LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLII, Issue 6, 8 January 1908, Page 4

LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS.

Capt. EdWin.telegraphed at 1 p.m. as follows: — "Moderate to strong southerly winds; glass " rise- slowly; tides moderate; sea moderate." The OamarS .. Wheel .Race, ; which took place on New Year's Bay, was won by F. "WieUs, of Blenheinij on a Rudge-Whitworth bicycle. The Auckland Harbour Board has decided to consider the advisability of establishing a coal depot for Admiralty purposes, and enlarging the Calliope Dock. The police $ish it to be made known that a purse containing five shillings, picked up by a constable in Market Street during. Christmas week, awaits the owner at;-the station. A Press Association telegram from Christchurch states that the AttorneyGeneral is visiting Mount Cook, to select a site for a new Hermitage, to cost £8000 to £9000. This season's traffic is in excess of the previous record. \, ' The railway locomotives on the Picton-Blenhfeim line require replacing with larger and up-to-date engines. Last ought one of the cylinders in the engine drawing the train from Picton. to Blenheim got out of order, causing considerable delay. The train did not arrive in Blenheim till a few minutes after nine o'clock.: A light rain fell at Flaxbourne on Sunday mpriiirig and evening, and although, hot heavy enough to assist grass much has freshened up rape considerably. More is needed badly, as the grass seems to have burnt off more this year than last. There are several spleiijdid crops of rape on the settlement, notwithstanding the dry spell. Other Binders have some good points, but the Hornsby has no bad ones.—Reid and Gray, Agents. * The notice of motion proposing to authorise additions to the nurses quarters at the Wairau Hospital, given by the Chairman (Mr R. Bell) for discussion "at yesterday's reeting, was not proceeded with, owing to an error having been made in the wording of the order paper sent to members. The motion will therefore come on for discussion.,.at $ljVh February meeting. The idea is to give training to additional nurses, with the view of providing <x>r oufcnursing, now so restricted. The Medical Officer (Dr. Bennett) reports on - the number of patients treated at: the Wairau Hospital in December a& follows: —Number in hospital at end of November, 20 (8 females); nujnber admitted during the month, 14 aggregate, 34: number discharged, 24 (10 Females) • number who died, 3 (one female); number now remaining, 7 (four females). Number of inmates in Old Men's Home, 4. The only .conviction entered in the bchool Attendance Court this morning was o.^e in the case Truant Officer v. Andrew Watson, charged with failing to send his child the sfeFutory number .of times to the Blenheim Borough School. A fine of 4s and costs was inflicted, the charge being the fourth preferred against the same defendant. A series _of pair-oared races for Club trophies has just been concluded by the Blenheim Rowing Club. On \ Monday evening N. White and H I Patchett beat J. Bentley and G. [ Paul, and G. Martella and Freeman Hale beat J. O'Neill and Joe Morrison- Last evening White's and Martella s crews rowed off, the latter winnc"& b£ about half a length after one or tne finest finishes ever witnessed on the river. _ Cooling, Cleansing and Invigorate^ ing. A boon for warm days. Professor Hendy's hair-wash "Juleptin " sole agents, Is bottle.—R. Allan *

A number of Blenheim people went out to Ugbrooke this afternoon, per \ two large drags. The occasion is the annual party at Mr Vavasour's residence. A Press Association telegram from ■■ Dunedin states that the Kaikorai Band has decided to enter for the Ballarat competition, to be held in" October next. \ The Stratford rainfall for December was 5.42 inches, and for the year 92 inches. It was the wettest year since 1893, when it was blessed with no less than 120 inches of rain. The average annual rainfall is 71 inches. Despite the threatening look of the weather northwards, a good number of Blenheim people went down the railway line to Picton. for the fortnightly excursion this' morning. People have begun to trust the weather — I it is so consistent! . j The Auckland Presbytery Commit-j tee has submitted a report on Sunday observance, condemning the practice of making a holiday of it, and traffic on that day. It also objected to unnecessary work in the mills, factories, and mines, and gardening : on, Sunday. The report was adopted, and the 00-operation of other churches asked on the motion of Mr_ W. J. Napier (says a Press Association telegram). Mr George Gerard, of Snowdon, Canterbury, has installed on his property a system of water-supply piping which is quite unique in character. In principle it consists of a gigantic syphon, which takes the water from one watershed _ over the crest of another hill, making it available for irrigation purposes on the other side. The work was planned and supervised by Mr A. Donald Paterson, engineer ,of the Selwya County Council, and will cost about £12,000. Come and select the best Puritan Collar in Blenheim from our stock; only 6d each, silk or lawn embroidered.—R. Allan. * Applications for labour continue to be made to the Labour Department by employers in various parts* of the Dominion. A request has been received from Nelson for sixty navvies for road work in thot district. Only twenty of the immigrants whq ar*rired here by the Athenic last week sought the assistance of the Department in obtaining employment, and with the exception of one the whole of theni were found, situations. The, New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company sent another fine mob of cattle, comprising 200 head, to the West Coast yesterday. The mobs that have been sent away by this company during the last two months include some of the finest cattle that have lefb Marlborough, and have upheld, if not increased, the reputation of this province as A cattle-producing. district. Another drive will be arranged shortly, so that any owners of good mobs may have an opportunity to dispose of them at satisfactory prices. ,

R. Allan. Two English tourists have hit upon the novel idea of "doing" the island oh the way to Wellington in a caravan, which they have had specially constructed in Auckland for the purpose (says the New Zealand Herald). Such a method of travelling will secure for them absolute independence, if nothing else. The vehicle, which left Auckland on Monday morning, is very strongly built', and fitted with alj[ conveniences for' travel. Two : tents are being carried,' arid Captain Hope Johnstone and ■ Ms>, # Earl, the two gentlemen in question, intend visiting the fishing and shooting grounds in addition to the beauty spots of the island. The holiday under these conditions should be an ideal one.

The monthly meeting of the Blenheim School Committee was attended last evening by Messrs Penny (Chairman), Birch, White, Brown, and Ching. The Sanitary Inspector (Mr Johnston) forwarded, on behalf of the Health Department, an account for £1 10s 3d for formalin used in the disinfecting of the school. He complimented the Committee on the very; satisfactory manner in which the work of disinfecting and cleansing had been carried out by Messrs Andrews and Williams. The work had made the whole of the school premises sweet and wholesome and free from any germs of disease.—lt was decided that the Health Department's account, also that of Messrs Andrews and Williams (£3 4s) be forwarded to the Education Board, as agreed. Washing Blouses for boys, all ages, at Is 6d each, to clear.—R. Allan. * In reply to Mr Jas. Gane at the meeting of the Wairau Hospital Board yesterday, the Secretary (Mr Griffiths) stated that the outstanding patients' fees were not coming in as well as he would like. The next step in regard to some of the debtors who had neglected to pay would be to put the bailiff in, a proceeding that was always very unpleasant. -In reply to further questions, the Secretary said that each patient, upon entering the institution for treatment, had to reply to the question. " Who is going to pay? Sometimes they said they would themselves pay, and sometimes declared that they couldn't. Thus the declarations made on entering the; hospital served as indications ±p which j of the ex-patients could afforcFtopay, and should be forced to pay. Eventually, at the Secretary's instance, a committee was set up to go through the list of defaulters.

D tV Georg.e B- Gordon, curator of the University of Pennsylvania's Department of American, Archjeology, has returned from an extended expedition m,the wilderness of Alaska, where he discovered a tribe of aborigines hitherto unknown to science. Ihere were only about four hundred in the tribe, whose habitation is eight hundred miles from the mouth ot the Koskokwin River. They are unll? c e^aer the Athabascan Indians or the Esquimaux, but show strong traces of Asiatic origin. The Kuskowagamutes are a most interesting people. Vice is unknown among them. The, men are tall and strong, and the women are particularly graceful. They show a higher mentality and development than any of the known inhabitants of the far north. They are monogamists, and have no laws, though they are governed by priests, who are patriarchs. Instead of wearing furs the people dress in the skins of birds. /Second-hand Cycle Sale.—" The bike in the world." ! "Humber," in tip-top order. Going i to be sold for £4 10s to first comer.—- \ Wellington and Wairarapa Motor' Company, Ltd., Market Street. 2

A slight alteration in the Welling- i I ton-Marton-Auckland railway time- ; ! table has been made, to take effect ' from the new year. Instead of the j first day's journey taking the up-j traveller as far as Wawuru, beyond i Taihape, where the nighV had to be ' put in, the first halt will now be ' made at Taihape. Nest day the stage of travel will be from Taihape to Taumarunui, embracing the thirty-mile coach-ride; while the third day will take the traveller into Auckland. The Post states that the number of runs (1259) scored on the Basin Reserve during the three days of the representative cricket match between Canterbury and Wellington, constitutes a record for the Dominion. The average runs per man works out at 34.2. With its sporting vicissitudes and thrilling finish in the last of 01" that could be bowled, the game will be long cherished as a glorious memory by the enthusiast. A start has now been made (writes a Timaru correspondent) with harvesting in South Canterbury, a number of oat_ crops on light lands and sunny, face's having been cut. The harvest is coming on much earlier than usual this year, by reason of the long spell of hot, dry weather. On the whole, the crops are good, and the yields promise to come well up to the average. It is anticipated that the first of the new season's grain will be on the market at the end of the present month, and that the opening prices will be 4s and 2s for wheat and oats respectively. An elderly man is making himself a nuisance to many townspeople (says the Taranaki Herald). He has not long "come out," and consequently lacks cash. His method is to approach people and ask them to direct him to Poverty Flat. He goes on to explain that he was here forty years ago, when old Granny So-and-so lived in some street. Someone had told him/be further enlightens his prey, that there was a nice tree on Poverty- Flat under which he could sleep that night. He has just come from I the East Coast, and he gives fearful and wonderful explanations of a hot spring he is well acquainted with. He has just walked over to Taranaki. He has never been without, a coin in his . life f before; By the time the word '" coin"is mentioned the listener has an _ idea of what the purpose of all this enlightenment is. If no coin be forthcoming right away, the old fellow suggests that someone might lend him a shed to sleep in. He is pretty hardy, he says, and this leads him on to the fact that he has been a soldier in India, where "a soldier's life is a gentleman's life, I tell you, m' boy.". With all the professions of fearing not the night, he has great dread of the sun, and takes great care to be down town early to take shelter—in various bars. •

room.—Reid and Gray, Agents.' ■*.■' The present extremely dry weather is causing some anxiety to the agriculturists and pastoralists of the Wairarapa. Great cracks are to be, seen in the paddocks, but apparently the stock, where water is plentiful, are doing fairly well. The weather in the district nas been particularly hot—^hotter than that experienced in Wellington. Australian visitors to the Wairarapa assert that the heat is greater there tha^ that .usual in Sydney at this time of year. Care ia ebing exercised by people occupying grass lands owing to the inflammable I nature of all vegetation. People having gorse on their country are getting good "burns," although the gorse is fairly green in appearance. Some settlers who neglected to leave shelter belts for stock have gone to the extent of erecting large canvas awnings. The fact that the sheep' crowd under these awnings is proof i that the heat is phenomenal. No one need suffer from indigestion.l. :- Take Pearson's Pepto-chlor, All chemists, Is 6d, 2s 6d and 4s. : It is so cold in Canada ,in the win-, ter time that the ground is frogen to a depth of six feet. In consequence', of this, the dead cannot be buried, in the winter, and the bodies are? stored i» vaults until such time,as the ground becomes soft enough to■ excavate. Mr William Cable, the Wellington iron-founder, who has just returned, says that at Montreal there is a fine crematorium, presented to the city by A. M. Macdonald, the approach to which is through a beautiful conservatory embellished with most beautiful flowers and shrubs. , Whoever suffers with indigestion can be cured by taking Pearson's i Pepto-chlor. All chemists, Is 6d, 2s 6d and 4s. A charge preferred against Fred. B. Farmar by the Truant Officer of failing to send his son to school eight times out of ten on which it was open in one week of December led to some interesting argument before the Magistrate (Mr Scott-Smith) this morning. Defendant gave an explanation of the boy's absence, which was owing to indisposition. He did not think it was ever intended that citizens should be kept from their business and harassed simply because a child was absent. He thought the Truant Officer might make some inquiries before laying informations. The Truant Officer said he had no pleasure in coming into the Court, but, the names of absentees being handed to him by the headmaster he must take action. He had called at the house and inquired, but had not received the courtesy he deemed his due as an officer seeking to perform his duty. Defendant: "Ah, and that is the reason you have brought me here?" The Truant Officer: "Not at all. lam only doing my duty " The Magistrate said the statute made no provision for the Truant Officer making inquiries before taking out informations It was the parent's place to notify the teacher or a member or the Committee as to the reaSOnij^l a I chlld's absence. A note could then be made of the excuse, and the name omitted from the list sent to the Truant Officer, if the excuse was satisfactory. In the circumstances the explanation would be accepted, and the information dismissed. The Magistrate remarked that he thought the principle of prosecution without prior inquiry was not a very wise one. Kirkcaldie and Stains, Ltd., of Wellington, beg to notify their Marlborough customers of the change in address of their Blenheim Agency to Charles Street, near Bank of. New South Wales, in new buildings lately erected by Mr Wensley. The new agency is more convenient and larger. J and with the extra space, they intend i keeping a more representative range |of samples of their Wellington stocks than they have been able to previously. •

The following anecdote concerning; the late Joseph Joachim is now being circulated:—The great violinist, was once invited to a dinner party; at the residence of one of the most powerful scions of the dynasty or Bleichroeder. The prince of the dynasty said to himself that it would be well to have an artist of such: eminence at dinner, as it would en- ! able him to provide his guests with a ' fine concert in an economical manner. The great violinist, not divining his ulterior motive, accepted the invitation,.and the financier remarked, carelessly: " You will bring your violin along, won't jou?" "I thank you in his name," replied Joachim, "but my violin never dines out." .Pearson's Pepto-chlor—A safe and speedy remedy for indigestion. All chemists, Is §d, 2s 6d and 4s. | The Hon. T. J. Paul gives in the Otago Daily Times two illustrationsiof division in the ranks of labour i» Christchurch. He says that the Labour League there very kindly gave * social to welcome the visiting delegates. An open invitation was given* to all interested in the labour cause. The attendance was not large; But j the notable absentees were those who* have for many years wrought for the cause of labour in the Cathedral City. They were not there. "Surely," her says, "some organisation is wanted | under which all Labour men will at tonce unite." He noticed the division even in the street. On the (Saturday night following the conference the league .held an open-air meeting in the Square. A collection was taken up towards the expenses of running candidates' at the next elections. Good speeches were made, and they were advanced enough and not in any degree behind the time. On Sunday evening the Socialist party held a similar meeting in the Square. The speakers told the crowd that the league had nothing to offer the workers in the way of lasting or permanent good. They also took up a collection towards the expenses of running candidates at the next elections. "Dunedin," he concludes, "does not make as much noise as the Christ6hurdh reformers, but makes at least as much "progress."