LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLVI, Issue 118, 16 May 1912, Page 4

LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS.

The minimum thermometer reading in Blenheim last night was 34 degrees.

To-day being Ascension Day, services were held in the Church of the Nativity and St. Mary's Church.

A first offender who was arrested for drunkenness yesterday, was convicted by Mr R. S. Florance, S.M., this morning, and was fined 10s.

Sur-an Miller Wiison was convicted yesterday at Dunedin of .-performing an illegal operation, with a strong recommendation to mercy. She was sentenced to seven years' hard labor.

A meeting of ladies interested in tho Women's Political Reform League was'held on Tuesday last, when there was a largo attendance, and officers and a strong working committee were appointed, for the Wairau League.

A sports meeting" was held at th© infantry camp at Marshlands yesterday afternoon. Th© mounted men will hold their sports to-morrow, and the attendance of the public is invited.

The final fpr th© six-aside hockey tournament promoted by^the Wairau Hockey Club was played yesterday between the B and E teams. Th© game' resulted in a win for E., Riley scoring . the only goal, in the first spell.

The warrant which appeared in the Gazette of the 9th instant, prohibitiiig the correspondence- of. David Ross and Ross and Bradshaw, Wellington, from passing .through- the post has been i evoked by tli© Post-master-General.

A paity of twelve prospective settlers in N.ew:,Zealand will leave Moose Jaw, 'Saslcatch'ewanj Canada, for Wellington shortly. They have intimated to.,Mr H.-, D> Vickery, secretaty of th© Chamber of Commerce, that they wish to inspect New" Zealand as a p-lacd fp,r settlomeiit^

About a fortnight ago a dance was being held at Tuparo'iaiy'ne.ar Gisborne, wneri a . niinibor of natives appeared on the scetio, and-were so unruly that the committee had to stop the dance.. Before Mr- Wi A.. Barton, S.M., five of the, disturbers were charged with' interrupting a public 'gathering, and were fined tho maximuni penalty, £5 ©ach,\ and costs. !.

At Auckland Keith It. . Jones, a woll-dresfed yourig fellow of 23, recently from Sydney, admitted stealing £7, 10s: from a room in one hotel, a cheque book and £~ from another, and also 6\v;ietl up to leaving his prospective bride .''waiting; at the church"' on May kt. He was sentenced to three; months' imprisonment. ■'..■■ ,'...'

At Waipawa last week Dr. Ross was fined £2 and, £1 Is for assaulting Mr H. F. Nprris, a lawyer of that place, by striking him with his hands. The dispute occurred at a meeting of trustees in; connection with a will. The magistrate, remarked that both the informant and defendant would hare consulted their dignity as professional men ,if they had settled their differences ■ out of court.

The by-election for the filling of the vacancy in the Borough Council •caused by the return of Mr J. J. Corry to the Mayoral chair is being held to-day. Th© candidates are Mr B. J. Copke and, Mr A. Curry. At one o'clock to-day , about 200 votes had been recorded. The nominal roll number is about 2000. The poll closes at seven, o'clock, amd it is ©xpected that the, result will be declared in Marketplace at about 7.30.

w The work of organising the Sports ;Prote,ctibn League, is. nearing completion (aaj'& the New Zealand-Times)"-Before leaving; for the north by the main trunk express the general secretary (Mr JPaape) stated that to date thirty-seven branches havo been established in the Dominion, principally in the South Island. The present tour embraces the following towns in the Auckland province: Te Kuiti, Te Awainutu, Hamilton, Cambridge, Morrinsvilie, Waihi, Paeroa, Karangahake, Thames, Te Aroha, Eotorua, Nga'rua-wahia, • Hunt-ley, Tuakaxi, and Pukakohe. The work of organisation will be completed in July, and the board of control will then submit important alterations to the.! constitution.

The blackberry pes-t, says a Tara- I iiaki paper, is becoming. less trouble-j pohie in thtv district,-'there being signs ■; of the gradual .decay of the plant, facts leading co this conclusion coming frorii more than one source. A Miingorei faimer stated' that he■> thought a borer insect has come to tho assistance of the settler. His own ■f.'ifnf was badly -infested with blackberry a'few, years ago. Now, altoough it is j.iot by any means free, , its condition had greatljr improved, ' owing partly, to the cutting of the plant and its .natural, decay. Four y-oars ago he readily gathered from O'io patch eno'ugli ■ blackberries to \ make ,86 gallons of wine. Without moving a yard he would fill an iron bucket. Next yoar the berries were equally plentiful. Last- year he coiild not gather enough to make jam for the household, and this year the berries were just as scarce. • .■-...'.

A crop of wheat in the Laurisfccm district of the Ashborton. County, which was cut down by the hailstorms last Uecember, &as made a second growthi r and althougJi the croj> is not yet ripe it is estimated that it will yield about thirty-five Bushels to the acre. A crop of wheat in the AahbuTton County at this time" of the year is. a, rarity-

One of the most interesting, political portents in an eventful period is a change in. the control of the New Zealand Times. It is understood that this well-known morning Wellington morning paper, so long identified with the Ministerial side, of politics, is about to come under the direction, of the United Labor Party, with Professor W. T. Mills as one" of the active controlling heads.

The discovery of a, seam of green lignite in the trecacn which is. being cut, in Dee Street, Ihvercargill, in connection with the underground conveniences to be installed in the Post Office quadrangle, created" some interest on Friday. The seam was about eight ihches~ thick, and" was some feet below the. surface. In quality it was poor, being light and,' pithy, and" the deposit seemed of only a very limited extent.

The Palmerston Noirt3r. Chamber- o£ Commerce has received forty-one replies so far regarding its resolution congratulating the Minister for Defence on his determination to enforce" the Act. TiTey are froni local bodies" and Chambers of Commerpe. Thirtyeighjb express hearty approval. The Auckland Harbor Board arid" Masterton Borough Council were non-com-mittal, and" only tlie Sunnier Borough Council is adverse. Further replies' are coming to hand daily. '

t The Irish, language, is, said to, be, dying out, but a witness at the' Christchufch Magistrate's Court on; Thursday proved that in some parts of Ireland, it is. stilt flourishing, (says the Lyttelton *- Times),. . The : . witness.! got into the box, but was unable to.' give any .but the most fragmentary evidence, owing, to, his; limited. act: quain/tanSS with "English.., On being questioned he burst into a ; voluble chorus of musical Irish, which was full of vowels, and: sounded something j like Italian. The Magistrate addressed a police officer, a compatriot Of the witness, and asked him to interpret, but the officer, although fairly well acquainted with the tongue, found himself unable to; follow- tne- witnesses-, idiomatic phrases. Speaking about the': matter afterwards, the officer said that, while in some parts of Irer landi the Erse tongue was as e"xtinct' as the dodo, in others, notably in parts of Klerry, it was the only language spoken. In, his native town, he said, the.pgopTe on one1 side of the river spoke nohihg but Irish, but oir the other side English- was the staple tongue—a curious illustration of the disinclination of the oTdfer peasantry to venture far' afield.. •

At the sitting, of the? South: Australian Edueatibn Commission ,in ; Brisbane I&st week,'Mr Peter Jensen, an itinerant teacher of Plain View, Oakey, said he found 35 per cent, of ihe parents in families which1, he visitedl^ unable to read and write, ,and some children were;without any educationwhatever. \One, man could only count up to 20(5., -A man had offered' him £50v if he^ would stay with- him a fortnight to'teach him to read arid^ write. He knew two station-owners who could neither • read nor write.; -,

According; to a, New- Sooth Wales paper, thie.; wholesale Slaughter of opossums/ in New ;! South ; Wales is causing alarm in official circles. The eagerness, wiilt which' -tike little animals are hunted^ is due to- the value of their skins as merchandise. The easterni slopes of New : South Wales, are the only districts in.which the opossum abounds to any- extent, and it is only a # matter bf time, under present conditions; when lie must disappear altogether. • A proclamation is in force affording protection up to June' 30. A. further proclamation has now beea issued prolonging:^ the date till December 31.. . ■

Says the Sydney Sun:—rTlie leader of the Palace orcjiestra will probably object to a repetition of an ' unrehearsed incident in "the last, night of '\bonnie Mary.''., In the bedroom scene the hero and the, villain struggle for possession, of a revolver, which, in the usual. course f of eyents,-., the jhero .securek^^-Oii -Qic night in Question, however, during the scuffle, the revolver flew,, over the; footlights, bumped the forehead, of the conductor, and hit, a member of the audience. Few people, noticed the incident until the gentleman who had caught the flying weapon walked down to the stage, and threw it back, whereupon the hero, Guy Hastings, confounded the villain amidst great enthusiasm; '

A sum of £7000 from the pennies paid for the, use of \deck chairs en Manly Beach (Sydney) seems a sin* prising.-figure, but thnt is the Acfc-ing-Town Clerk's estimate for : the gross takings from these conveniences up to the. end of the new contract for the -chairs, which is for four years. For the period ended Mai'ch, 1912, the gross total earnings of these beach-seats-.showed1 an increase of. £344 over the figures for the pre vious year. Presuming the same rate of increase is maintained during the next four years, the foregoing sum of-£7ooo' is estimated us. the probable gross takings. Of this sum the council's commission would be £3174. The successful tenderer pays the council 41 £ per cent, of fcho receipts.

The Matt, Georae Lstttensora,. iflter— viewed at Christcnurch, said that he? had rea"d the revelation^ from Christchurch regarding the methylated spirits case, and „ intended confearing with the Secretary of the Customs Department to see. if it was possible to have drasiac steps taken to treat the spirit so as to make ft impossißle" for any person.'to indulge m: that form of' liquor.

WThen, a. week out from. LondbiF oik the v.oyage to- Wellington two steerage passengers, a married- woman andi a young man, developed acute mania, and had. ,to be placed under restraint. The man *wa& particularly violent; and had to» be continually watched.. On arrival, at Wellington^ the. Port Health Officer ref usedV to> allow the* unfortunate:- people to land, and they will be returned' to England' on board' the Gorihthie 3 which leav«es> to>day:.

The proposal, to: put. a; new railway, station; at Newmarket, on the Kaipaia branch, is., viewed^ -by/bowlers; with due to the prbsp'ect oi seeing; half. tho.Carlton bowling green out off and used, as a: site for • the station. Mr J- 8; DicksonyMiP., telegraphed, to, the: Minister for Railwaysx recently in. behalf of. the bowling; enthusiasts, of. P,arneir and" NewmarJket,, and asked Kiiia to stay" the proceedr i :igs.' A; large depntation wouldf ih.e* •said, wait npoa.the- Minister/ when Ke comes>toiAuckland'- Toithis^e(Hoik , A.' Ml My^i-s.replied ,that, while1 BesympatKise'fi! with.the. members mit Hat, the necessity ..;to interfere with' tne bowliag green Had arisehVKe felb sure they 'would' recognise the larger publicinterests- iimxlved; Tile district: engineer had been instructed tdP; infbrm rlie club what. part1- of tKe: green woulJi^ Be^ affected, so- that tlie clubi yould" have time "to make, other; provisions?tomeet its itiquirements;/ ' V-

Something;definite-Has-been decidfed! upon with regard to dog pro— ansed by Captain Amundsen, tHe Norwegian explorer; to the> Newtowii' Zoo, at Wellington. The Fraui is afc Buenos Ayres, -where she will/be, jointed, by Captain Amundsen, and them proceed, to Sisn; Francsisco. -BeforeCaptain Amundsen .left. Wellington Hehad a< conversation-'with the Ministerfoe Internal' Affiaics, (the Hon. Gi. W.. lUxssell),. who*.' has now advised the' AVellmgtori Zbolbgical Society.' that tliC3; Government will arrange/fbr the dog to bo Drought from San Franpiscp- to: Wellington. conditibnaily on ,the society giving an assurauce tliat ■ it "will; pay all" eispenses. THis assurance - has-been given. The Ministerhas informed'.tHe' society that Capfcam A.mund^r pxpre'ssed rto him a keeir dosii'e that; thie:'Wellmgton Zoo shotiliit get the ir-uch-talTjecr-of-dbg. V HAIRVpRK ON APPROVAL. Every description of hairwork made > to order. Only best hair used., Coier gu avanteed. Money returned, if. color or mother .conditions hot satisfactory. - - Mr» G-a W",. Trafalgar Street,;' Kelscn-. --; .•4d^'\y:-,:-;•■■■'•■-.:•••■ •■-.■'■.'': -:^';:^ ' •'■■;,