MILTON

Otago Witness, Issue 2412, 24 May 1900, Page 32

MILTON

May 20. — Over £27 was collected in aid or | the Indian famine relief fund at the Presby- ■ teiian Church last Sundiy. This makes nesiriy j £70 subscribed in the distiict to the fund. j Cleaning Up. — In common with other contiea, j Milton has had a slight touch of the plague • scare. Once we pildcd ourselves that our little , town wa<3 a. model as far as cleanliness was ; concerned, and visitors were prone to remaik i that nowhere in their travels had they met . with a tidier or cleaner place. Now it appears 1 that it is nothing but a whited sepulchre, and the clean exterior is but the whitewash to take the eye off the filth within. At least, so says the Piogressive party iv the town, and it has - so far inoculated the Borough Council with j its views that that august body is beginning i to make a movement in the direction of reform, and as a preliminary to a general cleaning up has appointed a sanitary inspector, who has presented to the council a most impaitifl report, in which the insanitary spots of the town are dealt with in an unsparing manner. As a result the owners of the offending backyards have received official notice to effect desired improvements at once. Other items in the programme of reform are abattoirs, a proper drainage' system, " and n water .supply, j These, however, are only in the air, and should , the plague scarp abate before action is taken i there they are likely to remain. Patriotic—There was great excitement in Mil--ton on Friday morning ; on the receipt of the Hews of Mafeking' s relief. Popular enthusiasm in the matter manifested itself in a similar manner as elsewhere by raeaas of processions, bands, fireworks, flag-flying, whistle-blowing, j bell-ringing, and general uproar. A half-holi-day was observed in the aftp.rnoon, partly o;i account of the Winter show, but principally in honour of the auspicious occasion. On S^at..urday afternoon, when the news, was confirmed and. intimation was received of Botha's capture, the enthusiasm again broke out, and culminated in the evening in another procession and a display of fireworks. Winter Show. — The fourth annual Winter show of the Tokomairiro Farmers' Club was held on Friday afternoon and evening. Eclat was lent to the proceedings on account of the good news which had been received during the day, and the general excitement in consequenc?. The attendance in the afternoon was very fair, and in. the evening it reached a record point, the large Skating Rink being so uncomfortably crowded that it was a matter of difficulty to move about. The quality and quan-, tity of the exhibits were alike excellent. An immense turnip of the -Mammoth Purple Top variety, grown by Mr John Farquharson, and weighing 471b, attracted a lot of attention. A feature of the show was two bags of homegrown produce exhibited by Mr John Wight and Mr T. J. Grant, while a collection of fruit and dressed , poultry shown by Mr G-. W. Draper came in for a good deal of commendation. As a report of the show will probably appear elsewhere, it is unnecessary to enter into further details. Suffice it to say that from every, point of view the show was most successful, and the club has every reason to be satisfied with the result of its labours.