Miscellaneous.

North Otago Times, 22 May 1909, Page 3

Miscellaneous.

Apathy of the ratepayers in regard to municipal affairs is a prevailing complaint, but it does not apply to „ the white-haired old gentleman who sat in the front row of a Mayoral meeting at Dcronport, an Auckland suburb, recently. He was particularly anxious to know what the Council had done with 15s which it had collected on three collie dogs oi his, and when the chairman threatened to have him removed he threatened to remove the chairman. However, no extreme measures were resorted to on either side.

Occupiers of houses' should bear in mind that they are liable to a fine it they fail to notify, the Registrar

of Births of any birth octiurring in the house. This duty is east on' the occupier of the house, who,|of course, in some cases is not the parent, h boroughs, births should be notified within three days, outside boroughs three weeks is allowed.

a well-Known bouaiist, aiiti-nnlitar-lSt, UUU iilKOL'Ulu 01 a ClU^-COlliiClOUa

basis, uduivssi;U lour men ana ut ooy <it the weun's oialui on Sunday night (says the -\ew Zealand limcsj. tonus nu reicrral to ifllftliii; of "coiiscriptiomsis" to ijc iietd in the Town Hall next ihursimy night, and warned lus hearers oi luu awiul euiisequences that must ioliow the successiul launching of such a scheme. Tnen lie told how he ano other free men had determined to. resist the movement, and how they would attend Thursday's meeting and oppose any resolution in favor of compulsory training. "And I want you," said the class-conscious zealot tu the four men and a boy. "1 want you to turn up on Thursday night in your thousands !"

"Zuiuiel," commenting in the Aucklanu amr on the accural to a young lady wlio broKe her arm during a sui oi lancers at the nuwlim llospital ball, says: "Lancers as pelpetrated nowadays are simply an outrage on chiiisution, and an insult lo ine inUlugence and selt-respuci oi every man and woman who titKes part in mem. in tile nursery or at a gin-aiid-boy teu party, romping oi iliat sort may be tolerable, tint quita apurt from actual danger, the charging and plunging' unci scrummaging and mulj rugging that go on unchecked and unabashed under ihe delusive titie of dancing in our ballrooms toduy is simply a disgrace to the society that tolerates it and everybody who takes part in it. 1 trust that somebody during the coming session will move for the linal abolition of Lancers by the strong arm of the law,"

An instance oi canine sagacity is reported from Dargavillc. Two men mimed '1 odd and Liramger woru coming down the Wuiroa river from a shooting expedition. Grainger shot a pheasant from the bout, and Todd, in trying to get ashore to recover ihe bird, fell inio the water. There being a strong current running at the time, lie was in danger of being carried down stream. Mr Grainger's dog' seemed to grasp the situalion quicker

than anyone else on the boat, and

with a spring lie was into the water ( almost as soon as 31r Todd was precipitated into the stream. The faithful animal quickly grasped 31 r Todd's clothing in his teeth, uud made for the shore, which was successfully reached. Mr Todd cannot swim, apparently, and had it not been for the dog, says the Auckland Star, the result might have been serious. The dog is a fine specimen of a bull pointer, and can do almost anvihing but talk. ' " The seditious utterance for which 11. Holland, one of the Broken Hill strikers, was sentenced to two years' imprisonment., was as follows:' "We , read an account of Tom Man's arrest when in Sydney, and wc read of thousands of you men, •who call yourunionists, being -there, and you allowing Tom Mann to be taken to gaol, and not one of you attempted ■ to rescue him, and only 300 police in kjfcroken Hill, mid you call yourselves Unionists. You hav c the position in 'jour hands, geographically, now. How long would it take you to stop the supplies to the gaol, "to refuse to allow your daughters to '.vail on the police; stop supplies to Broken Hill mine and send Wade's criminals back. If you are going to put a little ginger into it, or, to be, plain spoken, -s*i dynamite. That is the' way to win. ■' Do you mean to say 300 police arc going to frighten you. Why, if they hit ydu with the baton., then hit them . with a baton. If they "hit you with a pick handle, hit them with a pick. If . they shoot at you with! a revolver and •if the'v raise a riTlo oil you, well, if you lmvo a Galling gitn, turn it on them." One of the ladies spoke at tta Dunedin meeting! concerning the servant girl problem,, said that mistresses ws?fl, not always what ih'ey

should bo, Slio had huard a We of a certain wifo.who, soiling out for church, set tho inaids to clean up'i (lie orchard, and of another it was narrated thai when tho servant girl fell through her bed ibo the floor it-be first night- /tMs mistress simply laughed at tho girl, distresses of that stamp could not expect to keep girls worth liaviilg.

A groater quantity of grain is being curried into Ashbnrton by steam and horse power at the present timqthait .there lias been for ovor a.month past. There is still o large quantity, of wheat to cart, says tho Guardian, and -whoa it is considered that grain has been carted into Ashburton for over two months, onq gains an idea of the enormous quantity that was produced last season in this county-

A sheaf of pptitijtois wps presented by tho West Const people to the Minister of Railways, for big grants for harbor improvements, railway Mauls, etc. Tho Minister was a bit discouraging in -lha matter of their requirements saying plainly that there would bo no chance this year for railway authorisation. Tho Government intended to stop tho tinkering policy of'spending! a |fowi pounds 'here 'and there, which did nobody any gtiod. Tim main lines mjist bo completed. "I may as well fell you al once," Mr Millar continued, "in my opinion them will be no Railways Authorisation Bill of any kind whatever this session. Some of tho railways under construction wrf will tnko to certain points and stop them"