SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3193, 26 May 1915, Page 48

SOUTHLAND NEWS NOTES.

(From Our Own Correspondent.) INVERCARGILL, May 22.

The past week has been one ol the busiest in the history of Invercargill, the Winter Show and Industrial Exhibition having been made the occasion for a holiday season, attracting many thousands of persons into town. The show opened on Tuesday in the new Defence Hall, tins is a huge building, but it was too small to house both show and exhibition and dairy utensils, fanning implements, etc., and machinery had to bo shown in another building near by. The Agricultural and Pastoral Show was regarded as the biggest ever held in Southland, there being huge cheese exhibits and the full exhibit of farm produce, etc., belonging to the Agricultural Department. It was, however, more than a more bare exhibit of farm produce, but was widely educative, embracing samples of all kinds of grasses, grains, and weeds, the presentation of food grains being simply splendid. Huge printed tables gave .the crops of various breeds of cows. This was one of main attractions of the show, and the one where the man of inquiring mind lingered longest. The Industrial Exhibition was a good advertisement for Southland manufacturers and retailers, woodware, furniture, flax manufactures, boots, clothing, foodstuffs, electrical apparatus, etc., being freely represented and well staged. From Tuesday morning right up till Friday night the show and exhibition attracted a constant stream of visitors, the total attendance being far in excess of anything previously experienced here, the gate takings amounting to £470. Wednesday (People’s Day) produced £194. The total attendance is estimated at 13,500. Everything was in favour of a great success for the Carnival Week. The attractions were many, and tho whole project was enthusiastically supported and tho weather was splendid. Bad weather was predicted for the beginning of the week, but it held off till' Saturday morning. In addition to tho show and exhibition there was' a grand fireworks display on tho Show Ground on Thursday night, and various amusements on Friday* A striking instance of generosity in connection with the show was ihe action of Mr James Macalistcr in selling the whole of his exhibit to visiting farmers and presenting the proceeds, amounting to £lB6 10s, to tho Patriotic Fund.

On |Friday morning the Invercargill commercial travellers made a good deal of fun. and collected a lot of coin for the Patriotic Funds. Attired in all sorts of fantastic disguises, they occupied a big lorry, which was drawn from point to point along the streets, an entertainment being given on the lines of a nigger minstrel show, and on the Show Ground in the afternoon they again did good service in connection with the “mock court,” and again at the theatre in the evening. The afternoon demonstration at the show grounds consisted of bayonet fighting and jiu-jitsu by about 150 Senior Cadets, trained by Captain M'Laglan. of the Indian army, wrestling on horseback, catching greasy pigs, buckjumping. sinsrle sticks, rifle and bayonet v. sword, a fire brigades’ competition, and an exhibition cf swordsmanship by Captain M'Laglan. who cut a sheen in two at one stroke. , There were also sawing and chopping and tug-of-war competitions. The attendance was very large, and appeared to be about equal to that at the last Summer Show. The entertainment m the theatre in the evening began at 7.45 and lasted till nearly 11. The '’programme was very varied, and the attendance was all that the building would hold. Tho most novel features were bayonet fighting by some of Cantain 31‘Laglon’s pupils, various songs and marches by Territorials and by groups of young ladics_ representing the Allied countries. Captain M'Laglan gave a short ketnrette on jiu-jitsu, and demonstrated some of the grins on Mr Jenkins, an exponent -Pf Sandow’s physical training, who was repeatedly thrown on the mat with little apparent effort, and at last rendered insensible without violence and restored to consciousness. Two draught horses were then led on to the stn?ro and placed tail to tail, and Captain M'Laglan took his stand between thorn and held them together by putting his arms through armlets attached to their trace's. The horses were then made to pull against each other, and dragged the captain all over the stage without, however, breaking his hold. A most successful raid was made on the pockets on behalf of the Patriotic Funds. * Mrs Dallas sang “ Pay! Pay! Pav !!!” to the accompaniment of a shower of coins from all parts of the house, £l6 being then obtained. Mr W. D. Plunt then auctioned a Union Jack, which started at £lO, was quickly bid up to £SO, at which figure it was knocked down to Mr D. Macdonald, of Edcndale. Thereafter Mr Hunt’s appeals extorted from the audience in quick succession five gifts of £2O each, five of £lO, five of £5, and five of £l. The Mock Court, which had proved a great success at the Show Ground, was again sot up, and the constables, prowling into the audience, arrested quite a number of citizens on various pretexts, and these had the pleasure of further augmenting the funds by 7s 6d and 32s 6d costs. From every point .of view the 'day’s proceedings were extremely satisfactory, and the proceeds will total quite £IOOO. Mr A. W. Rodger, of Birchwoocl, who stood for Parliament for Wallace in the Government interest at last election, was banqueted by his political friends in the Riverton Town Ha 11 on Friday evening. There was a good attendance, and Dr Trotter presided. were received from the Prime Minister and other notables, but the members for Mataura, Tuapeka, and Chit ha wore present, as were representatives of tho Wallace Countv Council. The various speeches indicated that Mr Rodger is greatly esteemed as a friend and neighbour, a progressive fanner, and a politician, and were backed up by . the tangible gift of a purse of sovereigns, part of winch Mr Rod° - er nronoses to devote to the bonent of Wallace hoys who are at the front. For tho first time in its history the Island Dairy Association held its annual meeting in ‘ Invercargill this year, there being a very large attendance of factory representatives. A motion was passed affirming tho desirability of having a dairy school in Southland, hut a motion to have suppliers paid on the basis of curd test was negatived. Tho fact that the choose from a' number of factories suffered from the carelessness of one or two suppliers m each case was admitted; but if the cheesemaker had to bear the onus of fixing a reduced price for had milk his position would be made disagreeable, while if a Government officer had to be employed tho cost, even if each man could attend to several factories, would be a tax on tho

factory. It was decided to ask all factories to put their insurance through the association, so that it could get the commission tin the premiums paid, and that the accumulated commission should bo set aside as the nucleus of an insurance fund. The question of cool storage at Bluff was again discussed, and it was decided to advise the Bluff Harbour Board that the association were now prepared to go on with the matter of building a store at Bluff. Mr T. VV. Foster, chairman of directors of the Owaro Hairy Factory Company, was elected chairman of the association for the next year.