LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Northern Advocate, 18 February 1911, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Rev. W. J. Elliott will conduct lre service to-morrow evening at the '.Vhangarei Methodist Church, and will (ieliver a sermon on "The Truest Thing in This World." There will be special music t by a large choir and orchestra, and young men and non-Churchgoers are very cordially invited.

In speaking on behalf of the Whang'arei Brass Band at their open-air concert on Thursday evening. Mr Man- ( der, M.P., thanked the public for their attendance, and announced that the Band would hold, a similar entertainment monthly, and he expressed the hope that the public would patronise the future events in the same manner as they had done that evening.

One dozen cremation urns are to be purchased by the Wellington City Council. They will be imported from I London. The Mayor replied to a question at the Council meeting that the urns were to be of terra cotta, arid would cost 6s each. The idea was to get out a dozen as samples to submit to local makers, who would be asked in future to tender for their supply. 'We want to encourage local industry," said his Worship.

The solitary white dolphin known as •Pelorus Jack," which escorts passing steamers in Admiralty Bay on the passage between Nelson and Pic ton, has not been at his post lately as regularly as was his custom fo-merly. Sines his mid-summer vacation he has not settled down to work and has beon absent for three or four consecutive days on a number of occasions during the past few weeks. The officers of the Pateena report that Jack's behavior

oas been very erratic

"Not transferable," when printed on a railway ticket, is often not taken seriously. The Railway Department md the police, however, mean that such a restriction should be enforced, and a case in point was heard at the Wellington Magistrate's Court the dher day. A man now in business in Wellington recently came down from Auckland, intending to spend a holiday in Wellington, and he purchased a return ticket in the north. Finding that business was good, however, he decide a to remain. The return part of his ticket he advertised for sale, and among a number of letters he received: he selected one which seemed to have been written in the most businesslike fashion. Unfortunately for him, its author was a detective, who purchased the ticket for £1. The seller admitted the offence, and a penalty of Fs, with costs 7s, was imposed as a warning. Defendant was also ordered to refund the £1. The Act prescribes a penalty not exceeding £10 for dealing in railway tickets, and this was the first case of its kind for a considerable time.

f Mr Cutforth has disposed of his 20ft umllet boat Maro, which sailed second at the regatta, and intends to go in ior a keel boat.

Salvation Army officer Williams, who was in charge of the Whangarei district over 15 years ago, has been appointed a Major in Australia.

It is probable that before Dr. Findlay leaves Whangarei pressure will be brought to bear upon him to content to contest the Marsden electorate in the Government "interests.

The steamer Corinthic, due at Wellington about Tuesday next from London, is bringing 500 third-class passengers, 41 second saloon and four Erst saloon passengers for New Zealand ports.

There is living in the Masterton district, says the "Age," a lady who is, in law, her own grandmother. It came about by her having married the father of her own father's second's wife. It is somewhat embarrassing at times to have her step-sisters calling her grandmother; but she survives it all. Her brother is, as well, her own scn-in-law. Mr Eccles' "Tere" returned last evening from a fortnight's cruise among the islands of the Hauraki Gulf, where a good holiday had been spent. The Ngahau may be expected ro return from the Bay of Islands, where she has been since last Saturday. Mr R. Worner's old boat, the '•Speedwell," now owned by Mr .Dempsf»y, also called in on her way back to Auckland from a cruise in the North.

Miss Gerti Campion, who will sing "Only a Penny," from "The French Maid," at her sister's benefit concert on Thursday evening next, made a sreat hit with this song in every town in Australasia and South Africa. A Melbourne paper stated that if Miss Campion had retained all the money thrown in pennies on the stage in response to this song, instead of handing it over to the management, she would have had almost enough to build a Exiall theatre of her own.

Commenting on the decline last week :n Waihi shares, the "Financial Times" says:—A firm of stockbrokers, with cclonial connections, inform us with regard to the reported renewed colonial selling of Waihis that their experience, and that of some of their British friends, has been that New Zealand has sent buying orders 4 on the decline." In a review of the year the ffme paper remarks that the fall in Waihis is due to the "outcome of mar • Ket over-valuation, less satisfactory delelopment, a reduction in output, and the probability of a decline in distributions."

Mr Justice Chapman caused a smile in the Court at Wellington by a Scriptural reference. Referring to the cartoon which was the cause of the action between Mr Massey and the "Times," Company, he said one of the allegories in it depicting Ananias, was, a little puzzling. Ananias in this cartoon appeared to be a debased donkey. His Honor's recollection of Ananias was that of an unbusinev.Uke business man who in transacting a very transparent piece of bnsi ■ ness resorted to a sordid lie. Then, too, Ananias was not hitched to a cart (as depicted in the cartoon); he was hitched to a wife. (Laught?;;.

At the meeting of the Fruitgrowers' Association last night Mr K. R. Macflonald gave a very interesting account of the manner in which fruit is handlod in various parts of New Zealand. He instanced how the members of an association such as the one in this town co-operated and, working on a systematic basis, had fruit 'depots, v/hich supplied the markets and regulated the prices. Mr Macdonald, who has had extensive knowledge in the marketing of fruit, said that the same could be made to work in Whangarei if the members of the Fruitgrowers' Association would only club together. At present no one could tell what prices ■were prevalent, owing to the cutting of prices of those who have a small rumber of trees and are not by profession fruitgrowers. A vote of thanks was accorded Mr Macdonald at the conclusion of the meeting for the in-

formation given