LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLIII, 8 February 1909, Page 2

LOCAL & GENERAL NEWS.

Mr R. M'Kenzie, Minister for Pub lie Works and Mines, returned tu Wellington by Saturday night '.i steamer. He loaves Wellington on Thursday fa visit North Auckland, to decide the route of tbo railway line in that portion of the Dominion , Tho Secretary and Treasurer of the iSt-icvu Uitucns Hand Webley) forwards an interesting photograph taken by Mr F. N. Jones junr., of the giant Drum-Major M'Cormack, of tho Kilties Band, standing beside young Craig, the boy eornetist of the Citizens' Band. The contrast between the little fellow aud the big Canadian is well marked, the cap of the boy being ih a lille With the, second-last button of the Drum Major's tunic. The photograph has at the back a postcard. ' Unofficial discussions for some time have been in progress with the object of carrying out the reconstruction of Nelson's Victory — restoring it to as much like its .-l-i^ina! ap;.cai-ince as possible. Tho matter has t>e;n alio brought before tho notice of Hie Admiralty, as the ship is under tht-.r charge. Careful estimates have been made of tho cost, which, it is believed. wou'-I reach £6000, ani the Whitehall authorities have now decided not to undertake the work, in view of the majiy other requirements involving modern efficiency for which money has to be found lf, therefore, the work should be undertaken, it will have to be by private effort, though with, of course, Admiralty sanction. On Saturday evening at the Loyal Nelsou Lodge of Good dfcmplars two new members wero enrolled, and two more were proposed. The reports from the various officers for the quarter showed that the Lodge was in a sound and flourishing condition. New officers for tho ensuing quarter were installed as follows :— Chief Templar, Bro. W. S. Mears ; Vico-Teraplar, Bro. Preen ; Superintendent of Juvenile Work, Sister C. Watson (re-elected); Chaplain, Sister McCarthy ; Secretary, Bro. Caiins (reelected) ; Treasurer. Bio. Braddock (reelected) ; Finance Secretary, Bro. Campbell ; Marshal, Bro. Donaldson ; Deputy Marshall, Sister Roberts; Guard, Ero. Burt ; Sentinel, Bro. Bouchier ; Librarian, and Assistant Secretary, Sister Bartlett. During the coming quarter the Lodge is to be thrown open to thc public after the business is over. Tho Encounter Relief Concert Committee met immediately after the Lodge closed, and final details were arranged. This concert will be held on Wednesday evening in the Foresters' Hall, and as the object is to assist the relatives of the bluejackets who lost their lives in Sydney harbour a few weeks ago, it is hoped that there will be a crowded house. This is a spontaneous effort on the part of the local Gcod. Templars, but from word just received from Sydney, help is needed, and will be greatly appreciated. In reference to a telegram published stating that the co-operative workers on the railway extension at Domett had not been paid, Mr R. McKenzie, Minister for Works, states that the first pay was made on November 16th, and thesecond pay day was December 16th. This enabled the men who lived a long way from the works to get home for their Christmas holidays if they so desired. "The men stopped work from December 24th to January sth, so faT as I know," sai dthe Minister, "of their own accord." Work was resumed on January sth, and the next pay day was not. due until Feb. 4, and payment was duly made on that date. Mr McKenzie expresses the opinion that the Press Association messages are prompted by a man named Campbell, who made himself faumous on the North Island Trunk Railway. Up till Saturday Mr McKenzie had not received tho letter which was supposed to have been signed by fiftyfive of thc co-operative labourers encaged on the railway construction works at Domett. A correspondent writes : — A very pleasant gathering of parents and children was held in the Ranzau Schoolroom on Wednesday evening last to tender a farewell social to Miss Gilbert- (teacher at Ranzau), who is shortly leaving the district. In the course of the evening the Rev. Mr Mever, on behalf of the congregation of " the Gorman Lutheran Church, presented Miss Gilbert with a handsome silver-mounted cruetstand as a token of their appreciation of her services as organist. A presentation was also made by the Chairman of the local School Committee, Mr F. W. Smith, on behalf of the Ranzau School children. This took the form of two pairs of handsome vases. Mr Smith, in the course of his remarks, spoko of the importance of a sound primary education, mentioning that those who laid the foundation m our public schools, often received little commendation, as compared with those who in later rears completed tho education thus begun. Miss Gilbert had endeared herself to the scholars, and had obtained excellent results, the school at the last examination being classed by the Inspecfor as excellent. A number of friends journeyed from Richmond to assist in the musical portion of the entertainment. After a bountiful supply oi refreshments had been handed round, a very pleasant gathering broke up shortly after midnight. It is not every day that a man, under the hallucination that he has to go to Kaol, goes there of his own accord, ami behaves as though he had been placed There by the strong arm of the law, yet such a case happened in Timaru the other day (says the "Herald ). A man went- to the lock-up voluntarily, slept, there, and waited the following morning, expecting to bo taken before the Court at 11 o'clock. But no one was more surprised than the police to find him in the cells, and the only explanation he could give as to how he got there, was that he had dreamt he had been run in, and had himself turned the delusion into a reality by voluntarily walking in. After malting sure that he was awake, the self-imprisoned individual went- to his home. A correspondent writing to the ■Field" says that "Q.rvnsla.il woods have lately i-on.e inf. -.J.-n..;n for -he mailing of fishing rod-. Ihe Sooth American greenheart wa, ""polled into Australia and New Zealand cxtensivelv formerly, but this has ocen su'ersefed by the^oock of the Queen^ land forests, which furnish material for the building of a very effective sngling weapon, and there is talk ot establishing an export trade. The fol.owinc description of a fishing rod (made >from these Austrahan woods illustrates the point:— For the butt blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon) was employed. It is used chiefly as a substitute for the walnut, and has been turned to advantage in gunstocks, joinery, and cabinet works, and can oe carved for panels. The middle joint was of spoted gum (Eucalyptus madate), one of the myrtaceae. It is a greyish timber, the grain, while often perfectly straight, is occasionally interlocked; a hard tough, and elastic wood, it is much used for the making of spokes, shafts, piles, axe handles, rims, and many other purposes. The top joint was constructed of a red gum (Eucalyptus saligna). a straightfibred, tough wood, which, although heavy, mav be worked freely. This is another valuable and common wood, being largelv employed in the construction of carriages, ships, 'buildings nnd bridges.'' To-morrow, at 2 p.m., Mr W. Lock will sell by order of the Public Trustee the piano, funrniture, and effects in the estate of tho late Mr L. Shoather. • Messrs Bisley Bros, and Co. advertise in this issue particulars of the following stock sales : — Thorpe (Silcock's Yards), to-morrow, at 1.30 p.m.; Tapaw'era Yards, Wednesday next, 1.50 p.m. ; and -at Murchifon (Lynch's lards) Saturday nest- at 1.30 p.m. Distinctiveness of style, gracefulness and attractiveness of figure, combined with perfect freedom and comfort, is desired by every woman, and the P.D. Corset .has a world-wide reputation for imparting these great essential points to the wearer. Science and skill havo .ombined to render P.D. Corsets absulutely unrivalled for durability — they *;ill wear considerably longer than any _ther make.*

A meeting of the Nelson Labourers' Union will be held ou Wednesday next, at 7.30 p.m, Mr F. L Ledger has presented the Chamber of Commerce with a plan, 30 inohes square, showing ' all- the routes from Belgrovo and Kohatu to Top Houso and Lake Rotoiti, together with tho line of the Kiwi-Hope Junction .extension of the railway. Th© plan was prepared with the objaet of showing the various road routes, -With distances, aa clearly as possiblo, nnd all necessary detail has been cxxluded. Members and others interested may inspect tho plan on applieation to the Secretary of the Chamber (Mr W. Spencer Hampson). Th3 poll for tho election o-' IhTt'C members of the Nelson Harbour Board, representing Waimea County, is being taken to-day. \V<-y litt:3 interest is being manifesto-., and ibe voting is not expected to be heavy. The candidates (four for three siats) are Messrs Franklyn and C.b.'inan (old members) and Messrs F, Smith and E. B, Hdult. Tile Nelson crew at tbe Wellington regatta finished fourth in the Junior Clinker Fours, and were unfortunate in drawing an outride position. They, with Wanganui and Lyttelton, had a very rough passage, -tho boats under tho shoro having no sea to contend with. The crew speaks well of the arrangements of tho regatta and the racing was mostly of a first-clase order, In the Senior race, the Picton crew, who ato going strong for tho New Zealand Champion Fdure at Auckland, had the misfortune to break thc stroke's rigger when leading by ft length and a half. The Wanganui crew still retains the sculling honours, having secured first and second place. At tho usual fortnightly meeting of Jho Loval Neleon Lodge of Oddfellows, held on the 20th ult.. Bro. H. Wilkins handed in his resignation as Superintendent of the Loyal Wakatu Juvenile Lodge of Oddfellows. It was resolved tbat tho resignation be accepted with regret, and that the Lodge place on record its appreciation of Bro. Wilkins* services during^ the past* eighteen years. Bro. W. H. Prebble. being tbe only nomination, was unanimously elected to the position of Superintendent. In arguing that Wellington should be chosen for the next championship swimming matches, "Header" m Saturdav's "Post" savs:— "It has been urg»d" that the fact of the championships having been held at Nelson jn 1906 wou'd count against Wellington's . !-.:>)-.. cs for a few seasons to conic, but ;t must 1)0 remembered that Nelsou is no more part of Wellington than of, .-ay, Cantn-bury. It is only as a mattir of convenience that the Nelson clubs are attached to the Wellington Centre, and probably in a few. years swimming will be strong enough in Nelson to justify the formation of an independent centre. To sum up the position, WeUington, with its undoubted prior claim, its splendid facilities for swimming, its central position (giving easy access to competitors from all parts of New Zealand), and its strong position in the swimming world, cannot be ignored for next season's championships." A Millinery Aitist of the first water, .Nil's Pone, "of -Melbourne, has arrived in Nilson and taken charge of the Auckland Clotuing and Drapery Co.'s Showroom. The most, ptifoct models of high-rfnrs trimmed millinery will be produced by her and offered to thc ladies of Nelson in a few days' time.* The Hon. R. M'Kenzie is to be congratulated upon having settled tho miners' dispute at Huutly, for besides the loss through dislocation of trade, thc Railway Department wa4> losing £IGO a day in freiglit alone. Some consider that the miners had a real grievance, whilst others thought the owners were not having justice meted out tn them. However, in the midst of this conflict of opinion, we aro pleased to say that the public arc absolutely uiianiuioub in tho opinion that Lock has thc largest aud mo. t up-to-dato stock iu the city, and his prices for bedsteads, chests, carpets, and general furniture are much lower than others at all times, and no strike is likely to take place while Lock sells such splendid furniture at such cheap prices and easj- terms. At Lock's you can get anything from a frying-pan to a piano. Go to Lock's, and save money-*