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Oamaru Mail, Volume XLIV, Issue 14705, 4 June 1920, Page 3

A motor car, returning from Timaru, ran into the back of a drag bringing . home a shooting party, on the North road last night, considerably damaging the front of the car. The parties d'iffe"regarding the. presence of lights, and more is likely to be heard of the matter. The popularity of skating was well exemplified last night, the floor of the Drill Half being crowded, while, many spectators were attracted by the brilliant fancy costumes, many of which were original. The rink band enlivened the proceedings. Various races and competitions resulted as follows :—Best ladies' costume, Mrs Meldrum; best gentleman's costume, Mr I. J. A. Robinson; most graceful lady skater, Miss D. Stichman: most graceful gentleman skater, "Mr F. Rivier; most improved lady skater. Miss M. Gleeuson. Half-mile race, F. Maynard, junr., 1; D. Patterson..2. Junior boys' race: ■). Mahan, 1. Couples' race: Miss D. Stichman and W. Maynard. Messrs G. Brown and M. Douglas were the judges. To-night a -half-mile race will be only one of many competitions. A proposal that netting should be permited on Wairarapa Lake was placed before tho Wellington Acclimatisation Society by Mr Whatman. The lake, lie said, contained a- very large quantity of fish, and it-was not being used for sporting: purposes or for any other purpose. He had known the lake for forty years and the fish had always been plentiful. Very little fishing was done, and it seemed a. -pity that so much good food should lie wasting. Much of the lake could not be netted owing to snags, but he thought thatan attempt should be made to establish a small industry which would provide employment for some returned soldiers. Tho chief fishery officer, Mr Ayuon. approved of the project. A net with a" very large mesh would bo used, so that only big fish could be taken. This would improve the fishing, and there would be no possibility of cleaning out the lake. Very little legitimate fishing was done in the Wairarapa rivers-,, but poaching was very prevalent indeed. Fish were shot, dynamited, tickled, speared and netted, but they were not caught with the rod. "It is very difficult to induce the young colonial to take up legitimate sport," said Mr Whatman. "Ho won't- waste his time." Mr Ayson was sure that the netting of big fish in Wairarapa Lake would not hfjrm the fishing in the rivers in any case. Big eels were becoming very plentiful in the Wairarapa. rivers. The fishing scheme, added Mr Whatman, would cover trout, eels, flounders, and whitebait. If successful, it would provide a supply of fish for the Wairarapa district. The South Canterbury golf championship tournament was won at Timaru yesterday by Mr E. Ziesler, 172, Mr Geo. Cuthbertson (Oamaru) once more being runner-up with 174. Other local golfers participated. The police have found, in tracing ownership of motor cars and motor cycles, that in many cases thansfers have been made several times without the notification prescribed. As this is a breach of the Motor Regulations Act they intend in future prosecuting every offender. The penality is one not exceeding £lO. Dr A. Smith-Morton has commenced practice in Oamaru, and may be consulted at his residence. Coquet street, his hours being from 9 till 10 a.m., 2 till 3 p.m., and 7 till 8 p.m. Lovely weather and a good attendance combined to make the closing game in the season's bowls most enjoyable on the Phoenix greens yesterday. There were many players present from Meadowbank. A progressive pairs tournament was played, in which Mr J. Reid was tho winning skip. Messrs G. L. Grenfell ai]d A. Waddell tied for tho winning leads, and divided the honors. Six tied for the second skips, and Mr Wansbone was successful in tho draw. "That the Wellington Association views with grave apprehension the rumors that are gaining ground that tho files of ex-soldiers are open to the police, and requests the Government to publicly reaffirm that these files are absolutely inviolate." was the tenor of a resolution adopted at the annual conference of the New Zealand Returned Soldiers' Association, but Mr R. .T. F. Aldrich (Wellington) said that his experience as secretary of the local Association was that the secrecy of the files was absolutely inviolate. The Wellington Association had only brought the remit forward in consequence of remarks that had been made, and in order that the Government might make a statement on the matter, j The popular idea that stony land is ! peculiarly suitable for apple-growing reiceivpd some confirmation ai. Saturday's i meeting of the Levin fruitgrowers (says the Levin Chronicle). Mr .T. C. Neill said he had recently visited at Greytown the 120-acre orchard of a big company. The trees were planted in a. boulder bed, no soil being visible at all, it having been washed away into the lower strata of stones since the trees were set out. . The flavor and color of these apples was magnificent, though they were not remarkable for size. One disadvantage was that apples that fell off the trees were always badly damaged by bruising oil the boulders. The priest of Villeneuve St. Georges, near Paris, is much concerned at the scantiness of attire affected by French brides. In his parish magazine he writes:, "I ouite understand the difficulties attaching to the high cost of living, and especially the increase in the prico of clqt.bing material. I sympathise keenly with girls "who can only afford' enough material for half a dress, leaving low neck and bare arms. I have therefore bought a perfectly good white woollen shawl. It will be at the disposal of all lightly-dressed •brides during the marriage ceremony in my church, which is very cold " A New Zealander. who arrived by the lonic, was one of the guests of honor at a bullfight in a town in Portugal quite lately. He says that in; all his travels he never saw such a combination of cleverness and cruelty as was enacted in the arena that day. The superb courage of the, men and the cruel torture of the animals surpassed anvthing he had ever seen. After the bullbaiting had finished, the party were asked to take part in a military tournament that required the most skilful horsemanship, feats of daring being performed that are unknown in other countries, being quite unnecessary to make a cavalryman. The Portuguese are the most expert horsemen he has ever seen ; they glory in taking the most' foolhardy risks.- The man who takes risks that are almost Uncanny and comes off successfully is looked upon • as a national hero, and is acclaimed everywhere. "Work short - -hours if - you ■ like. Short hours are best, I:-am sure, hut remember that you owe it to your country arid, to yourself to work hard during .those short hours and not to he idle during them.. I believe all returned soldiers wish to go down to posterity as goo# citizens, determined not to try and live on a reputation and at the expense of the rest of the community for the rest of their lives."—General | Sir W. R. Birdwood. ■.

> Oamaru footballers who journeyed to : Timaru yesterday iinet with litti© luck. • The weather was misty, and the ballgreasy. Old Boys A team was beaten . by Celtic A : 5 to nil ; Old Boys B was •. beaten by Timaru Old Boys A, 3 to nil; . Old Boys' .Juniors was beaten by Fairlie B, 1 to nil. ' The games were strenu- . ously contested and fairly fast. Owing- to his taxi being overhauled , Mr W. S. Sheppard, Hakataramea, will . be'unable to take fares for a period of six weeks. At Tattersall's to-morrow Mr Walter , Sumpter will conduct a special furni- , ture sale. He -will also offer for auction Mr Peter Connor's property, while a motor garage will be offered for sale for removal. A Chevrolet five-seater car in perfect order and newly overhauled, will be sold on account of a client. The Auckland correspondent of the Otago Daily Times telegraphed last night:—A decline in the prices of hides took place at the weekly sales in Auckland this week. The prices showed ah all-round decline of 3d a pound, in keep- i ing with the recent drop in Australia, j The prime cause of the downward ten- I dency was that a buyer for export to America had received instruction to stop buying, this being interpreted to mean that Americans were expecting lower priced, and so were standing off until matters righted .themselves. "Taking things all round," said one hide mer-. chant, in commenting on the fall, "when the whole position is summed up we must expert a drop in the prices for raw materials. A month or two ago ox hides were selling at 26d a pound and calfskins at 5s a pound, and it would be absurd to expect such ridiculously iiigh prices to continue, especially when the cattle market has eased. Present prices are 14d to 15d a pound for good ox hides, and lid and 11 Jd for cow hides. These are high prices when compared with pre-war quotations, and I do not think there is any need for alarm. . It is not at all likely that prices will fall to the pre-war level." . MACHINERY WANTED Lathes, Machine Tools, Pipes, Wood-working, Sawmilling, Boilers, Steam, Gas and Oil .Engines, Electric Plants, Rails, Wire Rope, Tractions, Portables, Haulers, Cranes, Crushers, Winches.— Manning Co., 3 Bedford Row, Christchurch.