LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLV, Issue 259, 7 November 1911, Page 4

LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS.

Particulars concerning the sale of the property belonging to the Marlborough Brewery Co., Ltd., (in liquidation) will be found on pages 7 and 8 ol: this issue. All punctuation signs inserted by senders of telegrams arc now to bo counted and charged for. Parentheses, brackets, and inverted commas will be charged for as one v/ rd for each pair. Tbe Good Templars' picnic will be held in the Sounds on Boxing Day. The train airrangements are being perfected, and the Waitohi will run in the most profitable manner; so that holiday-makers may be assured, of a day's enjoyment. At the Wellington competitions on Saturday, Miss Mary G. Mason (Blenheim) a pupil of Mr M. A. Cheek, was awarded third prize in the pianoforte solo over 18, vrhkii' , was won by Miss Mina. Ward] (Nelson). ,i In the Truancy Coui-t to-day, George Ross was fined 4s and costs for not sending two children to the: Boirough School the requisite number of times. A. Dcs Forges was fined Sa ; and costs in respect to the non-attend-ance of one child on four occasions.An unusuaMy difficult season has" been experienced in the South, says & Southern visitor to Blenheim. The late winter has had the effect of keeping the sheep in a backward condition, and an exceptionally /large proportion of the fats have had to be brought down i'rom the North. ■ ■ Mr D. *G. Moore, who has just finished classing the Ben More clip on account of Mr Freeborn Parsons, states that the' result is excellent, iind better than.last year, both for weight and for b-rigntness ,and the clip should please those who have the future manipulation. .: ,■ . A Wellington message says that Major' McDonald, the officer commanding the junior cadets, leaves at the end of the month for vtwelve months' experience at Aldershot. During Major MoDonald's absence h*s duties wil] be carried on by Capi tain Stevens. ! Messrs Levin and Co., Ltd., the local agents for Shaw, Savill a^td Albion Company, Ltd., advise that the .s.s. Kid Ora will wool arid general cargo at Pictbn for London on 22nd inst. This steamer, leaving Wellington on 25th November, is the ; last to leave New Zealand timed' i 4 catch the January wool salesgirl London. On the last two occasions il\A Kia Ora has left to catch wool sales the voyage Home has taken only 38 days.

Mixed bathing will be commenced at the Blei'heim public baths shortly, and the caretaker will make due arrangements, with roping, for this innovation. Mr Carpenter has the baths in a very cleanly and tidy condition, and it only needs that the, public should' become once acquainted with the interior for the baths to become a popular resort. The interior, it may be said, is much more attractive than the external appearance from the street, and the public should see for themselves that fcjiis is so. It was stated yesterday that the first load of wool of the season arrived in town last week. The fact is that the first appearance was the wool from Marshlands, which was unloaded at Levin and Cb's stores on the 21st of October. Messrs Chaytor and Co's clip comprises about 15 bales. It is the custom of the firm to present a whip to the driver of the first , waggon-load of wool, and this was 1 done on this occasion, the recipient 1 being Mr J. Somerville. Messrs Chaytor and Co. have had the dis-' tinction of sending in the first wool four times in the last five years.

A charge of drunkenness in High Street last night was denied by Ralph Hendra in the Police Court this morning. Mr C. H. Mills asked, for, and obtained, an adjournment of the case till next - Thursday. Michael Morrissey was charged with the offence of being unlawfully on the E remises of John Bany, Marlborough [otel, and pleaded guilty. The constable found him lying in the stable j:t two o'clock t]iis morning. Lne accused pleaded that he went into the stable to sleep off the effects of his drinking. In consideration of the fact that the accused wished to pco away shearing at once, Mr R. S. Florance, S.M., convicted him, and ordered him to come up for sentence when called upon.

Notwithstanding the ousponsion of operations of the .mosquito Ueet, a regular delivery of m^s ar the numerous small bays in the Sounds has been maintained by tf:e contractors, Messrs Johnston and Co., of Wellington (states the Post). In place of t>he small coastal sfcoaim>rs, the mails are at present t.ik«;i Horn Wellington to the Har4l;<;s Fo:nt, the head of Pelorus Sound, by Union Company's itwimcrs, and thence transferred to a launch. This craft, which in dr-irgo of Captain Hart, late ->f Dig MnnsTC-a, works all the bays up to R.-.velock, and returning, covers the sauie ground as far as Harding Point, where the mails are transferred to one of the red funnel fleet. This service will be continued till tomorrow, when, if the merchant service dispute is still unsettled, it will be renewed for a further term.

The reservation of 671 acres in the Tennyson Survey District, Marl- ; borough, for the preservation of scenery, is gazetted. . The forfeiture of a lease-in-per-petuity section at Seddon for noncompliance with the conditions is notified in the Gazette. It is notified in the Gazette that sections 21 and .25, Block IS., Wakamarina Survey District, containing, respectively 549 and 310 acres', will be disposed of in January. Barley headed the list, so far as worth is concerned, of exports from the ports of Wairau and Picton during the quarter ended September 30, its value being £9504. Wool came next with £8068; then lamb, £3914; sheepskins £3110; timber £1841; mutton £1407; tallow £995. Rabbitskins represent only £43.

The weather throughout the Dominion this morning was still unsettled, and it is only too apparent that the storm which 'has been making itself felt in different parts during the last few days is not yet spent. Low barometer readings «u'e reported from all stations, suggesting that variable weather will follow. The sea was heavy at the Bluff, Greymouth, Farewell Spit, and Kaipaia, and the tides generally were good. Overeiust skies predominated in the South fsland, while clouds were passing over many northern stations. ,Thei temperature was fairly warm throughout, Cape Palliser :(63) being warmest, while 60 at the Bluff and Nuggets was lowest. The prevailing winds were from a northerly direction. When discussing yesterday the large amount of moneys that had been voted by Parliament for Marlborough works during the past year, the members of the Spring CFeek, luver Board were a little surprised at the success of the Lower Wairau Hirer Board in obtaining the £3000 grant for flood ■relief. Considering the present state lof the Spring Creek Board's finances, and the enormous cost that protection from floods had entailed, it suddenly dawned upon the members that they werein a position to .receivel relief; but it wbs, with qualms of conscience that mil Kfjjd to acknowledge that they had been too slows, and1 imi "missed the 'bus." The large amount secured—the largest amount secured by any Member in one year—was a tribute,to the zeal of Mr Duncan, M.P., while it was « pleasing fact that the Government was aware t-i the prosperity and progress of the district. *■ The pest winter, with .its aoeompajiying "freshes" in the livers, has indeed been a, severe one for the Spring Creek River Board, and as :i ■result of,the havoc wrought by the floods . the Board's exchequer has buffered a severe drain: No sooner had protective works been finished $h».nd.own come a big rush of water, 1 for the S6a portions of. ba,nks andi protective Workis, thus ,un<3ding,all the good work of the Board, .Before the last flood during the latter part of }asi month the Bfo&rd nusde an experiment with «r stone wall" interlaced with wire-net-ting; near the banks at the property of Mr,CJ..Matthew's, but it proved to be a 'very expensive experiment, for with the first rush of water the who^e construction wsas carried clean away. Stoiie work in connection with river protection works was held by the members of . the Board . yesterday afternoon as not offering the least resistance to # the water _at all, and Mr Reeves, in a reminiscent mood, harked back to the "good old daysf' when stone bundles were, anchored, in. the rivers,"^aml this system prov^l more effective than that obtaining at the /present diay. Mr Gifford soid that the Board h&d been experimenting with groynes for the last 30 years, and manuka and brush had1 generally been found to be the best. The mat-, ter of again ejecting a groyne in the Opawia. at Mr Matthews's property was left in the hands of Messra Reeves, Gifford, and th© Inspector, With power to act.

The ; country' round about Spring Creek presents a pretty picture to bhe easxial observer, especially after the recent spell of warm weather and the heavy fall o,f rain of Sunday morning, which freshened up the pastures and crops considerably. Tiio outlook, for the present season's crops Vis V;©ryr promiswig, and farm- j ©rs are ver^ optimistic,; as it is ex- > pected th^i with a continuation of the warm, iileather the yield this iseason IVill bo; better than for some years. The rain oh Sunday moming was to the farming community wh.at manna was to, the children of Jsraelj but a further fall, of a few hours' duration t\^ould\ have been welcomed. However ? prospects arc bright, and unless high winds prevail ths farmer wilt be satisfied All cereals are a* present looking well, . although the barley yield is not expected tc be anything out of the ordinary. The "pesky fly" in summer is "always with us," «s is ako the humming, mumming mo&quito. "Yo-x can't hide dirt from a fly," writes' a doctor in em article quoted in the November number of Everylady's Magazine. "He has us keen a nose for the odor of filth as a bird-dog has for quail." The article is a very interesting one, and instructive withal. EVerylady's is, a© r.sual, full of. useful information concerning the, things

in which New Zealand women :>re interested, not. forgetting the latest fashions. The short stories are well up to the standard, and there is a further instalment of the serial "Sandals of Love." . The usual fre* paper patterns ere presented with the j number.

Mr Thomas Lnxton, of Waitara, has sold a pure-bred yearling Jersey bull to the Government for 100 guineas. The bull is by Campanile's Sultan ex Grannie's Girl, mid eight Jersey men were anxious to obtain him but the Government's representative got m first.

The prizes awarded by the Catholic Club to the winners of last night's tournament were won by Miss Mary O'Sullivan and Mr E. Reader respectively. The special prizes presented to ih.e winners of most games out of five were awarded to Mrs Heinemann and Mr Duffy.

Active work is being carried out by the executive set up to urge the passing of the Daylight Saving Bill, says the Wellington Post. Questions aro to be put to each Parliamentary candidate, asking if he is in favor of the Bill, and the committee intends to carry out an energetic campaign during next session.

Probably at no other time of -she year do the environs of Blenheim present such a pretty picture as at the present time, when all the trees, especially the willows, are masses of green, and the many hedges, whicJi have remained quiescent during tho winter, have signified the approach of summer by bursting into bloom. And then there are the "meadows trim with daisies pied" and the wellkept lawns and gardens surrounding many of the houses, giving an attractive setting to the whole scene.

The barley crop in the Marlborough district is somewhat disappointing at its present stage. A leading grower states that the growth has not been satisfactory, the fact that the great bulk of the seed used for this season was blighted doubtless bein<>largely responsible. The same conditions are noticeable all over New Zealand this year. '' Tho seed has germinated well enough, but there has been a poor showing of stalks and ears. Oats, which cover a large area on this occasion, are coming away well, and so v is the wheat. But perhaps th© most successful growth is that of the peas, which will be a special feature of the Marlborough yield in the forthcoming harvest. A ■record area is down in peas, and the results so far are very good. \,What is believed to. be the largest crop of peas in the district is that of Mr D. BisheH, of Caythorpe, who is growing 200 acres',' and this is in first-class condition. Marlborough is fast increasing its reputation as the grow-ing-ground of seed peas for the World's merchants.

Strange how : the blood courses faster when a mad race to the rescue of an oppressed unfortunate in dire . . peril is being witnessed. Such aw"' £ never fails to raise excited a^P*3l^ 6" - at the picture shows; and w 3^ do the film-composers know hq*" *°cca r *or this never-failing emotion. A clever-ly-designed scene of this character1 was included in last week's programme at the Town. Hall, < and on every occasion it forcibly thrilled thespectators. The woman's house is surrounded by Indians; the cowboys ride recklessly onwards over the long route, caring not for obstacles and raising clouds of dust. The heroine conceals herself in a box in the garret; the friends search ferociously; the cowboys gallop madly; the woman is dragged from her hiding-place; ncr plight is'desperate; will they be m time? Of course they will—that was known from the first; but the satisfaction with which the spectators see the Indians thrown down-stairs and: annihilated is none the less intense. The cynics may say that it is all very meretricious; but it is human nature, nevertheless.

An interesting description of a httfo known part of New Zealand was given ax a meeting of the Canterbury Philosophical Institute th© other evening by Mr E. M. Laing, It is the distrust of the Spencer Mountains, which he south of Nelson Province, and north of Hanmer. Mr Laing and several ci hiG friends spent their last Christmas holidays there, and wandtered amongst the mountains and valleys at the head of the Waiau, Waimu and Clarence Rivers. Mr Laing said that Mount Una was an unclimbed peak, andtmt it was sufficiently diffictilt to offer attractions to Alpine climbers. In some respects, the Ada Valley suggested to him the Clinton Valley in Southland.. and1 he thought that the Government might erect a few huts there for the convenience of energetic tourists who ware ready to walk and carry small swugs along the tracks. A party co-uifl start at Hanmer and' come out at Reeftoni iand1 would find that it had traversed exceedingly interesting country. As> to the lakes of the district, Lake Tennyson was not very b'ei'-ntiful, but Lake Guyon was in a .very charming setting. On the north of it there were beech forests, through' which a track twenty or thirty feet wide had been cut. It afforded one ni the prettiest sights lie hiad ever seen. Amongst the plants he saw was a, gu'nnera, which possibly was identical with a Tasmanian species. There w'rs a new forget-me-not, which had been described by Mr T. F. Cheeseman. of Auckland, :aid there were mountain daisies and other interesting Native plants.

In 1907 a number of Australians who were stranded in South Africa when evil times fell on that country following th© war, were assisted to return to their States through theagency of the Commonwealth authorities. Their passages were paid on the_ understanding that they would1 do their best to repay the debt. The Director of the Labor Bureau in his last monthly report to the Government (say.-i the Sydney Morning Herald) gives a shining example of thrift and perseverance exhibited by one of those who were repatriated The man, he said, had just finished paying his indebtedness, to the department. He obteined/work shortly after his arrival. He had kept his wife and four children, and had required a. three-roomed1 cottage and two acres of ground, besides paying to the Government close on £22 "This," said the Director, "is a greufr «nd worthy contrast to most of thoso who received similar assistance."