LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS

Marlborough Express, Volume LIIII, Issue 82, 8 April 1920, Page 4

LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS

The quarterly general meeting of tho Chamber of Commerce will be held in the Council Chambers tomorrow evening.

An election of three members of the Pelorus Road Board will be held on May Ist. Nominations close on the 22nd inst.

A Home Mission Festival tea is to be held in tile Town Hall, Havelock, to-morrow night, and afterwards there wilt be a public meeting, when tho Bishop,of Nelson, and other clergymen will speak.

The Port Napier, which has been in Picton since Sunday last', is expected to leave to-night. . Her cargo from the Marlborough port includes 10,000 carcases of frozen mutton and 2000 bales of wool.

Mr T. Davies, of Blenheim, has purchased from J. H. Goss, tho Ngaia Downs property, of 3819 acres, on the east coast of Marlborough. Mr Davies will take up his residence there shortly.

The staff of the local telegraph office is considerably depleted as a result of the influenza epidemic, and those operators and messengers who are still "on deck" are working at high pressure to cope with the extra duties which devolve on them.

The reading matter oii^ the inside pages to-day includes- Sports and Pastimes. "Poor Clergy," "Sound Defence./' "Pelorus Road Board, ' 'Great 'Tragedy < Recalled;,'' * 'Street Disturbances." "Commercial News, and "Ex-Officers as Farmers."..

A Tam-anga telegram states that .Captain Befridge, brother-in-law of Mr Simpson, owner and engineer of the missing scow Kahu, arrived there last night from, Whakatane, and has hired a launch tcr le&v© to-day to search the Aldermen and Mercury Islands for traces 'of the missing vessel. ■

Poar • inquests were held .at Wellington on Tuesday by Mr P. L. Hollings, Coroner. .■■: The deaths inquired; into were those pf Edward Lane, railway messenger, who was fatally injure^ a^ Lambton Station: James Casey,who jfebnimittedi suicide at Ngaio by hanging j Mrs J.. A. Bourne, who di<*d suddenly; when baching at Woraer Bay,; and Thomas .Evan,, an elderly man* who died suddenly at the Ohivo Home. ,v,

Commenting pn.the announcement that the Union Company intends to run a service from Wellington to Picton after the slack season is over, our Picton contemporary says:—"A steamer leaving.Wellington at 8 a.m. and returning from Picton at 1 a.m. would be a perfect boon.to travellers and helpful, to the district. If the new scheme proves successful, a weekend service to Picton, returning to the city early on Monday mornings, should be our next objective."

The development, of ■ its "After Care" branch Is how the special aim pf the Repatriation Department, and with that end in view Mr C. E. Harvey, "After Care" officer for the Wellington district;'" will be ' visiting Blenheim at an early date to investigate cases' of tuberculosis, limbless, or disabled men who may require .■■ assistance of any land.'-' "'Returned'"soldiers who come-within this category and whose future welfare is not assured through war effects are advised by advertisement to keep in, touch with the local repatriation officer (Mr A. M..Thomson). ' \

A break in the spell of fine weather which has been experienced locally during the holiday season, occurred in the form of rain, which set in yesterday afternoon, arid which continued intermittently during the night. According to the telegraphic weather . report, similar conditions prevail throughout the Dominion. At Auckland up till 9 a.m. to-day 4.01 inches of ram had fallen; at Wellington J .94 inches fell; and at Wanganui 100 points of rain were recorded. Overcast skies were general throughout the Dominion Evidently a rough sea is running in the Straits, as there was a heavy sea off Capes Palliser and Campbell and 'off Stephen's Island.

The monthly meeting of the Lower Wairau River Board, held last night, occupied but a few minutes. There were present: Messrs A. McCallum (chairman), Frank Adams, and E. S. Parker. Mr J. Barry wrote asking the Board to arrange for a water supply for Ronwicktown and district via Gibson's Creek,, as soon as possible. There were only a few waterholes now. " Tji©'. continued dry weather had caused the creek to cease running', and the water famine feared in the township could be averted ,if the matter were attended to promptly. The inspector was intructed to attend to the matter,"and it was resolved to ask Mr Bary to help the Board to obtain a team of horses for the work.

•As hisih as £12 per con is being paid to Masterton farmers for oaten .sheaf Jhaff.

The goid exported from Groymouth for the month of March was 16,9580z, valued at £71,905

A find of iron oxide in the Ross district i.'i rumored to have lately bcfa made (says the Grey Kiver Argus).

Fruitgrowers in the Nelson district have taken up enthusiastically a proposal to construct a line of light railway in the Mapua and Tasman areas. The railway line, if constructed, will tai> about 4500 acres oi; fruit" lands, and will be between six and seven miles in length.

Economy is the first object of the committee in charge of the decoration for Wellington's streets for the visit of the Prince of Wales. Major A. A. Corrigan, chairman of the committee, states' that the material used would be as inexpensive as possible, and of a kind that could be used later for other purposes. Further, it is proposed to use a considerable quantity of foliage, which is cheap and • effective.

The next band contest has been allotted to Wellington by the executive of th© North Island Band* Association. Tho contest' has been fixed for November if possible; failing that, in February. Strong representation is to be made to the South Island Band Association for an amalgamation of interests, so that only one contest shall be held each year, alternately in each island. It is believed that if such an arrangement can be arrived at, the greater competition that will ensue will tend to increase the standard. of playing, apart altogether from the onestion of expense to bandsmen attending the contests.

A lino of Angora goats, about 40 in number, from the Port Levy district, formed a somewhat unusual feature of last Thursday's stock market at Addington (states tho Christchurch Press). The goats dtid not appear to appreciate their new surroundings, as many of them bolted, with, little ado, oven- the sides of the pens. Hpwever, they were eventually secured by the assistance of a few hurdles over the tops of the pens. The prices were extremely low, ranging from 6s down to 2s 6d at auction, but private dealings afterwards were at up to doublo these figpures. About half of the line was secured by a Kaikoura pasfcoraiist.

The latest epidemic to worry the Dominion is' "school opthalmia, which was reported in Wellington a little while ago and is now more or less prevalent in Christchurch (says an exchange). The scientific name ot this painful eye disease, is "epidemic muico-purulent conjunctivitis." It is caused by a microbe, and is highly m r i'ectious. The principal. symptoms are severe inflammation, accompanied by a bloodshot 1 condition, and the eyesight is affected. As the popular name of the epidemic indicates, it is mostly caught by children at school, but it is easily transmitted to adults, and the greatest care should be used to ensure that persons affected do not transmit contagion.through towels or otherwise. The common treatment is to bathe the affected eye or eyes with a solution of boracic acid. The symptoms usually continue for a week or ten days.

The sneak thief is still very much in ,evidence in various pa.rts of tho city (states the Nelson Colonist). He is a cunning rascal, 'aj|d: has a partiality for those dwellings where no male*person resides. A lady.in the Wood district who.ha^ seen ovov 80 years pass away has had her winter srtra-o of firewood considerably depleted by a nocturnal thief who lias made more than one visit to this wood i^le. The same lady had a. fine crop of passion fruit stolon last season. About the most impudent thing we have heard in this line, however, occurred at the Bishopdalo end of tho town. Two ladies with ample ground adjoining their residence kept a cow. A thief came regularly by night or in tho early morning and milked the cow, and in the end the animal had to be sold, as tho greater part of tho milk was stolen.

The first award for bank clerks so far made in the Commonwealth was announced on Friday, March 19, in the Arbitration Court, Brisbane, when judgment was delivered on the application of the United Bank Officers' Association of Queensland. Accordino; to tho Melbourne Ao;e of March 20, the court fixed on officer's salary at a miuimum of £200 at the age of 21, rising'by annual "increments of £15 to £260, and then by annual increments of £20 to £300. Tho court allowed the matter of the classification scheme to stand over. Female clerks other than those now employed would be paid the same salary as male clerics. The court decided not to alter the existing conditions of work, and added that the employers should und<*r«ta.nd that t-hey could not take up the attitude that they would not recognise the association.

"If rabbiting interferes with your work, drop your work," seems to bo the feeling in and around Kurow just now,' especially as those who take a day off can, with even the pea rifle, make more than their daily wage (states the Oamaru Mail)). Rabbiters are mostly keeping their skins in hopo of increased prices. They^ have not in reality commenced their harvest yet, as the skins will be at their best in a. couple ,of months; The attraction which bunny offers had sadly depleted the ranks of farm hands, and many farmers who at this time pf the year were _ accustomed to make their yearly jaunt are kept at work instead.

A widow lady had "her handbag snatched away while walking in Trafalgar Street, Onehunga, one evening recently, and she had to walk home instead of travelling in a tramcar. The bag contained £48 in notes, which had been withdrawn from the Savings Bank to pay for a tombstone over her isojs^s grave.

The Hon. J. Huxham, Minister for Public Instruction. Queensland (corresponding to our Minister for Education), has arrived in Wellington. ■Mr Huxham, who is accompanied by Mrs Huxham, and his private secretary, hopes to stay in the Dominion for a few weeks. The ptu*poses of Mr Huxham's visit is ,to inquire into the prison and hospital administration in the Dominion, the educational system, and matters connected with kindergarten work, domestic science, and municipal markets, and milk supply. From Wellington he will proceed to the South Island, following which he will come north, visiting the main centres of both islands in the course of his tour.

"When a worker has to travel by train he shall be allowed first class railway fare and if by steamer saloon fores shall be provided," was a subclause in the Christehureh Amalgamated Society of Engineers' claims presented to a Council of Conciliation (says the Press). "That is unreasonable," said an employers' assessor. "Well, the bosses travel' first class, and when their men are travelling for them on business what is good enough for the bosses should be good enough for the men." The council, after some skirmishing on scenic views and the relative comforts of first and second railway carriages, shelved this particular demand. '