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Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIII, Issue 1719, 9 January 1920, Page 4

A slight shook of earthquake was felt in Palmcrston North about 4.30 o clock this morning.

It is estimated that between 6000 and 8000 tons of spoil was brought down by the explosion of 16001b of gelignite on the Island of Moturoa on New Year's Day m connection with the extension of the New Plymouth harbour works.

Two prizes of £25 and £lO respectively were offered by the Defence Department recently for tho best design for a certificare for home service soldiers during the war. Tho fir3t prizo was won by A. Humphrey, Mount Albert, Auckland, and the sccond i by J. W. Blackie, Government Printing Office, Wellington.

The Imperial Supplies Department of Ne\. Zealand paid out to December 31 las. £118,355.802 on account of produce. The largest items are:—Frozen meat £41.597,105 cheese. £16.554,756, butter £6,815,105, schoclite £174,197, wool £42.322.697, freezing companies' slipo wool £5,361,845, sheepskins £2.358,305, hides £735,663, other business £1,735,836.

A very largo and representative conference of dairy factory representatives met at Hawora yesterday. They unanimously confirmed the opinion that producers should have a free market for dairy produce. A committee of seven representing cheese factories, and live representing the butter interests, with the chairman of tho National Dairy Association ex officio, was ii| pointed to meet other delegates at the conference to be held in Wellington next week.

Councillors of the Woodvillo County spoko with complete unanimity concerning tho advantage of linking their district i-p with Mangahao, when a progress report of the hydro-electric scheme was read at a meeting of tho Council yesterday. Cr Macfarlano predicted electricity revolutionising farm, dairy, and domestic work. He urged the necessity of making early application so that the country districts would not be overlooked in tho big demands of Wellington city. A suggestion was made by Cr Macfarlane regarding the standardising of poles and plants. He contended that if the material was purchased by the Government and was of a uniform stamp local bodies would be able to obtain it more cheaply.

Tho following is from yesterdays Feeding Star:—At yesterday's hockey conference in Palmerston North it was stated a New South Wales hockey team would be invited to visit New Zealand this year. Manawatu and Fcilding would be asked to lind a guarantee of £IOO for a match—to be played at Palmerston North, of course The Manawatu delegate said he was looking to Fcilding to help raise the £IOO. The Fcilding delegate replied that if Fcilding had been allowed to retain its own Association, and had been offered a. match, they would have raised the £IOO guarantee without tho flicker of an eyelid. But after the division of the conference, if Mr Jackson were to come to Feilding for something towards the guarantee, he would not _ get enoutrh to pay his train faro back again.

Tho' recent conference held in Woodville with the object of establishing a Board of Control ol the Gorge bridge and rond was reported upon bv Councillor Baker at a meeting of the Woodville County Council held yesterday. In pointing out the power that Hie Board would hold, Cr Macfarlane said that the membors of it would be superior to tho local bodies that appointed them. In tho matter of expenditure they neither'required to consult the local bodies nor take a poll of the ratepayers. Palmerston North Borough was assessed at 24 per cent! and had been endeavouring to get it reduced. If it should succeed, the Boaid should see that the assessment of other contributing local bodies was reduced ■accordingly. Cr Norman expressed the opinion that the setting up of the Board was only shelving the making of a national highway of the Gorge road It was stated that a request had been made to Mr Home, mayor of Woodville, to induce him to act as a representative on the Board.

Mr R. 11. Spencer, local agent for tho South British Insurance. Company, and secretary to the Sluggish River Drainage Board has removed to 21 Rangitikei stroet (Messrs Rett and Bayly's buildings), the offices until lately occupied by Messrs Cooper and Rutherfurd. Ladies' fabric gloves for smart holiday wear; imitation doe skin, 12s lid; chamoi■sette, b's lid; knit silk, 3s lid; Milanese holeproof, 5s lid—The C. M. Ross Co., Ltd., glove section for better gloves.—Advt. Wo have just landed a shipment of cast iron enamel baths; these baths are of high grade'finish, and as we only have a limited supply, buyers will bo well advised to make an early selection.—Collinson and Son, 11 Broadway and King street, Palmerston North—Advt. Tested in thousands of kitchens, Sharland'B baking powder has never failed to rise. Co9ta less than others—worth more.— AdyJ, i

At Feilding vesterday, Lt. Commander Bourke, V.C., D.5.0., wus tendered a civio reception on his arrival there to deliver a lecture under the auspices of the Navy League. ' . The Naval Adviser to the New Zealand Government states that the Bremen, with troops from London, is due at Hobart on January 23 and at Wellington on January 27. The New "Zealand Garrison which has been occupying Samoa, having been replaced by the special constabulary from New Zealand, is expected to arrive at Auckland by the Talune this week. One of the patients received at the Wairau Hospital a few days ago was a little girl, only at the "toddling" stage, who, playing with a small axe at the woodheap, completely severed one of her fingers. Mr Hope Gibbons states that the trustees of the Aotca Home in Egypt are arranging to a ward, to the nurses and other member* of the staff of that institution all of whom have now returned to New Zealand) gratuities similar to those granted-by the Government to members of the Expeditionary Force. The soldiers' convalescent home at Wanganui has been acquired by 'Mr and Mrs Hope Gibbons, who intend having the building equipped as a home for the accommodation of women before and after maternity. Mr Gibbons states that ho has consulted Ur Truby King, and discussed the lines upon which the institution should bo run in order to render the maximum amount of service to the community. Nominations for candidates to fill the extraordinary vacancies caused on the ivairanga Council by the resignation of Cr. S. 11. Lancaster (Fitzherbert riding) and Cr W. W Wilsher (Mangaone ndilig) closed at noon to-day. For.the Fitzherbert riding, the only candidate to be nominated was Mr William Robert Hopcroft, who has been elected unopijosed, but for the Mangaone riding Mr S. B. Lancaster and Mr Charles Anderson have been nominated and there will be an election. Timber prices have been advanced this week, but the scarcity of material is even more serious that, the high price (says the Auckland Herald*. From present indications it will be a long time before sufficient houses arc built lo meet the urgent requirements of the glowing population of Auckland. At the present moment the mills are short of supplies, and can only supply a fraction of the orders in hand. But the temporary nature of a local shortage is nothing compared with the serious position of the industry in general.

Visitors to the goldfields during the holidays state that a jjumbcr of cloudbursts occurred in the Cromwell and Wanaka districts on Mew Year's Day (reports the Otago Times; At the Kawarau station the water fell in such volume as to practically ruin the garden, and it flooded out a picnic party which was having a holiday near the station. A baby which was sleeping in a trap was rescued in the nick of time, the water having reached the flooring of the vehicle. Considerable damage was done in other parts of the two districts named. Three bathers had a narrow escape from drowning at the 'Kai Iwi beach on Wednesday. A young man and two ladies went out bathing a considerable distance in the surf and in the southerly drift soon got into trouble. Cries from the three bathers attracted attention, and it was seen that the young man was struggling to save one of the youny ladies, whom it afterwards transpired' could not swim. Fortunately they soon managed to drift into shallow' water. Tho other young lady could swim, but was caught in the undertow and was soon exhausted: Seeing her plight, Mr T. 15. Slipper ; who was on tho beach with his family, went to her assistance, and managed to bring her ashore.

Tho motorist who spills a wayfarer and then "scoots" does, in many cases, get away. Not always. One of the exceptions (says tho Dunedin Star of Monday last) occurred on Saturday morning. A motor car collided with a cyclist in George streot, between Hanover and Frederick streets, about,B o'clock. The cyclist was knocked flat, and the motorist Hew off at a great pace. Another motorist, seeing what had happened, left the prostrate one.to the attentions of bystanders and gave chase. It was a long run, for the cars were about a match, but near Duko street the runaway was headed and made to heave to, and his number was taken, and then the pursuor kept him under observation until the injured man arrived to deal with the matter personally. '

Still ail element of mystery surrounds that telephone number 1290, which was onc<« switched on to Dr Fmdletsberger and them switched oil* again >(observes the New Zealand Herald). All Auckland knows that there are approximately 400 names on the waiting; list for telephonic connections, end the girls in the exchange will say that, so far as they are concerned, 1290 is still on the switchboard. But the fact is that it is a blind number. It has evidently been allotted to nobody, for it is not listed, yet the girls in the exchange say it is on the board. And no matter how many times orlo may ring this mystical number 1290, the girl will always put him through, and then end up, if the caller perseveres long enough, by telling him she can get no reply. And all this time that 1290 is disengaged there are 400 odd people eager to get a telephone. Hardware merchants in New Zealand say that the difficulty of procuring supplies from overseas is greater now than even during tho war. British manufacturers are chock-a-block with orders for months ahead, and, whilst hooking, they expressly notify that they cannot promise to ship by fixed dates, also that the prices must be as at the date of shipping. There does not seem to be much prospect of relief from America, since the steel companies of the United States of America and Canada have cancelled orders for wire and nails and other goods owing to the strike. In the circumstances, prices all round have a finning tendency, and stocks are itinning short, and wo arc told rhat importers connot see any 6ign of anything happening to ease the position. British corrugated iron, 26 gauge, is to-day at £56 to £57 per ton in Dunedin, and it" will probably be dearer in the course of the next two or three months.—Dunedin Star.

Copper, which cost about £SO a ton bcI fore the war, costs to-day, landed at Lyttelj ton, £165, an enormous increase, yet it is | not so scarce as might bo imagined, and electrical contractors say that the greatest difficulty is to obtain'poles rather than copper (says the Lyttelton Times). Tho Public , Works Electrical Department has kept a "copper curve" throughout the war, showing, by a chart, the rise or fall in the price from month to month. From November, 1914, when the price for electrolytic copper was £SO, a steady climb commenced, and except for a slight drop in August and September, 1915. the price rose to over £l4O 'r ¥'l y ' 1 i 916, In July and August it oased slightly, but the maximum was reached in December, 1916, when it was almost £l7O a ton but afterwards there was a tendency to fall, although for somo time no quotations could bo obtained. After peace was signed there was a slight rise, and tho price 13 still high A rough and readv method of finding tho price in pence per pound is to divide tho sterling price per ton by nine. This shows that at the present, price of £165 a ton. copper is worth about eighteen pence per pound.

Norwegian police have been forbidden to join trade unions. The Dannevirko A. and P. Association invites tenders for the following privileges: Luncheon and afternoon tea booth afternoon tea tent, fruit and sweets, and temperance drinks. Tenders closo with the secretary, on Wednesday next

Now that your tablo cloths require renewing make a point of seeing Collinson and Cunnmghame's splendid selection of rtnpery mercerised table demask, 54inch 4s 6d; 58inch. 5s 9d; 62inch, 5s lid; 64inch, os od; 68meh, 8s lid. Linen damasks, Minch bs lid; 64inch, 7s lid; 72inr-.li, fis lid Tablo cloths, MinoK'x 60inch, 15s 6d; 2yds. x 2£yds., 25s 9d; 2vds. x 2Avda. (pure hnen), 49s 6d. Serviettes unhemrried. 3s lid, 4a lid. 5s 6d, 10s 6d. to 39s 6d per half dozen Serviette?} hemmed, lis 3d. 12s 6d, 17s 3d to 39s 6d, per half dozen—Advt. "Thinker" brand writing tablets, "Thinker school exercise books, and "Thinker" pictorial note books; ideal stationery for every home and child.-G. H. Bennett and Co.—Advt. ~~ An agreeablo aperient for ladies, children and infants is Sharland's Buid magnesia. Sweetens the stomach. Cooling and health-giving. Most econoraical.rAdvfc. A point for; good house wives. Always use Sharland's baking powder. Costs least; goes farthest; gives better results.— A*lvi

A : Wellington tolegram states that it is understood the Railway Department,' in pursuance of an'■ extensive housing scheme, has secured a large area of' land at Kniwarra, with the intention of laying out there a .'.Railway Employees' Settlement on modern town planning, lines. The Patriotic Socioty received information this morning that a number of invalid returned soldiers under tho charge of Nurse Montgomery would arrive by the Auckland express this morning. The men were being transferred from Narrow Neck camp to: the Waipukurau Sanitorium, Hawko's Bay. They were met at the station by tl'e secretary of the Society, Mr, J. Permain, wlio provided motor-cars for their pleasure until the departure of their train at 1 p.m. They were shown.over the racecourse, the Esplanade and other places v % of interest and on their departure were also aM provided with " smokes " and fruit for their Journey. Nurse Montgomery and the men expressed their appreciation of the attention and the pleasure they received during their stay here.