OMNIUM GATHERUM.

Otago Witness, Issue 3197, 23 June 1915, Page 4

OMNIUM GATHERUM.

During the month of May 8472 cases of apples were exported from Nelson to South America. A heavy hailstorm lasting some minutes occurred in Hastings and Napier shortly alter noon on the 14th. The snow which fell at Mcthvcn on the 13th covered the ground to a depth of sin, while at Highbank 3gln fell. . One or two patriotic settlers of the Wairarapa have intimated their intention of giving motor cars to be raffled in aid of the Wounded Soldiers’ Fund.

A sum of about £IOOO has been subscribed in the Wairarapa for the erection and maintenance of a Social Hall at Trentham Camp for the- Salvation Army. Mr L. Birks, assistant Government electrical engineer, reports that the consumption of current in Christchurch from the Government’s Lake Coleridge scheme is increasing by -l leaps and bounds.” Mr Edward Muncaster, who carried on business as a watchmaker in Nelson and Bknaean lor a great many years, was found dead in his shop in the latter town a few days ago. He was 76 years of a,go. The Levin Dairy Company will pay Is 6d per lb for butter fat for May, and 3d per lb additional for the March supply. The total' disbursements by the company on the 20th inst. will exceed £2600. The entries for the Ashburton winter show, which'" opened on the 18th, total 1167 as against 1012 in 1914, an increase of 155 exhibits. The poultry exhibition promises to bo -the best that has yet been held in Ashburton. One of the. loaet known possibilities of development in the Philippines is that of paper-making. .Thousands' of acres arc covered with a tall reed, known as runo, and experiments have shown that excellent paper can be made from those reeds. Mr John Black, ex-Mayor of Waimato,* has purchased Leatha.ni run, Marlborough, as a going concern (says the Waimato correspondent of the- Camaru Mail). The property consists of 24,500 acres of grazing land, and is situated about 16 miles from Blenheim. Mr C. M‘Lolland has been appointed to represent the Kaitangata Minors’ Union at a conference to be held for the purposes of considering the advisability of forming the various minors’ unions in Otago into one bi.f union, under the United Federation of Labour. The wife of the postmaster at Mangaweka hit upon a rather ingenious plan of raising a few pounds for the wounded New Zealand soldiers. She grew sweet peas, collected the seeds, of which she made up nice little packets, and then gave these to several school children to sell. The result is that over £7 has been netted During his recent tour of the southern portion of the Taumarunui electorate, the Prime Minister had'the pleasure of meeting the first settler in the dominion to take advantage of the land legislation introduced by the Government on assuming office in 1y1.2, and convert his leasehold into a freehold. This happened at Uruti. Arrangements are being made in 'the direction of havmg a monument erected near the entrance to the Patea River to commemorate the landing of the natives there. The local Chamber of Commerce has the matter in hand, and will probably be assisted in its efforts by a Maori committee, under the Rev. T. G. Hammond. In the course of a defended civil case at the Napier Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, 15th inst., before Or S. E. M'Carthy, S.M., his Worship stated (says the Hawke’s Bay Herald) that it seemed to him that most business people allowed customers to got into debt, and then expected the court to hold the, pistol at the head of the debtor in order to secure the money. The snowstorm on Sunday night extended ns far north as Lake Wakatipu (says the Mataura Ensign). The high hlls in die lakes district have received a thick coating of snow, but on the flats between Kingston and liumsdon the fall was only about 2in deep. From Lumsdon to Riversdale the fall was much heavier, and in the Balfour district enow lay to a depth of nearly 4in. Native land purchase operations are progressing in the Wairoa district, and at various points along* the coast north of Gisborne (states the Nc\v Zealand Herald’s correspondent). It is anticipated that sufficient areas will have been acquired, particularly iu the Wairoa district, to enable portions of the land to be subdivided and disposed of as ordinary Crown lands during the coming summer. Flaxmfilers are still exhibiting a laudable tendency to make their plants thoroughly up to date, and to maintain their swamps in good order. The chief flax grader reports in the Journal of Agriculture that considerable work is to bo done this winter in introducing up-to-date appliances and in making drainage more effective. A new mill is being erected at- Rangitano, between Palmerston North and Foxton, on the most approved principles. It will be of the four,, stripper capacity, and will cost about lb was proposed by Mr G. T. Stevens at the monthly meeting of the Education Board on Saturday (says the Mataura Ensign) that the board should keep a “black book” in which should be the names of teachers who applied for positions which were advertised, and then declined to accept them. Ho suggested that teachers

who did such a thing and could not give reasonable excuse for their action should bo penalised to the extent of the cost of advertising. It was mentioned that the board had adopted a similar practice some years ago, and it was agreed to renew it.