintosh Coats, with deep capes, warranted waterproof, at 37s 6d ; usual price, 60s.—R. Allan.

Civil Business.—A large number of cases were on for hearing this morning at the Magistrate's Court, but with the exception of the cases mentioned below were settled out of Court. Deputy Official Assignee in the estate of Corry & Co. v. A. W. Dillon, adjourned from last week, was struck out, there being no appearance of parties. H. Campbell v. 8. T. Henwood, adjourned from last week, was proceeded with. Evidence was given by plaintiff, for whom judgment went by default for amount claimed, £1 5s Gd and costs 10s. W. Gosling v. P. Median, claim for £8 2s for carting. Mr D. P." Sinclair appeared for plaintiff, and Mr McCal--1 urn for defendant. Two items of £3 and 19s 6d were admitted by defendant. Evidence was given by plaintiff and by H, L, Mills, who said defendant authorised him to employ plaintiff t) cart a truck of posts from Blenheim railway station to Seddon. He believed the posts were Mr Meehan's as he ordered them. He was never told they were Mr Horton's. Defendant admitted the posts were carted to his section at Starborough, bnt the posts were Mr Horton's. From the evidence of defendant and witnesses it appeared the posts were wrongly delivered. They should have been delivered to Mr Horton's sections, whose property the were. As H. W. Horton admitted lie was liable for the carting of the posts, judgment was given for plaintiff for £3 19s Od, and each party to pay their own costs.

A Turret Steamer.—The steamer Royalist, now in Wellington, says the Post, is something of an oddity in the shipbuilding line. She is of the turret pattern, which, being interpreted, means that instead of widening gradually up to the. deck, she suddenly narrows in from just abaft the bows right along to the stern, while the deck itself stands up in the centre and is considerably narrower than tho total width of the ship. This, it is claimed, gives her a greater carrying capacity than usual in proportion to her registered tonnage—in her case something like 5300 tons capacity to 2000 tonnage. Below the fleck the protruding sides of the vessel form a sort of ledge, en which a considerable quantity of .timber or like cargo can be carried, The dock space is, of course, cramped. Asked " How do you walk up and down hepe ?" an officer of the vessel replied, "Well, we just don't,"

Boys' Sailor Suits, at 4s Od each, extra strong; worth 10s Gd.—R. Allan.

Licensing Case, —In tlie licensing case—Hancock v. Ryan—at Auckland thft defence was: First, that the true rent was £2G l'7s p§i> wpek, not £30 ; and secondly, that as the beer supplied by the plaintiffs during certain months wan bad, the defendant was discharged from liis obligation to purchase exclusively from plaintiffs, and that he should be held, to have complied with the proviso. His Honor held that the proviso in question did not fall within the terms of section 35, sub-section 1, inserted in the Alepjwlic Liquors Sale Control Act Amendment Act, 1895, to abolish " tied " houses. He was, however, compelled to say that he thought the spirit of the statute had been ingeniously pviidprl, He must hold that the letter of fchp law hat! not been violated. As for the defence that bad beer was supplied, the case could not be brought within that class of case whiuh enabled tlie purchaser to refuse other goods because pertain goods supplied previously had been bad ; and the finding of tlie jury that bad beer was fjJijißiipd. during: certain months did not warrant such being clone. He could not say the supply of bad beer in tho months mentioned by the jury had enabled the Court to' declare' that defendant had fulfilled the terms of the proviso of the lease. Both defence therefore failed. Judgment was given fpr the differenpp bptivppn the ampunfc paid , into Court and ' the amount Qlajmed, viz. ? £249 17s, ana cpsts,

The Objectionable Appointment. —Mr John Lionel Fegan, against whose appointment as Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs in the Federal Government there has been such an outcry in Australia, was Minister for Mines and Agriculture in the State Government. On arrival in the colony seventeen years ago he worked as a miner. His present salary will be £1000 per annum.

Clerical. Piiecedkxci:. — The oftrecurring question of clerical precedence arose in connection with the laying of the foundation stone on March 20 of the Hobart Museum and Art Gallery. Now that no State church exists the Archbishop of Hobart claimed priority on the ground of seniority, while Bishop Montgomery asserted his right to the position, and was followed by the president and clergy of the Council of Churches. The question was found to be a difficult one to deal with. Finally it was decided that the issues should be detccmined on the basis of population, which was accepted by Anglicans and the Council of Churches, with the result that the former occupied the coveted place and the latter took second honors. The Roman Catholics, however, by way, presumably, of marking their disapproA'a'l, were conspicuous by their absence from the ceremony. In order to saA'o further complications on the arrival of the Duke of York, the local paper suggests that steps should be taken in order to settle this vexed question once and for all.

Ladies' Hand-made Lace Collarettes, warranted to wash, Is lid each; usual price is 2s Gd.—l? ; Allan.

Temperance Ckusade. — A wcllorganised crusade against drink has lately been started in Switzerland, and the good results have greatly surpassed the most sanguine expectations. The scheme is under distinguished patronage, and financed by rich supporters (says a Geneva correspondent.) As many as 455 temperance restaurants have been erected in the principal towns, and as all beverages and eatables arc sold at a little above cost price the poorer classes find the restaurants a great boon, and are commencing to desert the- cafes in their favor. Zurich also boasts a splendid temperance 'hotel-, entirely managed by Swiss ladies-determined'to fight the l.o'flkeepers on their own ground. There is wreiy a room vacant in it all the year round. Most of the cantonal governments are encouraging the scheme by granting free licenses to the temperance establishments, and not taxing tlie beverages sold on the premises. Ladies' Cuffs and Collars, ncwstvles, at 6d each.—R. Allan. Fire in Maxwell Road.—Late last night a fire broke out in an old twostoried house on the corner of Maxwell Road and the road running across to Weld Street on the town side of Mr T, Horton's residence. The big firebell was rung at about midnight, but the building had then nearly been reduced to ashes, and the services of the Fire Brigade would have been of no avail. The house, which contained seven rooms, was owned by Mrs T. Neame, leased by Mr F. Stratford, and occupied by Mr Gas. Aston, of the Austral Botanic Company. No one was in the house last night, Mr Aston being out of town; and the origin of the fire is unknown. The place was completely destroyed with all its contents, comprising a full set of furniture, and, it is believed, a quantity of botanic stock and appliances. It is understood that the building was not insured, there being an insurance of £75 on the stock belonging to,the Austral Botanic Company.

Mantle Drapeing, waterproof, warranted to wash; to bo cleared at 6d yard ; worth Is Cd.—R. Allan.

Compensation.—Tlie iCliief Justice of INTew South Wales recently nonsuited the plaintiff in a suit in which one Elliott claimed £1000 damages from the Government for breaking into and pulling down a portion of his premises in George Street South daring- the plague. His Honor said that what had been complained of was an act of State hy the Government, and this was an action brought against the Executive for acts done in protection of human life, in respect of which a suit could not be brought in a court of law. Plaintiff might bo entitled to some compensation, but he could not bring an action.

Queen Victoria's Will.—lt is not likely that the contents of Queen Victoria's will will be made public, as the Probate Court has no power over the Sovereign's will, nor is there, any means by which probate can he granted. The only royal wills "which, have been communicated to the public arc those of Henry VIII. and George I. The Sovereign's right to make a will is now regulated by the Private Property of Sovereigns Act, 1800, and the Crown Private Estates Act, 1862. By the former " three or more witnesses," and by the latter "two witnesses" are prescribed, and it is expressly provided that no publication shall be necessary. Whether death duties are payable on property passing pn the death^ of the Sovereign is an interesting question. It is.not included among the exemptions in the Finance Act, 1894, which now governs this matter.

You can depend on ridding your children of Worms with Wade's Worm Figs, the wonderful worm worriers. Price, 1/-

Some Makvels of Liquid Air.— In the course of M. d'AiVJonval's demonstration at the Paris Museum of Natural History of the qualities of liquefied air by enormous pressures, he reached a temperature of minus 180deg. centigrade. The liquefied air was contained in a double-sided silvercovered bottle, and did not evaporate. Experiments with indiarubber bottles showed that they became as hard and brittle as glass. The rubber could be pulverised, but became clastic when the air was evaporated. Similar resuits were shown in the case of butcher meat. A beef steak dipped in liquefied air and then let fall on the floor sounded like a stone, and broke to pieces. It was eventually reduced to a pink powder, easily to masticate and assimilate, andliknly to be of-Important service in hospitals. Ice dipped in liquefied air cut glass like a diamond, mercury became hard as anlimonv. Metals, especially steel, had their qualities increased tenfold by the application of liquefied air. Conducting wires could bo reduced to a hair's breadth in thickness, and remain as strong- as enormous eablos. When hpatecl, it js such a powerful explosive that no metal yet known could resist its shocks.