LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIII, Issue 116, 14 May 1909, Page 4

LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS.

The Hon. Messrs Holmes and Marshall (Westland) have been re-appoint-ed Members of the Legislative Council. During last month there were six inmates of the Old Men's Home, one of whom died, and there remain to date five. His Excellency the Governor has informed Sir Joseph Ward that the statement as to his approaching departure is not correct; he has not even considered the question yet. At a general meeting of the Merchant Service Guild last night (says a Wellington telegram) a resolution was Eassed deploring the fact that the nding of the Court of Appeal in the Penguin case was against the weight of evidence. At Hastings to-day the magistrate dealt with eight cases of exposing lice-infected sheep for sale, and fined j the defendants £3 and costs. He said that offences of the kind were too numerous, and in future he would inflict heavy penalties. A^ Christchurch telegram says that the* Prime Minister states that the year's accounts have just been returned from the "audit office, and have passed without a tag. Money is coming into New Zealand in large, amounts—much more than is going out. We have received from Mr Quartly 1 a copy of the popular "Silver Fern" waltz, by Andrian Hape, the copyright of which has been secured by Begg and Co., Ltd. This waltz is always appreciated by lovers of the terpsichorean art, who will be pleased to learn that it can now be procured at Quartly's. : ; The number of patients admitted at the Wairau Hospital during the month of April \^ro 15 males and 14 females, a total of 29 patients. Of that number six males and six, females were discharged', , and 0116 male died. There are at present remaining in the institution .16 patients —eight males and 8 females. Back page matter to-day comprises articles upon "Argentine's Broad Acres"; "Lord Charles Beresford" ; "The Meat Trust Menace"; "South Island Main Trunk" ; "Weather Forecasting—how it is done"; "(Secret Chambers and Gruesome Secrets"; "The Matter of Accent"; "The Cost of Living"; "Compulsory Training," and many other interesting topics. Our Flaxbourne ■ correspondent writes:—-Very heavy rain fell here all day and during the night 'on Monday. The rivers have been higher than at any time since the settlement was formed, and a good deal of damage has been done to fencing, and in places newly ploughed the land has been scoured away. There is a washout near One Tree Hill on the road to Seddon, and traffic has to be taken by way of private land until it is repaired. The rivers are now (Wednesday) crossable, with the exception of the Ure. . A warning to Blenheim housewives:—The N.Z. Times reports that a man is going about Wellington just now selling what he alleges to be. an insect-killer. The other day he went to a house and asked the housewife to buy a packet. He very nearly persuaded her to do so, but when he said she was not to open it for five years or she would be liable to a fine her Scottish caution asserted itself and the vendor of death-to-fleas was promptly told to "gang awn." At another place he was more successful, for the housewife bought four packets at. threepence per packet. When her husband came home, she told him of her "bargain," saying that after five years he would be able to spread it all over the house and kill those horrid things that crawled all over the place. But the husband was too eager for reform to wait five long years, so he forthwith opened one of the packets, and found it to contain—bran!

Lieutenant-Colonel Chaytor yesterday received a telegram from Mr A. Atkinson, of Wellington, asking him if it would be possible to arrange with the Borough Council, or any other public body in Blenheim, to ask Mr McNab, ex-Minister for Lands, to visit Blenheim and deliver a lecture on universal military training in New Zealand. It was pointed out that the public would be expected to defray all expenses in connection with the lecture, viz., the cost of advertising and the Town Hall. Lieut.-Colonel Chaytor explained to a representative of The Exi'UESS that he had interviewed the Mayor, and also the chairman of the Education Board on the matter, and both favored the proposal. The Mayor pointed out that the Council could not vote any money towards the project. It was thought advisable to ask the public to subscribe towards the cost of the lecture by means of subscriptions, and to that end a list has been opened at The Express office. Already about £2 has been promised, and it is thought that there will be little difficulty in getting the amount required, £10, when :Mr McNab, who has started on a lecturing tour of the Dominion, will be invited to visit Blenheim.

When.in need of a,throat relief get Zymole Trokeys. They are the most improved form of medication for an irritated throat or a tight cough. A trial will convince you. *

The Secretary of the Education Board, Mr E. S. Hylton, informed a representative of The Express this morning that sufficient money had been subscribed to enable the proposed shooting competition among school cadets to take place on Empire Day, and that first and second medals would be provided for each ward. It. is proposed to donate gold medals as first prizes and gold and silver medals for second prizes. The following schools will compete:—East Ward, Pioton and Tua Marina.; Central Ward, Blenheim, Springlands and Grovetown; Western Ward, Haveloek, Canvastown and Okaramio. For Children's Hacking Cough, at night—Woods' Great Peppermint Cure, Is 6d and 2s 6d.

An3'on© who has to walk _ through the streets of Blenheim at night and pass, on his way, the groups of young men and boys who station themselves at various corners, in front of the Town Hall and on the footpaths, cannot but bo struck with the inordinate number of oaths that proceed from the mouths of these young fellows per minute during their conversations. Even for men who have seen a bit of life in its various aspects and have become somewhat accustomed to lurid language it is objectionable enough, but for women and girls to have their ears assailed by the concentrated filth to which a number of young Blenheimites of the male sex give utterance is positively disgusting. If the youths have not the decency to purify their speech, then they should be made to pay the penalty.

5s in the £ discount at Smith's Bank Demand Sale of Drapery, now on, opposite Criterion Hotel. *

Some humorous. incidents are reported in connection with the opening of the shooting season at Auckland, such as decoys being riddled by stalkers. In connection with this it is stated that so realistic are the decoys made now,'-that an eel grabbed one on Lako Whangape last Sunday. The lake (says the N.Z.f* Herald) teems with thousands of eels, which quickly attack ducks that are shot and fall in the water. Another incident mentioned is that a teal flying down the Waikato on Saturday morning, ran the gauntlet of 14 shots and escaped scathless. Only those, however, who have shot teal know the pace at which they fly when scared.

LOST—A violent headache, shortly after taking Steams' Headache Cure. Anyone else wishing to lose a headache quickly should get a box of this certain remedy. *

The shortsightedness of Wellington's founders (says The tost) promised to make posterity pay dearly for the mistake of narrow streets, but by timely attention to the problem of the necessary widening in the busy central area, the City Council has scored a double success. A su.m of over £97,000 was expended in the resumption of properties and" various operation incidental to broadening a portion of Willis Street, and the corporation is able to snow a slight profit on the enterprise. Preparations have been made for a continuation of this improvement work in Willis Street, and then other narrow thoroughfares, where carts and the electric cars .almost graze one another, will need consideration. By-and-bye Manners Street must undergo the surgical operation of having one side of its face set back. When the comparatively broad Victoria Street was formed, it was hoped that shops and the traffic would be diverted in that direction, but the shops have clung to the old street-lines, and the traffic roars in the .^narrow places. Even if Victoria Street had accomplished the result anticipated, the necessity of increasing the carrying capacity of the inner streets would not have been removed, for Wellington is not standing. still. Every year sees an appreciable increase in the population and the traffic. A one-street scheme may be good enough, for a small town, but it is some years since Wellington grew out of the small stage. After' Manners Street will come Cuba Street; the days of streetwidening stretch on and on into a future remote. The legacy left by the folk who seemed to imagine that Wellington would be for ever a "fishing village" will impose work for some years to come. It is not advisable for the corporation to rush pellmell at the tasks, but realising that a great ; deal of additional widening is inevitable, the councillors should Be watchful.

Verily ,% owing to the keen competition, at pi-esent existing between the various cycle firms in Blenheim, cyclists are on a .far better purchasing footing in.'this town than im most other parts of the Dominion. Messrs Wintringham and Deugarde, undoubtedly the most progressive firm in this line of business in Maaibdrough, are to the fore again with a fresh lot of good and cheap second-hand cycles. As we stated some little time back, this firm make a rule of aiever selling a second-hand cycle until they have thoroughly overhauled it, and stoveenamelled it so that to all intents and purposes it is practically as good as new. They have just (treated the fresh.lot in this manner, and are now offering them at prices ranging from £4 10s to £8 10s, according to make, age and wearing quality of the bicycle. In sundries they will also be found the cheapest firm to deal with; for instance, they offer a 'really good acetylene lamp for 4s 6d, and oil lamps from -2s upwards. Address: Alongside Blenheim Town. Ha 11.:, .; *