LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIV, Issue 125, 3 June 1910, Page 4

LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS.

The price of flour in Wellington was on Wednesday reduced by 10s per ton, making it £9 10s at southern ports. A Dunedin Press Association message says ib is understood the price of bread will be reduced by a halfpenny per loaf from Monday next.

An epidemic of blight in the eyes is at present going round the Milburn district (says the Bruce Herald), and quite a number of people are affected.

A large mail, comprising thirty bags and seven hampers, arrived by the river-boats during the night. The conveyance of this quantity of matter necessitated three trips to the post office. The mail was sorted into the boxes during the morning.

A Dunedin message states that Mr C. J. Reakes, Government Chief Veterinarian, mentioned at a meet-, ing of the South Island Dairy Association this morning that the condemnation of cattle and pigs owing to disease in the Dominion last year meant a monetary loss of £38,000.

The health authorities report that the first patient who contracted bubonic plague at Auckland has quite recovered, but the second victim is still seriously ill. There is every reason to believe that the outbreakcan be confined to its present dimensions, and that further cases will not occur.

The Kaikoura Star reports that the whereabouts of the crockery stolen last week from the Kaikoura Tennis Club's pavilion last week is known, and a youthful burglar is now under the fatherly care of Constable McLennan, and. will be duly dealt with.,

A Wellington telegram states that the King's Birthday is being observed by the bulk of the community. The Government Departments, banks, legal offices, and most of the business places are closed. A salute was fired by the Permanent Artillery at 8 a.m., and'another by H.M.S. Pioneer at noon. The weather is cloudy, and a little rain fell in the morning.

To-night the British Picture Company will give another show in the Town Hall. The missing cable has come to hand* and the management guarantee that the light will be per-' feet and the pictures will show up without any dulness. The pictures are all of the best class,, and to-night patrons will have nothing to complain of* ' , • ■■ ■

The only Marlborough estate lodged for probate during May was that_ of Anders Jonson, the amount being £526. The largest' estates lodged were those of Peter Chalmers (Canterbury) £90,550, Eliza White (Canterr bury) £48,216, Michael O'Srien (Canterbury) £32,860, Oswald Curtis (Taranaki) £22,762, and John Small (Canterbury) £21,591.

A number of empty-headed louts gathered at the hockey tournament this morning, and during the progress of the High School C and D girls' match, commenced to kick two footballs over the field of play amongst the little girls, thereby interfering with the play. A glance at some of these "hoodlums" was sufficient to satisfy any respectable individual that their actions were characteristic of the "men," and also that if the gatekeeper had been asked to identify any of tbem as having paid for admission they would have been found wanting. This shows that these "sealers," in addition to- gaining an illegitimate entrance, wanted to control the proceedings, and in order to do so, went to the extent of trying to break up a young girls' hockey match. The most surprising part about the affair is that a number of young fellows who are supposed to be able to conduct themselves as gentlemen should have joined the hoodlum gang and were equal offenders with the "push" who negotiated the wire fence in place of paying sixpence at the gate, and continued to kick the ball and scuffle with each other, until Mr Bottrell captured one ball and Mr Sim the other, thus putting an end to their unmanly behaviour.

A lad named Christian Larsen has! admitted that he placed on the rail- | way track the stones which so nearly i resulted in. the wrecking yof the Wai- ; inea express at Kingston crossing on Wednesday. The boy lives close by the place where the attempted wreck- i ing took place. Viewed in the light of the subsequent investigation by the police (says the Ensign) the affair ap- j pears to be the result of mischief. The stones which were placed on the crossing were not much larger than fair- i sized apples, and they were placed on the rails, one a little in advance of the otber. The effect of this was that after the front wheel of the engine struck the first obstruction it had not time to regain the metals before the opposite wheel struck the other stone, this causing both wheels to leave the rails. It is regarded as the merest chance that anything untoward happened.

At the meeting of the Pelorusßoad Board on Tuesday (reported in another part of this issue) a long discussion took place on the heavy traffic problem, and after sitting till close on seven o'clock the Board unanimously decided to defer action regarding the amendment of the by-laws regarding heavy traffic. \

A notable event took place at Clyde on Friday evening, when a presentation was made to Mr J. E. Stevens on his retirement from the position of schoolmaster, which, he has held for over forty years, thirty weight of which have been spent in Clyde. The chairman read congratulations from the Prime Minister, who was one of the pupils of Mr Stevens at the inception of that gentleman's scholastic career. The presentation consisted of a purse of 100 sovereigns.

The secretary of the Plaxbourne • Settlers' Association writes as follows: —"The Flaxbourne Settlers' Association, at its last meeting, passed the following resolution: That this association instruct our secretary to write to The Express stating that it is in favor of the railway works past Ward, and to urge the Department to take steps to have the work put in hand at once; and also to state that .theassociaion is not in sympathy with a letter which lately appeared in The Express against this work being done." We are very glad to receive, the assurance of the Association that it is in favor of continuing the railway; it would be a- paltry^ spirit for anyone to wish it ix> stop 'as soon as it had reached his door. ' A slight, irritation in the throat may lead to a hacking cough. Zymole Trokeys will stop it; they soothe the irritation and strengthen the throat. The lad' Albert William Foote, who had absconded from Burnham Industrial School, and had pleaded guilty to burglary in Blenheim, along wrbh another Burnham boy, was brought before the Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout) on Wednesday (reports The Dominion). When. Foote came up on Saturday last for sentence, he asked not to be sent back to the school, and stated that he would prefer to be allowed to go to friends in Marlborough. Sentence was accordingly deferred, in order that inquiries might be made whether anyone would take the lad and care for him. His Honor remarked that he intended to let the lad go to the place which an uncle had found for him. Probation could not be granted, as there were numerous convictions against Foote, but he would be allowed to go free, unless called upon by the Court. He would be required to write a letter once a month to the Probation Officer to let him know how he was getting,on. It was the lad's last chance, and ; if he did not take a lesson, he might _be brought up again, and! receive an indeterminate sentence.

A little boy named "Wilson, six years of age, residing in Tory Street, "Wellington, fell over the edge of the quarry at the top of Ellice Street, shortly after midday on Wednesday (states The Dominion) _ahd sustained serious injuries, which include a fractured jaw and fractured forearm. The boy was also badly bruised about the body. It appears that when the workmen at the quarry were at lunch they heard a dull thud urthe quarry, but no one took any particular notice of it, as it is not unusual for a fall of stone to occur on the steep face of the cliff. When the men.returned to work after lunch, however, they found the lad unconscious at the foot of the cliff. The boy bad apparently fallen from the top of the cliff, a distance of about 100 feet. Assistance was obtained, and the boy was removed to the hospital in an unconscious condition. He, however, regained consciousness during the lafternoon. At a late hour on Wednesday night there was no change in the boy's condition.

Every large liner leaving in© Dominion during the present time is taking large quantities of frozen I meat. The New Zealand Shipping ■ Company's Tongariro, which sailed i from Wellington for London on Wednesday, took over 85,000 frozen caroases and a large quantity of frozen sundries. Some 80,000 carcases were taken by the Tyser liner Star of Scotland, which sailed on Monday, while the Shaw, Savill and Albion Company's Rangatiraj which sailed last week, had over 120,000 carcases aboard. A further large shipment left by the Delphic, which sail^i last night.