The Oamaru Mail. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1908.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXV, Issue 10006, 24 November 1908, Page 2

The Oamaru Mail. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1908.

" We have arranged with the Press Association, authorities to have telegraphed to ik the results of the second ballot 1 polls to-night, and these will he displayed on the notice-board outside our office as they come to hand.

The two sheep used for the weightguessing competition in connection with the Agricultural and Pastoral Society's Show were killed at the Abattoirs. yesterday and weighed under the supervision of a committee of the Association, who duly certified the weight to be 19311b. The guesses ranged from 1181b to 1981b, and it is somewhat peculiar that the greatest experts were the furthest out. The prizewinners are as follows: —Mr John Lee, Kurow, 1941b; 'Mr J. Gow, Mosgiel, 1911b; Mr W. E. M'Gregor, Duntroon, 1981b. The next nearest guess was that of Mr J. Hopley, Waiareka, whose speculation was 1881b.

The English mail, via Wellington, Sydney, and Naples, which left- Oamaru on, Thursday, October 16th, arrived in London on the afternoon of November 22nd — due date.

The ordinary monthly meeting of the North School Committee was held in the school office last evening, there being present—Messrs James Mitchell (chair), T. Jones, R, Rusbatch, W. F. Meldrum, Pry or, Geo. Jones, James, and N. Meldrum (hon. sec). The minutes of the pre-, vious meeting were read and confirmed. The headmaster reported that the average attendance for the past month had : been 352, out of a roll number of 387. Mr A. J. Gra,ve wrote stating that, according to his usual custom he will again supply the dux medal for the school. It was decided! to send a. letter to Mr Grave tlianking him for his kind offer. Mr Pryor, who has been, a member of the committee for some time, sent in his resignation, he having accepted a remunerative position in the Farmers' Co-Opera-tive Association at Masterton. Mr Pryor's resignation was received with regret, several members testifying- to the enthusiastic manner in which Mr Pryor had always worked on the committee. Messrs N. Meldrum and James were appointed a visiting committee for the month.

At the Police Court this morning, before Messrs A. J. S. Headland and G. Brownlec, J.s'P., a young man was charged with assaulting a Chinaman, Mee Lee, and was fined 20s and ordered to pay 14s, the cost of a broken window.

At the Magistrate's Court this morning, Messrs A. J. S. Headland and G. Brownlee, J.'s.P., gave judgment by default in the following cases : —Norman Lane (Sir W. G. Grave) v. Kobert Johnston, claim £8 Is 3d and costs £1 3s 6d ; W. S. Wa;-d (Mr W. G. Grave) v. R. Johnston, < laim £3 10s and 10s costs; Mayor and others of the Borough of Oamaru v. W. H. Kear, claim for .balance of £6 7k Bd, unpaid rates, and costs 8s; Gresham and Watson (Mr Grave) v. Margaret Johnston, claim £1 7s; same v. Selina Kiely. claim £1 5s 6d and lis costs.

Although it is almost certain that the Hon. R. M'Nab's rejection at the 71011 will make it necessary for the Prime Minister to c ill a new Minister to the Cabinet, there is no fixed, limit to the period during which Mr M'Nab may still .lawfully exercise liis powers as Minister for Lands, Minister for Agriculture, Act-ing-Minister for Defence, etc. The position was vmt very clearly by an authority en constitution-1 law, who was consulted by a Dominion reporter, his statement being ■to the following effect: "It is not constitutionally necessary for a Minister, of the Grown to be a member of Parliament. In England, on several occasions, a man who has lost his seat has continued to hold his portfolio for several months. A number of instances are quoted by May. The Ministers are, technically speaking, appointed by the King, and as a. matter of constitutional rule, they are members of one of the Houses of Parliament; This rule is almost invariably followed, though it has been invaded within the last 50 years, by Ministers retaining office after defeat at the polls. It may be noted that between the dissolution of one Parliament and the return of the writs for the next there arc no members of- Parliament. That' is the case in New Zealand at the present moment, and all Ministers of the Crown arc technically in the same position as Mr M'Nab in this resoect, and are simply fulfilling their functions by virtue' of the royal warrant issued through his Excellency the ■ Governor. It is likely, however, that when the writ 6 are returned a few days hence the Hon. Mr M'Nab will tender his resignation to the Governor, unless, indeed; he decides to do so before. Until he does so; his right to exercise his powers as a Minis-ter-is in : no way affected. ' A' cable ■ receiv-ed from Sydney to-day announces that Mr Edwin Best died on Saturday after a long illness: Mr Best; who left Oamaru for New South Wales in que6t of health about 18 yeaTs ago,- and settled 1 , with his family at Sutherland, was for many years engaged on the Mail staff as canvasser and reporter. While in Oamaru he took, ah active interest in different organisations, and was for a-period secretary of the Poultry Association, and served as a volunteer in No. 1 Company. Mr Best, who was about 55 years of age, leaves a wife (the youngest daughter of j the late Mr George Jones) and five children.

- Colonel Davies,' G.B. Inspector General of the New Zealand Forces, -will be in Oamaru on Wednesday and Thursday of this week on a- -visit of inspection. For this purpose the whole of No.- 3 Battalion O.R.A r . will be mobilised in Oamaru on Thursday afternoon. The different country corps will make the journey to headquarters by train on the morning of the <lay of parade, and arrangements have bean made for the return journey in, the evening. The Alexandra, Rifles, the most distant section of the unit, will leave Alexandra by to-morrow morning's train, will be billeted in Dunedin to-morrow

■might, and will be brought on to Oamaru by Thursday mornings express train. Complete arrangements are being made for the inspection, and it is anticipated that the turn-out of volunteers will be a large one. On Wednesday Colonel Davies will inspect the local cadet battalions, and in the evening will address the officers and non-commissioned officers at the Drill Hall. The inspection of the North Otago Mounted Rifles will take place in Dunodin on Thursday, December • 3rd, for which centre they will 'leave Oamaru by train at 2.20 on the afternoon of the day previous. Amongst the Papanurs immigrants is one farmer, for Lyttelton, who brings a wife and family of twelve.- 'inc domestic servant booked for Port Chalmers has already under offer half-a-dozen situations, and another girl' has been persuaded to stop there. The majority of the immigrants go north by the Wimmera to-mor-row. Pastoralists on the Otago side ot the Waitaki River are, we understand, experiencing considerable difficulty in making headway with their shearing operations' this season, on account of a great scarcity of shearers. The reason for such a scarcity lies, no doubt; in the fact that under- the Canterbury award shearers on the other-side of the Waitaki' are paid at the-rate of 18s per ■ 100, which price has induced a large number who formerly found positions in the Otago sheds to confine their attention wholly to Canterbury. In connection with the rumors that the lieensses of houses an. those • portions of licensed districts which/have been included hi-electoral districts in which no-license prevailed, and which are, therefore, renuired to close, intend to dispute the legality of compelling them to close, the following extract from the Act bearing upon the question (the Licensing Act) will be interesting :—'Tf when the tirst licensing noil is to be taken in the new district the grant of licenses is prohibited throughout- an area thereof containing more than half the population of the. district, the poll shall be taken under section thirty-eight hereof, as if no licenses existed in the district: provided that- if the result of 'iiich poll is that licenses he not restored in the district, then, notwithstanding such result, every license of any description existing at the time of the taking of the poll shall, subject to the provisions of this Act relating to forfeiture for breaches of the law, continue in force until the expiration of the current term of such license, and shall then lapse. In any other case, the first such poll shall be taken as if the grant of licenses were not prohibited in any part of the new district." This provides for -the case of a district in which

a small portion of a no-license district has been included. So that the law cuts both ways. It will be seen that there is nothing in the objection that the issue ''Restoration" should not have been applied to the existing licenses. The law specifically provides for this to be done. Section 38, mentioned above, provides that the voting shall be on the issue "Restoration," which will have the same effect on the houses existing in the minor part of a new district as voting on "No-license" would have. We have received from Messrs Gordon and Goteh, Dunedin, a booklet of 21 pages, entitled "It will Stand: The Christ of the Gross," by David Wishart. The booklet is principally a criticism of lit- W. Anderson's recently-published pamphlet, and deals with the arguments held forth against the Rev. GibsonSmith's much-discussed book. It is beyond our province to fully review the booklet sent to us, but those interested may obtain copies thereof at the booksellers.

The Dunedin Star says :—The people of the Dominion, will hear with extreme satisfaction that although the Hon. W. P. Reeves will in a 'few weeks vacate the position he has so long and honorably filled, his services, and unique experience will still be at the disposal of the Government. He has been offered and accepted the uosition of financial adviser to the Dominion at a salary, we believe, of £4OO per annum, and will be to the High Commissioner and the Government what the Crown agents were to the colonies in the early days of responsible government. Being ;t persona grata to the authorities of Thread - needlo street and to those who speak with authority in places -where the captains of finance congregate most, Mr Reeves will always be able to safely guide tho Government in matters of haute finance. We also understand that the Hon. W. Hall-Jones, on assuming !:i* new position, will have the advantage of being assisted by one of the ablest and most popular members of the Dominfon's Civil Service. No matter how delicate the stomach, Steam's Wine always agree with the patient. Thus it can be used as a tonic when others would be useless. It is a great restorative. 29

Trunks of Reinforced Strength.—lf you are buying a steel trunk you would not get one that would ask a porter for pity: you want a trunk as strong as a girder, a defiant-looking, by-your-leave sort of thing, with ridges and bands and protectedl corners that are a menace to careless handlers, and that command respect rather than pity. Take a look at the Wolverhampton trunks stocked at Penrose's. They are not bruit for beauty, but for service ; for dropping into ships' holds or stacking in railway vans. These trunks are protected with triangle steel tunnels running along the whole length of the lid, a partial false top. They are also protected around the sides and*the ends. They are capacious and of reinforced strength". That's the Wolverhampton trunk which you should buy if you want guarantee for your personal effects when travelling. The prices are—26-inch 14s 6d. 28-inch "l 7s 6d, 30-inch 19s 6d. Steel hat boxes at 6s 6d and 7s 6d: at Penrose's Drapery Establishment. White Sale still in full swing. Some remarkable bets were made during the recent Presidential election. A Chicago policeman agreed on his side that he would have certain teeth removed from his upper jaw if Mr Roosevelt were elected, while his opponent was to be penalised by wearing a golden ring through his nose if he lost. A shipwright of Maine had to drink sea-water with his meals for two days if Mr Parker was elected, while the other man had to appear in public in his wife's clothes if Mr Roosevelt won. At- Ilion there was a. terrible bet made. The supporter of Mr Parker agreed that if his man were beaten ho would live in a pigsty for ,i week: while the man who believed most in Mr' Roosevelt undertook to be covered with oil and ashes, and in that state to stand in tfn open field wliile his opponent threw rotten apples -at him for an hour or until such time as he was thoroughly tired and could throw no more. Quite a common kind of wager is that in which the loser agrees to go on a long journey with, the winner, the former wheeling the latter in a wheelbarrow all the way. In faithful fulfilment of such, a contract one man duly wheeled another from New York to San Francisco after the last election. There are wagers which we should, describe as being of a saner type which are still more wonderful. Thus on the eve of the last election two merchants met in a Xew York hotel and began to discuss ths forthcoming contest. As they held' opposite views, the. argument'- became "heated, and eventually one of the men said, -'Look here, I will bet you my sugar refinery, which is worth sixty-two thousand, pounds a-year, against your miserable cloth-shop, and I don't car© whether you are making money out of it or not. I am certain that I won't lose, so it doesn't matter; Roosevelt can't lose.' And let .it be said that this offer was accepted, the bet was made and the terms were drawn up in lega l ! form, and it was mentioned in the document that the cloth business was worth a matter of one thousand two hundred pounds a year. Dr Andrew Wilson says : Cereals from seeds grown in Central Europe ripen earlier when cultivated nearer the Arctic Circle. If such, seeds, produced after a lapse of a year or two, be grown in Central Europe, they will ripen even twenty-five days eariier than seeds raised ill succession in their original area. Why, inquires Professor Hartzog, should not the effect on the germ-cells of the seed bo the- same that has been so beneficial to the plant itself? Clearly, the environment has affected 'both 'body-plasm and germ-plasm, and it is not Outside the scope of the) argument • to assume that it - is the altered'- habitat 'which has wrought out the change'on the bodv-sub-stance, and through it affected the reproductive energies of the plants. After all. there must- be taken into account a- rensonable probability, in alb biological questions a probability which is founded on the facts which life exhibits. It is, to say the least, much more reasonable, hiving regard to the experience of naturalists, to assume that environment means much in the history of a living being, and that, changes 'induced thereby should not be without effect on the offspring. After having been out of the hands of the Stewart family for more than a couple of centuries) Castle Stalcairc (better known as Castle Stalker) has been acquired by a member of the clan to '

which it originally belonged. -Travellers in the Western Highlands, in sailing up Loch Linnhe, between Oban and Ballachulish, generally havo their attention attracted by the picturesque ruin which stands on'a' small island at the mouth of Loch Laich, at the foot of Strathnpphi. Tha island is close to the Appin shore, and' for long it- was a subject of lamentation that it and its castle should belong to hereditary enemies of the Stewarts of Appin—the Campbells. The acquisition of it bv the latter was the result of an after-dimier' bargain Duncan Stewart (seventh), of Appin, agreeing to give it to the then Laird of Airds in exchange for an eight-oar wherry. This was in the seventeenth century, and from then till now the castle has been in the hands of the owners of the Airds estates—the Campbells and their successors. Hut it has now been purchased from Colonel Maefie of Airds bv a Stewart of Appin—Mr Charles Stewart of Achara. Mr Stewart, who is a well-known Argyllshire "laird, contested the county in the Unionist interest at a bye-election in 1903. Castle Stalcaire is believed to have been built originally about 1500. It was owned by Sir John Stewart, of Appin, who married a daughter of Macdougall of Lorn. About the end of the fifteenth century it was robuilt or altered by Duncan Stewart (second) of Appin for tho purpose of being used as a hunting lodge hy James IV. of Scotland. It was occupied by James on various occasions during those diplomatic visits to the Highlands, which he made ostensibly for the purpose of indulging in the chase, but still more with a view of influencing the Highland chiefs and the fierce and turbulent tribes they governed—a policy which he pursued with much success. For about a, couple of centuries afterward the castle continued to be a stronghold of the Stewarts of Appin. Mr GEO. ROBINSON, Dental Surgeon, may be consulted at-his residence, EDEN STREET (opposite Wesley Church). 936 Sores, Burns, Ulcers, speedily cured with "Bed Cross" Ointment. Soothes and heals Is 6d all dealers. Eczema, Varicose, Ulcers, all Skin Eruptions disappear after using "Red Cross" Ointment. Is 6d chemists and grocers. FOR THE OLD COUNTRY.

Do you wish to send a Christmas or New Year memento or parcel to any relative or friend cither in the Home Country or some other country abroad. I? 60, you will find the N.Z. Express Co.'s system the cheapest, best, quickest, and surest method. The company -will call for your package and will deliver it to any address. Reduced tariff. Office : Wear street. 267

Mr S. J. Davys, dentist, will visit Kurow next Thursday, 26th instant, and may be consulted at Spiers' Hotel. Hours, 10 to 4. 242

Mr J. Swindley, surgeon dentist, will visit Hampden on Thursday next, and may be consulted at Mrs Marshall's Hotel. 266

MOTHERS, READ THIS. The best of all cures for coughs, colds, and croup Tonking's Linseed Emulsion. 489