LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIX, Issue 22, 27 January 1915, Page 4

LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS.

■■.;;r:.Tiiiei Consent^^ High School. -rtII rieopen oii Tjiesday..' next. Music, singingj tyjieymtingf. and; shorthaaid lessons will also be resumed on that, dates •!"■•••■ ■■.: * r."■■.'.'■■'•■ • ■ .■■ ■.' '.•'•' '

The' first match, to flecide the Blenheim Bowling Club's; representatives in the Adams Gup pairs competition took pla^e last night, ..WW^ti^'. B\.Bull and J. Johnston ;(skig) defeated A. Duncan and M. Mahor (skip) by .21 to 16.

)'■ Pandora cloth, extra -heavy, in, stripes and plain colors. Usual price Is 5 our sale price 6d yard.—H. F. Hall.—Adv^. • . ..-.■ ■■:'

Anti-German feeling is intense in Canada. /Two !G©rman'c.prj>fessors at Tdrontd '-University resigned, while a third has become naturalised.^ Feeling^is "deepening against the-em-ployment of aliens in; the. Civil Service.' •'' -.■'. •'■■ •;•■.■■•'■.■ ••'•■•■■ ■:'." '.'• ' ■•■■

Captain J. Falcojier and Mrs Falconer leave Blenheim to-morrow morning for an, extended tour of the South Island! They proceed to the West Coast; and will travel overland to Christchurch arid thence to Dunediu. They will be absent from Blenheim for several weeks.

Included in the recent railway .transfers, is that of Mr R. M. Isaacs, of thelhea<3 office^ to Invercargill. Mr Isaacs is well-known in K/iigby football cities, and was, the manager of the New Zealand team which toured .New Souith Wales and Queensland last season.

A. woman, correspondent .of the Pelorus Guardian complains of the prevalence; of sheep-stealiinig in the Sounds. "On all sides sheep are mysteriously disappearing, and in a manner thai bears testimony tb; th'o fact that they hare been stolen." Not many of us can afford to lose one of our flock, and yet - there has been some unprincipled person or persons Mho have visited my property and have left me the loser of thirty sheep since shearing last November."

A party comprising five members'* of the Westport Chamber of Com- \ i mere© have arrived at Christchurch |.j from Westport via Nelson" and Marl- j i borough, having traversed a distance j j of 487 miles in 24 hours—actual j travelling time—in a fully loaded | , motor-car. They will commence the return journey on Saturday.

The Methodist Literary and Debat- I ing Society, at their weekly meeting J hist night, ,took. as the subject for discussion "Heredity ' versus Environr ment." Messrs B. J. Cooke and C. Claughton, championed , the respective sides. The subject provided an interesting debate, each speaker being well prepared, and on th© vote being , taken "Environmetf!" won by a good majority.

It is stated^by the Taranaki Daily News that Mr James Bruce, who was for many years a partner in the firm of Honnor and Clarke, and is wellknown in Dominion draughts circles, has left for Wellington, whence he ! goes to America on business. c Mr Bruce is one of the severTlegatees of about a hundred thousand acres of land in Florida, U.S.A.; estimated to be wor.th in all sqme. £800,000.

Mr J.■'Gfant. .Smith, who has managed the Wither Run for the last fifteen years j stated as a witness in the Magistrate's Court yesterday that the property was practically free from rabbits^ He accompanied the. valuators who acted in connection with the acquisition of the run -by the 'Govern-' • ment, traversing the whole of the property with them, and lie saw hardly one rabbit.

During the quarter.fended December 31st last-,257 'accounts • were openea and 172. closed at the' Post Office savings baaks in the Blenheim district.' The deposits amounted to £35.771 15s 5d and the withdrawals, vfo £28.563. 19s Id, the excess of the former thus being £7207 i6s Bd. Tli© excess of deposits for the Dominion during the same period was £433;346 10s Id, as, against £73,247 15s 5d for the. fourth Smarter \df the previous, year. ; This increase is a significant one.

.: Vf 'There^ will be very few fi-eezers this season," was a remark made m -the rabbit case heard in the Magistrate's Court yesterday. It was stated that the rabbits were freely barking shrub trees. This was a sign that even bunny, was experiencing th© scarcity of pastoral feed. The dryness that prevailed ; throughout last year was described as exceptionally favorable to 'the propagation of th© rabbit, arid-it.wia'siiiitimated that tne riinholdea'S would . hav«' to make a special effiort to ch«ck the advance ot their enemy. ■• '

Our Haveloek correspondent writes: About 7.30 yesterday morning, as the business people were opening their "(pEemiseis, they were (treated to the somewhat unusual spectacle of a fourwheeled express, loaded with milk cans and drawn by a couple of horses, on its. way to the factory, which, when just opposite :Mr-, Orsmaii's residence, parted withY one of itsifi'ont wheels, letting the corner of the express down. 'The driver stuck (to his: seat and '■ the reins, while the startled horses continued on then* ; way down> the main road with the; vehicle., on i three wheels, until .opposite the Ibcal chemist's, where.they were brought to^ .a..standstill.. ■ The that' none ofe : the milk was . spilt wfls^v remarkable;.' but still more remarkable was the totally unconcerned- appearance of "the? driver, -a local farmer; .who appeared to look, upon the incident as part of the day's work. As this is only the fourth occasion on which he has tre£«ted the public to something sensational, folk are wondering frhat they, will be haying next. Thiat there will ibe a "next" does, not appear; to admit of. even the shadow of a doubt. The missing wheel was pirtiiitp place 1 witth the aid of a nail arid a. >wdsher ; , (md the driver proceeded on his way1 quite unruffled. . .1 V -I

In the case heard-" in the Magistrate's Court yesterday, in which the defendant'was charged with having, failed to take reasonable and diligent steps to destroy rabbits on his estate, the defence was that: tih© owner was entitled 'to select the' summer in preference to %jhe spring season for

his poisoning operations: , Counsel said that he was prepared to ca.ll a, large body of evidence to prove that this practice was a customary one in the district, and, for various reasons^. 1 w.as the. more effective arid the more oconoraical from the runholders' point of view. He asked for an adjourn-: ment so that he might he given this opportunity. In reply, the inspector, who had insisted,on the necessity of a spring campaign, said^.:; that many sheep farmers made the eradication of rabbits a secondary and perfunctory consideration, delaying it ;to the. last moment, consulting their own tickets rather than the real object of securing a complete clearance. He pointed out that in this instance the real point ras that the defendant was requested at the end of August to take

immediate steps for the RUtroression. of th* nuisance, and, especially as the rabbits had increased in the mean-

time, it would not help his case to plead that he decided to"" co'nimeioe onerations four rhonthK later. The Magistrate endorsed this vmw. and counsel thereupon abandoned .^he re Iquest for an adjournment.

Three, bundles, of notes, totalling a considerable amount, and the proceeds of a property sale, were left by a lady on a chair at a Dargaville 'theatre after a picture performance. The fact that 'they were missing was not noticed until the lady arrived home." Early on: Sunday morning the Caretaker was interviewed, but he announced that he had seen nothing of the missing trensure. As^an afterthought, however, the "caretaker walked .down the body of the hall to the chairs indicated, and there, sure enough, were the rolls, just as they had been left. Watson's No. 10 whisky is of un-

varying quality, and has a mellow maturity rich flavor, and piirity that pluses the connoisseur.—Advt.

For using a billiard saloon for bet- ' ting purposes Alexander Brennan was i fined £20 and costs, and for assisting j in the business Henry Benjamin was' ] fined £10, at the lnvercargill Court. > i Special bargains in all departments I at Girling's sale. —Advt. j -j Mr W. A. Woodger, booking clerk j at the Thorndon j-ailway station ana , well known in Dominion athletic cir- • * cles as a sprinter of high calibre, has received notice of his promotion to be ; stat-ionmaster at Waipukurau. j 44-inch mercerised lawn clearing at 6d per yard, at Girling's sale.—Advt. "I saw a man last Saturday sitting on the side of the road reading the j Bible, while he allowed his cattle to • browse at large, in contravention or ( the by-laws," said the engineer or the ; Taieri County Council at a meeting : last week, amid laughter." j Messrs Meredith Atkinson, organiser ; of the Australian branch of the .Work- j -ens' Educational Association, and I>. \ Stewart, of the Sydney Trades and , Labor Council, were accorded a civic; welcome at Wellington to-day, the . Mayor presiding. The speakers tn-j eluded, the Mayor, pro-; fessors, and others. ''•■'■( Five persons charged with trading on Sunday came before the Christchurch Court ,to-day, and were convicted and discharged. It was stated ! that the defendants were under $he ' impression that as they sold soft' drinks they could remain open. It was the first case of the- kind heard here. ~ j A lady had a very narrow escape ! from being taken by a shark while i bathing off the Napier beach one ■» morning last week. The shark, which } was about nine or ten feet long, "• went close to the bather, who was al- ... most in a state of collapse through, fright. . Fortunately, several otlher } bathers were in the vicinity, and they ! succeeded in driving the shark-away, j

While ; going through some old papers the other day, Mr F. A. Thompson, Commissioner of Crown Lands for Nelson, came across an old certificate awarded to the Nelson Provincial Government for an exhibit of coal, etc., at the first New Zealand Exhibition, held at Dunedii in 1856. • This interesting relic of the past, which has been mounted and framed, has (says the .Colonistt) been prer>, sented» to the Nelson Museum. i

At the Ghristchur'ch Police Court, a marriwl woman, named ■ Elorence Neville v. ras charged with shop-lifting. Thei evirlence disclosed that the woman abstracted articles from the - { counter arid gave them to her child, aged nine. When, questioned, the child, at the niother's request, said . that it was thy thief. The woman I was convicted! and ordered to comeup- ' for. sentence when called upon, and the child was s^nt. to a receiving home. , ' ,

Just before midnight on Saturday a: railway porter at Lambton Station^ ! named Frank Watson, was admitted to the Wellington Hospital in an un~ !,conscious condition caused!' through a gash on the head; On I Sunday. v morning he regained cpn- ! sciousness"^ and explained that while 'he vas protesting at the action-«f two ; troopers in iiiterfering -with a West j inghouse brake., one of; them .struck « him on the head' with a bottle of beery I causing his injury. The ( tAvo men then hurriedly depai-tedi '■':■'..'■■'"'.

j • For unpleasant"dy>pressiTeness Blen-^ . Jheim excelled itself eal'ly this morning, and- at .nine o'clock a thermo- ■ meter reading of 82 was registere*!—» ; j record for this summer. The air,'cool- ' {ed slightly as the morningl advanced1, I but-"later the heat reasserted 'itselr, -i and at; 11.o'clock the i temj>erature was !-86, falling to 80 at 1 o'clock: , : Gis- j I feorne (78), CaW Palliser (73), Wei- ' I lington (71), Napier (70), and -Bast Cape/.(70), also reported higih;: iem- . ! peratui'es. ■ Rough seas were report^-. 'Ed froih several stations, notably, "at ■ Gape Cahipbell, Cape Palliser, and the: 1 Wairau Bar. • ';.'. :

,'.Mrs Snodgrass, mother of Mr J. Snodgrass, formerly .manager of the Bank of New Zealand at Blenheim i and other centres, died at Otumpetai, : Tauranga, recently. She was a sister lof the late Mr Robert '-Graham at :

one time 3upertnt£iident of the Auckland and the one-"who fturned' the'■first sod for/railways' in. that district., His name is perpett^'ated ajb Grahamsto-<ra, Thames. Mrs Snodgrass arrived in Auckland iriJ 1860, but resided at Oturnoetai for 40 years. She;had attained the'ag^of 93; years. • Men! who appreciate a whisky thaifc has been carefully distilled, fu'ly blended, and patiently aged, drink Watson's No, 10.—Advt. The promise of an interesting.and' well-arranged function was'borne out in the semi-bazaar which opened in the Anglican centra I Sunday-school in Alfred Street tliis afternoon. it is hoped that the result.of the gathering . will mean a considerable contri-

bution to the fund which has been inaugurated for the .purpose, of providing the cost of erection of an Aneli-

can Sunday-school at Springlands. Tonight a programme of concert items and competitions lias been arranged to attract patronage, and a strong ■endeavor will be made to bring the sale to. a highly successful culmina- > tion. The stall-holders are as follows: —Plain and fancy stall, Mesdamos Paton, Denby, and Miss Draper ; one shilling stall, Miss A. » Walker; produce stall, Mesdames j Healy and B. Sowman; sweets stall, Mrs A. Mowat; fish pond. Mrs Li. Olouston; bran tub. Misses Rita Hale and JEsme Healy; afternoon tea, Mesdames E. Ewart, W. Herd, and H. i Ewart; 'rbmpetitions, Miss DraTwrand senior gu-ls; aunt Sally, Mi* R. Sowman. We are advised that Kirkcaldie's' summer sale will begin on Wednesday, January 27th. Tlie firm is mak- . ing extra-special bargains this sale, [ and special attention is being paid to supplying, the wants of country j customers. The Blenheim agent is now prepared to receive orders for I

sale goods to be delivered during the sale for cash only.—Advfc.

A further batch of cases in opnne<** tion with, the New Year's JSve riotsat Gisborne, when a German porJK butcher's shop was raided, were 'heard yesterday. Several convicti&nsj. witht lines up to £10, were recorded. The-. Magistrate said that the defendants could consider themselves . fortunate in not being charged with manslaughter, seeing that there had been a woman and children on the premises.

Dr. McNab, M.P. for Hawke's Bay, visited the camp at Trentham on Monday night, and delivered an address to> the 3rd reinforcements upon Egypt., Dr. McNab has spent some time iix. that country, and described a tour up the river Nile as far as the first caftaract. The .lecture was illustrated by a number of views of Cairo, thePyramids, the itemples, the tombs, andl of the industrial life of the people. The holding capacity of the hall was taxed to the utuiosfa, and Dr. McNab repeated the lecture to those unableio gain access the first time. Thesoldiers expressed their satisfaction, with the address by giving the doctorthree hearty cheers.

The comparative merits of trapping: and poisoning in the' destruction of" rabbits were discussed in the Magistrate's Court ;'■'yesterday.!"'• .Mr -R-i. Rodgerson, who has had an extended! experience as a trapper,, gave , some interesting information as to themethods with which, he has been sosuccessful, and claimed that his way; of tackling bunny had an eradii ntive*effect. The work, by the way. \yasdescribed as very arduous, invo ving early rising and late hours. The;, prices he obtained ■ for the rabbits in ' the market throughout th© season averaged about os 6d a dozen, 'ana a man had to trap ort an ayerp;;e 60f or 70 ai day to eajn a fair ■ Jiving i. The expenses woro considerable; and his gross returns' had to work out at sixteen shilling a <!ay. to provide^ a/ fair profit. Mr F. H. Bnttain, the inspector, expressed himself as : jl sceptic in regard to the value of -frapping' as a means of extermination ' The trappers consulted their- ! own interests, and changed ground 1 accordingly. They were-also in Ibhe^ habit of releasing the does. TheMagistrato said that, all trappers., were- not as thorough atad honest Jifc j their methods as Mr. Rodgerson...> However, even ahdeiv the best.circmnstane'es, he was not inclined, toregard the. trapping, system as^ . an adequately oradicative agent.

1 A silly Hoax - was perpetrated on th©; • family of Mr H: ,P«ttit^ .of J&: Telopea Street, Re<lfern Sydney • the Sydney Sun) during the past fewr 1 weeks. Mr. Pettitt'sa, sons;;. reside .!%;., Otago, New Zealand, and just before-• ■ Christmais they received^a. cable" .meg-v-.----sage announcing the death or, their-, father.. The death was announced.;ia ~, the O.tago Daily Times, and the familylreceived letters .of condolejice.- vftonK their! numerous friends. Mr Fettitt^ senior, had taken out a. life pplicy^for;--£4OO with the London .Provident Lifo^ Assurance Company, and his sons sup- • sequeiitly made a. claim against the • company. Afe is usualjii such cases,.; the claim, was forwarded•-.•: on to? th©- f Sydney office for verification. Mr ,6. ; ; 4 P. Smith, the Sydney manager, took. .the matter in hand, arid it was then. ~v discovered that the family, had b«e» « ■: cruelly -lipaxed ',] as " Pettitt yas : ,') found! tiv bf> very muiph alive, and eh- ' joying the. best-of health. The original copy ,of .the cablejgram -has been* securedj-and« both the Postal Ifepaft;-;. ment and the/iusurahce companies arcmaking diligent search for the ; perpe* trators of tne stupid hoax;.' . V-i. ■•••