LOCAL AND GENERAL

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVIII, Issue XLVIII, 12 January 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

■ At the Magistrate's Court this moriy ing. on the application of F. Edwards-, a land agents' license was granted to F.; and D. Edwards. There are 38,797 acres of land in the Dominion planted in fruit trees, 2,947 acres of which were planted last season, 1 It is oxpectcfl that 3,197. acres will be planted this season.

Trade iitiiollUrtt ili Australia, according to figuics issued a few days ago by the Commonwealth Statistician, has gripped the workmen to the extent of •89 to every 1,000 inhabitants, thus creating a record for the world. A sitting of the Magistrate s Court was held tnis morning before Mr J. S. Evans, S.M., when all the civil cases called on, wiili the exception of one, were adjourned. The case referred to was a judgment summons brought bv l'\ W. Haase against K. Berisemantv, it sum of £1 18s being involved. There was no appearance of jlidgmeilt debtor, and an order was made that the amounts be paid forthwith, in default three days' imprisonment, the warrant to be suspended so lonir as judgment debtor pays 10s weeklv until the debt is. extinguistied.

Whilst travelling froir. Napier to Fcildiug a motor car "containing four occu- • pants—\V. E. Clark (Foilcling) 5 'T. 1\ Clark (Napier) ; and two ladies, turned over at a bend in Haturrta Road. The first-named was pinned underneath and SiTlled, but the other occupants escaped with bruies. Tlie accident is attributed to a defect in the steering gear.— Press Association. On the application of A. A. Grace, Mr Warden Evans this morning granted a renewal of a prospecting license over an area of 100 acres situated in tlie Wangapeka district, to the Colossus Gold Mining Company, Napier. Several nurses will be -passengers, for. London by the Somerset, states a southern exchange. They are paying their own expenses, aild- go with the idea, of being able to gain- some experience at the front. They include Nurses Nixon and Holmes, of Christchurch, and Nurses Bowie, l3lackmore, and Brown of Timaru. Experience has now demonstrated that New Zealand cau export apples, pears, and peaches to distant oversea markets. So far the Argentine has proved our best customer. Of 51,943 cases of apples, 1633 cases of pears, and 201 cases of peaches exported last the Bue-t nos Avres market took 51,787 cases of apples and 100 cases of pears. v The balance of exports went to "Vancouver and 'Frisco 1 markets. '

The rapid development-of the main inlustries of New. Zealand is well demonstrated by contrasting' the value of the exportation 25 years ago, and that . of last year. The wool shipped abroad increased from £3,115,008 to £8,057,620, frozen meat from £628;800 to £4,449-,-933, and dairy produce from £197,180 to £3,831,948, the total increase under the three' headings being- from £3,940,988 to £16,339,501, or over 300 per cent.

At the last meeting of the 1 Wangamu Harbour Board the chairman announced that the revenue for the year had increased by £1174 over that for ther previous year, of which. £BOO was clear profit. The board's total surplus for 1914 ■will be about £SOOO.

Owing to the excessive price of bread and t]ie shortage, of flour, the suggestion" has been.- made -to - the..-., Hastings; .-baks£S that they' should -withdraw all their deli-, very vans from the- i pad f . thus big saving in .expenses.. This, , one- baker informs, a contemporary, would, enable them to sell at a reduced rate for cash over the counter.

A good war, story concerns ,an ,-ex-offi-jcer of the. German army resident >' in. England and married to an English, wife,] He is not naturalised, however, and, therefore. Has - had -tp register: himself, .as an alien, and under-the regulations he must ndb travel nrorerthan five. miles ( from his residence without a special per-i jfnit. -As -lie lives: im Wimbledoii and? works- in the city/ .of London. h'c lind to take lip- his <■ residence near his ; . work, and he let his housb furnished to an actor/ These -have been bad:time in.the theatrical world, and the actor . could not ? pay. and did a moonlight flitting. 'Hie German secured a/: permit and . travelled .to Wimbledon to see that' his house was prope l '-. ly locked up,, and he found that it had been badly used by the tenants., "But what hurt me most of all," he sa?d,. "was that they took away my auto--graphed portrait of : the Kaiser, which his Majesty limself gave to my father, and which always hung? on; they wa,U ,ill; my. dining" room;" "Couldn't you. fih,d» it 1" lie- was asked. "oh\ I found him all .right," the German replied, "hut he ;was in the dust-bin m;t>liis face down."'.

An exceptionally large: catch of a, distinctly. rare fish : in: the southern portion bf. the- fishing-, grounds—the New Zealand turbot—was made - by fishermen •i ri ■ the vicinity of Waiau.j Arepuki, ' R.iyertoh. and off \tlie Hivertonyßeach' recently. On Thursday, a' consignment of 12 doz. turbofc -was- received ; at. Inv-ercargill . fiqn; these; along; -with 120 dozen flounders';. Suqhia;- large: catch; of tqrbpjt is decidedly- rare j and - a leading man . in tlie fishing. Industry ' told, a, ' 'Southland Times'' reporter that it; had not come under .his(notice-.for tli6i"past' 30-years: The fish;, which in : many, respects resembles a flouridey, were all in excellent condition, .and' the heaviest •'weighed up to 81b. Tiiei'presence of the. turbot in suehlargenumbers at this period leads-those- competent: to judge to the opinioji'. that* there- must, have, been some disturbance at- the-ißsliingv grounds, probably during the-;beavv spell of "bad weather, and the quality of seaweed, and other, oceanic substance in the nets after each haul lends-further-colour to this view, " 1 A few enquiries mado- by- a Wellington reporter , served- to. indicate i that the plumbers' bill is ope \yhicli has. perforce, been materially increased' since the- outbreak, of war, on;. account of. the all? roundi increase in. the. prices of- metals employed.', ~ Belgium). was the home of the thin-sheet, icon .industry* oil which the- tin-plate' industry, of . South Wales largely depended. • . It. ill 1 not" known definitely if this trouble has -been rectified by establishing, that • industry more -firmly, in England,, but in view of the fact that the price has : only risen 2s- per lookp more than- likelv that the. cutting out of Belgium supplies; of thin-sheet iron -has been overcome. In the case of other metals,; the increase hasi been greater. Plain.; and corrugated" iron has advancedi from - £-18 to £32 per ton, and zinc has advanced from 36s 6d to 455. Copper and plain -brass,' which- was Is ;ld. per -pound a. few Is 6d per lb. Lead rose~'veW~sirddenlv, owing to the big demandi, made by the ammunition factories. From £lß' 10s per ton it,rose to £3l, since when it; lias dropped, down to £27—which is still £4 10s above the pre-war quotation. Planished and. tinned' •; coppei* lias advance from'ls 5d to Is 9d per lb, and Muntz nieta 1 from 10J,d to Is ld : per lb.' ' Sale Time at McKay and Son's ! Beautiful Dress Lengths- 4s. each. Hemrjants of -all descriptions afc half-price. Lai ,fr o Carpet. Squares 20s and 30s each* Boys' Suits in All Wool' Tweeds 12s 6d. See our Is table.—W. McKay and Son, Bridge-street.* Showroom Bargains at McKay and Sons, Trimmed Mode] Hat-s 5s each; Onfepiece. Blouse Robes -4s lid; 5s- llds 6s 9d' each. -Costumes reduced to 12& 6d ; each. White' Blouses Is lid, 2s 6d. 3s 6d each.-WW. McKay and Son, Bridgestreet.* - Your cycle is. nob put aside for motor repairs at Manks ~ and reni ot nj6r we inv-> port "the best tyres, lamps, bicvcles, a.nd. sundries direct, therefore no old stocks. Cycles from £5-5s ca°h. and good too. Be a sport.and givo ' ; n turn. In motor nv CV cle goods you'i.. i?et prompt service, fflvility, and squar j -dealing.*

A peculiar form of blight is at pr'GsCili attacking carrot crops in the Palmerston North district. • R. G. Spence, of the Robin Hood Bay School, Marlborough, has gained a Junior. National Scholarship, topping that district. This credit on his tuor, Mr George Bigg-Wither.

The Lord Mayor of Melbourne is hopeful that tllo outcome of the conference uf the metropolitan municipal councils, will result in about £500,000 being spoilt in 1915 on works in Melbourne and suburbs. ' The recent Waitotara Siiow Jfaulted in a sum of £2OO being raised for the British and Belgian Relief Fund, the profits of the show going for that purpose. Tlie sum of £B4B, 842 was put through the totalieator at eighteen galloping and six trotting Meetings held in the Dominion between Boxing Biiy Mid the 4th inst.

At one of the depots in England for contorts' for the soldiers a big parcel of red petticoats, "with huge "waists, - ■ made of red flannel, was received. The authorities were at, a loss to .understand what they were for, and on enquiries being made it was ' ascertained that'they were intended for the men in kilts.

. The- Mayoress (Mrs W. Lock)!.invites; all ladies willing to assist in connection, with the forthcoming r Treasure Hunt and' Gala Day at the Sands/ Tahuna, on ITebl'uaty Ist, to meet in the Council Chambers oil Thui'sday afternoon next at 3.30 p.m. The fuiifctioii. is beitig held- in aid of the Belgian. Relief As a large number of, assistants will bei required- fox*- the stalls; etc., it is hoped; that there will be a good attendance -at the meeting, so that the effort will be a success. . , , • The effects of the severe hailstorm about &■ week ago Are very apparent in some of the ol'cliards in the-Raiapoi d:strict (savs the ''PrGSSi- ) "When the locality/was visited about a fortnight ago the young fruit lookedvery promising, but as the result of the liailstorm a great deal of it has - been .ruined.- Xn some 'cases- a- liarlstoiie has. descended in the middle of the fiuit and split it open.

The last time before the-present war when English people saw oi" lietti'd. -ati. .enemy's guns within their own waters was- in 1667, in the inglorious of Charles * 11. That was when a Dutch squadron under "Admiral de Ruyter sailed up the Medway- as far as; Rochester to bum English ships lyings andon a second A'isit enter,ed-. the- Thames to attack Harwich and go ' high-as; Oravesend. Since then England:! ■seen no signs-of war, though the British' Isles suffered an abortive invasion when "Napoleon sent Hoche on the expedition, to Ireland. In the 250 years since then England has been inviolate, and, except few shells thrown from the sea, •shall remain inviolate still." With' modern seeain and'inodern arnis-. the islafldp are far nparer to the; German coast than ■ •they were to the Dutch coast inv- the seventeenth century, and navigators cannot now guess at the possible course of an enemy, vessel as they Could in days, when ships depended so much on wind and. tide. i

Sdnic four" ot five weeks ago Arthur Rottmann, the youtig German who hu« ■•beeiv committed for trial On. a charge of a triple murder of an., atrocious nature at., Ruahine, made an . at-, tempt to join the Expeditionary Reinforcements: (says the Wellington "Post"). I)tiring hisy frequent visits -tt>. Mniiga.weka he became acquainted. with -Mr S. M. : Dixon, a'Justice of the Peace" and >acting-captain : in the .Ninth-.Regiment. Het informed .Mr Dixon that .- lie ; had -made an effort to get naturalised, and showed him certain corespondenee. One letter as to character .was fi'dm* the •tain :of a Wellington vessel, and another •letter was from a well-known Wellington Justice of. the Peace recommending that ißottmanu be granted " naturalisation. The Department of Internal Affairs, however, refused the application because Rottmann was not personally known to thov Wellington; Justice' who . had made fclie' recoinmendatidjr.for three -months as required by law. Rottmann asked Mr. .Dixon to do. ..what, lie (could yf?.r him to en;ibie him'; .to join -the forces.; -v Mr--reminded him that he was a Geririaiir subject;';;bu.t' R6ttmanii-, replied, "I ;'wbtildh't. fight for the Jtaiser; fight for the British.". Nothing further was done' in the matter.-. Rottmanh is well, known to many people in Mangaweka, especially:, to Constable Essoin, to • whom he frequently reported himself in terms •of .his parole: Not r 'long ago he gave ' valuable assistance to the police. in arresting a German who had , became - do-•' ■-'merited-. Rottmann- states that lie is> the--.only. son of a well-known German who iholpis si, - very- • high-.-position in- the Get-. Department,-- and? that, his:,p;ar<ents placed: him on board -a.-.-'British .'.training ship, some years ago,

... Reporting- to the Agricultural Department on ■ t'ho fruit crops in Nelson at the end of December, Mr «T. -H., Thorp states:—Apples :• A good crop; fimifc superior to last season, being cleaner, and. freer from russeting and cracking.- Apricots: Early varieties -heavy, but rather small. Later varietties medium to good crop. -Cherries: A good crop; lieai-ly finished. , Gooseberries: A. good crop. . Nccarines: Me? dium to good. Peaches: _ Earlier varieties lighter than anticipated; later I'medium to good. Pears : Give. promise of a heavy crop, clean, and of good quality. : Plums: Medium crop; green T gages, light." Japanese; I^liuiis : : • Bettei' crop than anticipated;, considered to be up to -average. Raspberries: A record crop expected an Ngatimoti -district; others mediuni to good. Strawberries.; Poor ; red Spider : played- ha,voc ■with = some .plots. Tomatoes: Medium to good. Walnuts: Good crop, freer from spot than usual. .. . . v

Local bowlers will be- interested m a "case heard' in the Reefton Magistrate s. Court recently, in which tlie ,Reefton' Bowling Club claimed £4 4s from an < ex-member for two years' fees ■ alleged to be due. The secretary of the club Stated that defendant had given notice 'that lie wished to. discontinue .his membership. Since that time lie had not taken ipart in the blub games. At the time of his resignation defendant- was not in arrears. Witness looked upon the -verbal resignation, received from defendant as sufficient, for many others "had left til:? club without written notice," Names of members who liad resigned |were often left on the club's books, Hie jidea being that they might be induced to reconsider theilv decision and become •'active members once more < The only day that; lie remembered seeing defendant on the ground after his resignation was 011 the opening day. Defendant, in his evidence, admitted being on the | grounds 0n... the opening day. H'e attributed tlie; case to petty spite. He had not been on speaking terms, with 0110 of the members of the clubhand 1 rather than .-play, bowls him he tosignedfrom- the club .two seasons.-.ago. He (defendant) had written to tho d6nt of the club offering to meet, the committee with a, view'.- to settling the. matter. He had maintained- that no 'question could be settled that was not! settled morally right. He did not ob'jeefr to-defeat on any - field, of :sp.ort, and lie considered that there was no. need • to resort to , law in the present case. The presiding justices gave judgment for £2 2s, stating that the resignation should have been in writing. A rehearing will probably be applied for.

TSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSBSSS^^ Seven racing pigeons owned by Simpson Bros. were-. despatched to., Russell yesterday/ lAt Wellington >tKese -birds join th© Ghristchurch Club's birds, ana botii lots will bo liberated together, .The airline distance to Nelson is 500 odd miles, and to Ohristchurch 700 ; miles. Tlip latter being one ,of the. longest distance races ever attempted in ;New Zealand, Simpson Bros.' birds are being sent foi tlie purpose of helping the Ghristchurch birds down tlie North Island;, and to aid them to accomplish - thc\lqng. jpur-flcy.

During a thunderstorm on week (says- the; Clnistchurch Press.) the lightning struck a totara tree m the German Valley. Tho tree was split bv the lightning into pieces, some yie by 2 ft. Portions of tho troet wore found two chains from where the treo had stood piujyionsly. Tlio totara..- -was cut into 40 "piece*, besides a. number ; ot •small splintersi ■ - 1 ' ■ •

It is intimated that thg. bathnlg sheds oil the Maitai-are for the use . of, mombars of-the ladies' club only., subscription. is payable to M-ts Houuseilj

Says a writer in tile Sydney "Bulletin" : Something of a mild sensation, has been caused among Red wotoi'®. by a letter' from a couple of» soldiers, at' 'Rabattl, .who told' how,-.after jjaying;; 1 Is 6d for gome pyjamas in a local-store,-they found notes in the pocket* showing tliat the garments had been prepared by; Sydney women as ftec gift's".,to , tli® troops. Laboured explanations are being offered', but the ti'ue-onchas not yet - seen light. Here it is—bald-* and_un■beautiful. Somebody •at tile Rabuul end' lias, been; making a v bit. S'.: The -London correspondent,,of.. "Sydney Daily Telegraphy, tells, story of scouting—a, story he lieard, itrohfr. •the ili ps,of a ~1-eturned .W; WQ. 9th Lancer^—who : ftwore it was (rue. was out scouting before the Bi'itish advance in the. .Champagne; country, .and .got lost. . He had; not tlie slightest _ of his way back, to camp, ,aiid decided* to Iride in iv neighbouring wood till sonic-. ' thliifir. happenedi He iiotbepii lpp&r in tne when lie ran apwss.A trooper,'of -the Scots Grey&, similarly, lost. - They, elected to-hide..togjJtheiVifo^,• the Germans were all-aroun<J[ them. Soon a party of German infantry, was sqfcn tp„ be aprpoacliing tlieii'. WPOdthpy--;., ■cided that the Lancer should,-go forward and. -try to r.- bluff them intot surrondfciv while the Scots Grey mjm cohered t£eirt; .with the rifle fire.-The Germans—thifcty; there were—surrendered; at, once, sayirig, they were dying of hunger. Tjhe/Lanceij', collected then rifles,- < them all down a neighbouring "well} anjjhtl^.»tne two cayalrym, enmarched, tlie-. off. -After-a short .whiles G«wnan se& geant among. them, -who sppke, TinglisU,said toithe>Lancer : "Looklhew>,• dajyow know.,where; yoiv. are?" short answer,. ; "Oh, all right, ed the 'German. ' "You're steering straight for our lines. If you .lot jne lead this party, I will take you to tho Scots'. Greys' camp. In the quandary •the two; 'cavalrymen consented, and tno - German- was as: gpod.as.his. tw6 ■ I3nglishmen\were loudly-cheered by "their comrades on arrival. wit|h such a batch of prisoners— byptv, o men.; During one of the 'Germans,.' escaped- fjrO^iy-s^u^tQdyj. .aO® there, was gre&t'anxioly ..next 'morning j but it all came right ■that-N.C' ve P in ß "V*. German returned, bringing 1 - mno more hungry -Prussians with him ! ■: ,r