A PRIZE HUSBAND.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVI, Issue 11, 13 January 1912, Page 5

A PRIZE HUSBAND.

Newspaper priz6?'competitions have taken many strange forms in Britain and America, but Mrs John Bull, a ;wee%ly journal, published in London, seems -to have established a record by offering "loverless, ;girls" the chance •of wiririing a handsome husband and a home in return for coupons cut from its pages. The competitors are to. sencl their coupons, accompanied 'by their latest photogi-aph, to the lady editor of "Mrs John Bull." They ; are assured that the prize is "goodlooking and attractive, standing six feet in his socks, and not yet thirty years of age." It has been arranged that the prospective husband shall take' a leading part in a play that has been specially written for the purpose of displaying his good features, and intending competitors may inspect him by buying a ticket for the pit or the stalls. The play will be presented in various towns. When all the entries have been received, the editor of' Mrs John Bull will select from among the photographs submitted to her one hundred to be placed before the prize husband. He will chose fifty, and the editor will then "arrange for him to meet each of them at lunch or dinner," the expenses being paid by the journal. When th© round has been completed, the editor will decide which of the ladies is to go to the altar. The young mian has vowed solemnly that he will accept rthe decision as final, but in case of accidents it has been provided that -the prize-winner shall receive a sum of £100 as compensation if the marriage does not take ptaoe. The enterprising journal; announces also that there are to Jbe consolation husbands in the shape of "respectable young men anxious to marry, who;vfor lack of friends and' opportunity, r are living lonely and loveless lives." - The editor knows many would-be bridegrooms, it seems, and will'"dig up one or two of them and send them to eligible girl readers to select from." Evidently Mrs John Bull believes -that its circle of readers includes many very reckless young people.

The sale of Western's farm this morning by 'Messrs Griffiths and Son attracted' a good audience. The bidding commenoed' at £30 per acre, but •quickly'ran with bids of £2 10s per •acre to £45, at which price, the auctioneers knocked down the farm to MrG. Mudford, of Jtower Hutt, The sale is particularly interesting, as Mr Mudford's ftithier was the first occupier of the farm, and Mr Mudford! himself lived on it until he was ?1 years of age. Another coinciden^o connected with the sale is that Mr Mudford has only bought two properties in his life, the first 34 years ago from Mr C. J. W. .Griffiths, thesecoud to-day from Messrs Ginffiths. and Son. "Mudford Flat" is a name given, to the flat land' near TuaMarina, and was so called-" after Mr MudforcFs father.

If it were not _ for the competition of the. big Dominion Woollen mills farmers . would not get such high prices for their wool. Buy KAIAPOI. Help to keep up our wool values, an! keep the mone^ circulating here. *

The exports for the principal protUicts for the year ending Slsfc December, 1911, were £17,594,965, against £20,525,173 in 1910. Butter to the amount of 306,449cwt, vahied at £1,823^147, was exported during the year; 451,910cwt. of cheese, valued at £1,200,219; beef, 507,605cwt., valued at £596,238; mutton, 1.012, 579 carcases, weighing 934,543cwt., valued at £1,190,392; lamb, 3,452, "73 carcases, 1,049,676cwt., valued at £1,8713,610; Wheat 1,294,361 bushels, £216,065; oats 444,152 bushels, £41,257; wool, 204,386,8951b5., valued at £3,270,903; gold, 478,2790z5., £1,896,318; skins, 17,568,880, £863, 733.

A house belonging to Mr Robieson at Rotorua had a narrow escape from being burned to the ground on Saturday la&t. Mrs Rbbieson was boiling some turpentine and beeswax, and left the room for a few minutes. On Tier return she found that it had boiled over, and the woodwork of the mantelpiece was ablaze. Mrs Robieson showed plenty of presence of mind by tackling the flames with flour, salt, and mats. Those stayed the progress of the fire, which was finally subdued with water. The mantelpiece and adjacent woodwork were charred a quarter of an inch deep, showing how narrowly the house escaped. >

One question before Mr Widdowson. S.M., at Dunedin _on Monday last, was whether a certain person by excessive drinking impaired Ins health, wasted1 his substance, and so •on, and amongst the many so-called facts given to the* Magistrate was tin's: That the man dressed himself at seven in the evening and prepared to go to work, thinking it was seven in the morning. The witness presented this as a proof positive.

At the Magistrate's Coixrt at Ashburton yesterday Thos. Gibson,a, confectioner, was fined £10 for storing liquor for another man in a. no-license district. This was the first case of the kind heard in Ashburton. Gibson was also charged, in conjunction with Bernard Kennedy, with keeping liquor for sale, but the magistrate, Mr Day. held that there was not sufficient evidence to support the charge, .and dismiswl the information.