LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS.

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIX, Issue 70, 24 March 1915, Page 4

LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS.

An Auckland Press Association telegram states that. Ncah Cohen, a bankrupt jeweller, was sentenced' to one month's imprisonment ivith hard labor for failing., to keep proper books of account prior to the bankruptcy.

The growers'! cif fat cattle in Marlborough are not. so well situated as those in districts in which freezing facilities for the heavy carcases are directly available. It is understood that there is a prospect of provision being made at the Christchurch Meat Company's Works at Picton for the handling of cattle; It is said that development is .likely to result as a consequence of the demand for frozeti heef on the part of .the War Office. Such van extension of the freezing industry woukl be greatly welcomed locally. •

At a conference of representatives of the Wellington, Auckland, and Canterbury Industrial Associations, held at. Wellington last evening, a long discussion took place on the question of lack of support of New Zealand industries, and amended recommendations proposed by the Canterbury Association regarding the appointment of the New Zealand Board of Trade and Industries were approved. Ow.ing -to the apathy ofshoploHip'ers, it was decided to abandon New Zealand industries v.eek, which was to have been held from the 21st to tho 29th May.

The other morning «. small boy walked into a local tobacconist's shop, and tendering a £1 note, asked for its equivalent in coin. Something prompted the shopkeeper to inquire whnt the youngster was going to do 1 with the money; "Oh, ku.Y lollies," i [ was the reply. ■ "Hay© you any * more?" "Yes: I've got another ten >' shillings." 'Til have to keep this ■ ; note." said the tobacconist, and he ' j dismissed^ tl>6 crest-fallen urchin i l minus his change. Two, interviews » i with the school-master followed; the " i hoy was in the second, and emerged ' > from it the poorer by two watches— I ill-gotten gains, "come by in the same ' 5 manner as he had acquired tho money.

Mr.C. W. Parker, the president of that body, proposes to deliver an address on lucerne-growing at the meeting of the IVlarlborougli Chamber of Commerce this week. He was requested by the council of the Chamber some time ago to prepare a paper oh this 'interesting subject.

Mr A. A. Mclta,e, -i •water diviner ; from Southland, who has a high repu- j tation for success in,his profession, is , now busily employed in locating water ! supply sources tor farmers in the ; northern district (says the Lyttelton Times). He has already visited 12 farms in the Itangiora county, and ] vicinity and located streams at various ' depths below the surface of the ground, and he is under engagement to make his tests on some 20 farms.

The W.C.T.U. Convention (sitting at Christchurch) passed . lesolutions protesting against t-he decision not to send chaplains with future reinforcements, expressing gratitude at ' the success of no-license in Masterton; urging the Government to make it a. penal offence to serve liquor to soldiers in uniform ; and urging the Government to appoint women patrols to work in the neighborhood of expeditionary camps on the lines of the system followed in Enigland.

Tho case in which A. Bennett was charged on the information of F. Corrigan with assault at Seddon on March 14th was called on at the Magistrate's Court yesterday afternoon. Mr O. H. Mills appeared for the complainant, and Mr T. ScottSmith for. the defendant. The former asked for an adjournment till April 13th, and the application was granted, costs, amounting to £1 11s 6d being allowed the defendant, and the question of the witnesses' expenses being held over. It was stated that there were three witnesses in the complainant's behalf and four on the other side.

The greater part of the Blenheim frontage of the- Wither Run, which has been, subdivided and placed on the market by the Government, is included in the block reserved in favor of the Blenheim Borough Council for the purposes of a public park. The probabilities «aro that for some years the local authority will let the reservation, in one or more .s^ections, for farming purposes. Asked by a pressman whether any proposals in this direction were, being entertained by the Borough Council, the Mayor (Mr J. J. Corry) said that the desire of himself and his coir leagues was to see the land utilised in tlio way most advantageous .to the public interest, .but no definite intentions in this respect had yet been formed. It was'first necessary to otime to sin understanding with the Omaka 'Domain Board as to the administration of the block, and, so far as ho was concerned, no time would be lost in arriving at a satisfactory conclusion.1

It is estimated ' that between 150 and 200 footballers have been drawn from the. Canterbury Rugby Union's various competitions as a. result of tho call for the Expeditionary Forces. The chairman at the annual meeting of delegates on Saturday night made reference to the splendid response of footballers to the <*all of Empire. As a result of the heavy levy ou players | the union was faced with a curtailment of its approaching season's competitions. It was suggested that the D.C.L. shield competition bo deleted 'this season,, and that teams play out in the country as often >as possible^ The suggestion did not find much favor, mainly on the -score of expense, and the1 matter was finally left 'to the incoming Committee.

A leading Wellington mercantile house on Wednesday, received the following cablegram from its London representative:—"The West Coast steamer is postponed to April 15th. Labor trouble' delaying mail boat. Transit to London.'suspended for some days. Prices stiffening. Sharp advainc© in freights expected." The message is one of considerable importance to mercantile houses. The West ■Coast steamer referred to (states The /Dominion) is uhe boa.t which mer- ' chants were expecting to leave Liverpool about now; while the mail steamer mentionod is the, fortnightly boat to New Zealand. The further intimation that prices axo stiffening and that a rise in freights is expected is f not good news.

The uniform of the senior cadets is not a joy to some»who wear it, their size making them appear odd in shorts and .stockings - (says the Mshawsitu Standard)..- At the Magistrate's Court a big strapping youth, who gave his age as 17 years, but really looked over 20, was proceeded against for failing to attend cadet parades. "A big fellowl looks foolish in the short trousers and is poked fun at by smaller boys," explained the defendant, in giving his reason for not attending. "We big chaps should not be made to wear bathing, trunks." added the defendant, the Court smiling broadly. Defendant -'stated* that ho had applied for a. transfer to the ■ Territorials"; but, being under age thetransfer could not be granted. He had no desire to avoid drill, and honestly wanted to be in the Territorials. The case was adjourned to see if this could be done. ;

"It is obvious," said Mr W. Pryor, secretary of the Employers' Federiirtion, in the Arbitration Court at Wellington on Wednesday, ''that the workers of this Dominion'do not rea,lisa how serious is the position of our Empire at the present time,'/Or how dangerous it is even in New Zealand to do anything which might be calculated to disturb trade or commerce in any way. In the ordinary way, it has to be admitted, it is exceedingly difficult to realise what the position really is, but a study of English papers, giving accounts l>3' name and location of killed and wounded soldiers, of whole districts plunged into mourning, of accounts of the hardships' and privations of onr soldiers, and of the awful experience of refugees, givos one some idea, of what is going on, and a perusal of Cardinal Mercier's pastoral gives one some idea, of Belgium's plight. Ono can hardly believe our friends can b-nve read that noble production and all it tells, and then complain of what they term the sacrifice*? the workers are making in this land."

Mushrooms are "hi" all over the country. During the journey of the passenger car from Parnassus to Kaikoura day last week a good many patches were espied by the occupants of the front seat, and several times the driver pulled up to allow his fares to dismount and gather the toothsome fungi. Fortunately there was no train to catch at Kaikoura. otherwise there would have had to be some "scorching" to make up the lost time.

The spirit of the Marl borough people in regard to the cause of thi> distressed Belgians was -expressed at :i much earlier stage of the war than tho present one. The following is an extract from Hansard of Novcin|ieo 4th:—"The R:>n. Mr Allot.: Clause 2o (Appropriation Bill) is mew ■and authorises the payment oi £20.000 for the relief of Belgian distress out of our "War Expenses Fund. Do you all approve of that? Mr MeCalhim : It should have, been more.—-The Hon. Mr Alien: I am f-rrry that we cannot make it more. New Zealand is not a very big country, and we thought we were, doing pretty well if- wo give' about a fifth of what Australians giving.'

Some interesting information has been elicited from Mr A. Barnes, . oi Ward, Flaxbourne, as to his experience with the Black Russian wheat, a drought-resisting cereal. He purchased 50 grains for 3s 6d, arid carefully set them in his garden, obtaining a return of between 2lbs and 31lxs. There were three grains to a pod and about SO grains to a, head, and the seed reproduced was of large size and clean quality. A feature of the growth was its proof against the exceptional dryness of tho season. The seed wa.s sown in dry ground, and during the whole course of propagation no rain fell on it. nor was it artificially moistened. It was put into the.ground on August 9th and reaped on' February 9th. Having thus proved itself o-.i a small scale to be a prolific cropper and independent of the rainfall, the wheat —which is new to Maryborough and, so far as is known, to New Zealand—should be worth watching in a normal.. season.' Mr Barnes inteiuls to sow his product of the original oO grains this season. He estimates that the seed'will sow half an acre.

With the completion of the bridge over the Hapiikiißiver a, "friend in need" will disappear from the ken ot those who journey by motor between Ward and Kaikoura. This is the man with the harnessed horse, who is ever oh the look-out for stranded cars. His services were in request one day last week. Rain over night had increased th© volume of water in the river, and a motor from Ivaikoura, in attempting to cross the first stream, came to a'full stop in the soft gravel, after executing some leaps and bounds winch would have thrown a cowboy off his seat.* The driver,, .descending, had a/-look at his charge, and then, 'transferring his gaze to'the passengers, remarked: "I'm afraid we're stuck!" Vision? ' Nf dreary hours in a closed car—for rain was falling stilt—presented themselves to the o^ou.pants, who knew not of the watrihfnl. eye. Presently was heard thfi welcome clatter of hoofs, and

"Hora he conies!" from the -carman. Tn a trico the traces were hitched to the helpless "bubble-waggon," and at a word from the rider the steed exerted his pull. Out cam© the car. across, the intervening gravel and through tho remaining .streams, -until, once more on sure ground, the horse was switched off arid (the''petrol switched on. Their duty done, horse and rider faded away as suddenly »a,s they had come, to watch for th© next chance to earn an honest coin.

The prospect that the serious situation crented by- * the congestion of frozen shoep at the Christenurch Meat Company's freezing works at Pictoii will shortly be relieved, is «. matter for general congratulation. The position was pressing very hardly on a large number of farmers tand i-eflecting in no small degree on business circles?. The promptitude and persistence with which the Marl borough Chamber of Commerce conducted the agitation for a clearance from the works may be specially commended. The advice received by the Chamber from the Company is that a definite .arrangement fr«R been made for the, calling of ,the lonic at Picton on -April. 14th, for jf-ho. removal of some 10,000 or 12.000 carcases, the fixture being made on the Understanding that a similar number of sheep will be forthcoming from the farms to replace the stocks lifted. -The.buyers throughput the "■district hn.vo l>een approached with this em? in view, and <no,difficulty was experienced in securing a sure guarantee of such *a supnly; Most fortunately 'the:*recent heavy .rains have resulted in an' excellent growth of grass and rape, and the sheep farm.ers ore' able to forward in good time all that is renuired by the Company for the replenishment of the freezing chambers.

BEST VINEGAR FOR PICKLING

One of the roost poptilar cookery books in this Dominion recommends Sharland's Malt Vinegar for pickling beetroot, cabbnge, onions, and other vegetables. This preference is endorsed by the many thousands of experienced housewives who" use this mellow and mature vinegar, not only for pickling, but for making tomato sa.uce and relish, for flavoring oysters n.nd lobster, find for imparting a zestful tana; to salndis and greens.