News and Notes.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLI, Issue 8072, 24 August 1905, Page 3

News and Notes.

It is calculated that £10,000,000 a year is spent on golf. There are 879 golf in England, 760 in America, 632 tn Scotland and 134 in Ireland, numbering altogether 600,000 players.

Mr Louis Cohen, the well known solicitor, was yesterday nominated as a candidate for the vacancy on the Wanganui Borough Council, caused by the retirement of Mr G. S. Bridge.

Mr Godwin Laming, an old resident of Otago, the other day saw in a piece of wrapping paper an advertisement asking for his whereabouts. As tho result of inquiries he found himself the fortunate possessor of a little legacy of _£12,000.

. Brigadier-General Gordon, in the course of a lecture, at Sydney, said that it "made him sick" when he saw 30,000 loafers sitting on a rail cheering during the progress of a football match. He was a sportsman, but when out on the Sydney Cricket Ground he saw thousands of youths lolling back smoking cigarettes he felt ill, and thought: " Poor Australia 1 Your sport will not last long."

With regard to Mr Fisher's charges, it is understood tbat the Auditor-General has instructed Willis to search for the voucher, ana all the Treasury vouchers for the past four years have been placed at his disposal. It is pointed out that if the voucher ever existed it must still exist or the absence of its particular number would indicate its disappearance and enable the other tsvo records which are kept to be easily discovered.

Travelling at Taihape is still somewhat of a speculation. Last week Mr T. Herbert had ouc of those unpleasant expleasant experiences with which mail carriers arc frequently favoured. About four miles from Taihape one of the pack-horses walked into a slip and got stuck. After "taking off the packs and trying to get the animal out of the mud for an hour and a-half be had to abandon the an mal and go back to Taihape for assistance and a fresh horse. It was five o'clock before be reached Turangarere, and he had 10 miles to go before reaching Waiouru, four of which were in an even worse condition than the road he had traversed..

A mouse succeeded in upsetting the nerves of the passengers in an electric car at Christchurch last Tuesday. Two Woodville ladies were amongst the occupants of the car. When the mouse appeared thero were wild shrieks from the ladies, and though lhe men tried to show a brave face they too seemed to be very nervous. One of tho Woodville ladies was determined that she would not show fear, and rather despised her weaker sisters. The mouse, however, made a bee-line for her, and her shriek might have been heard in Woodville. She soon joined the others who had their feet tucked up on the seat. The mouse was despatched ere long. The motorman could not make out the cause of the commotion, and passers-by must have thought some dreadful accident had happened.

There has been some excitement in "mosquito" shipping circles owing to the threatened demolition of the Taka Islands, in Golden Bay, at the mouth of the Takaha River. The islands are of limestone, and, being privately owned, they were sold some time ago to the Wellington and Marlborough Cement and Lime Co., whoso works are at Picton. It is probable that sooner or later the islands will disappear by a process of being shipped away and converted into cement. The trouble is that they are at present very useful for shipping, two or three small vessels being able to obtain safety in a north- west gale. The matter was under the notice of the Marine Department, but as the islands were -privately owned the Government could not interfere with tho sale. The offices of the Department will probably be requisitioned when the islands have been coverted into a limestono reef, covered at high water.