OMNIUM GATHERUM.

Otago Witness, Issue 3274, 13 December 1916, Page 39

OMNIUM GATHERUM.

'J'ho championship of the Auckland Cheas Club has been won by Air J. {.;. (irierson, who tied with last year's winner (Mr Pickett), and beat him jii the play-off, «-iuning both games, A bankrupt hotelkceper. of Auckland, last week told his creditor?, that if it had not been for tho falling-cff in the ■ bar trade consequent on the war he would have been able to fulfil his engagements. £teps are beinij taken iii Wanganui :■• hold a conference of local bodies on rlu West Coast of the North Island to indues the Government to provide hydro-elettrica) power for that part of the dominion Thomas Baker, a married mar., a la-bourer,. aged 31 years, committed suicide at the New Plymouth Hospital last week He belonged to Ingle wood, and had been an inmate of the hospital with an incurable complaint, fiiuco August, 1915.

'ilxc Defence Department is determined fchnt young men under the ago of 20 years shall not enlist in New Zealaflfl foil £er-

-i" .«'w Xiealanfi ... vic c abroad. A Martinborouglr lad, ifrho recently enlisted, is being prosecuted «fcar making a false declaration.

A Masterton man received a surprise recently. He was accosted in tho street by an apparent stranger, who handed him. 2s. with the remark: " Thanks very much. I borrowed that from yoi; at a street corner in Wellington 12 years ago." It is anticipated that the strawberry crop in the Hawkts'a Bay district will be a very poor one this year, tho grub having attacked many of the plants. The grub is also" attacking strawberry planta in Masterton, causing considerable loss, Up to date some 500 eels have been caught in the eel drives held at the Opihi and Temuka Rivers, and these (says the Timaru Herald) are now in freezing chambers, and will be sent Homo for wounded soldiers in tho hospitals in England. On the 4th inst. (says the Timaru Herald) three brothers, residents of Kerrytown, were arrested on their father's farm for not reporting themselves for serviO'B when called up under section 35 of the Defence Act. They were taken to Christchnrchf Mr P. Robert, chairman of directors of the Whakaronga Dairy Company, is taking steps to summon a conference cf representatives of dairy companies in the Wellington and Taranaki provinces with & view to taking measures for the protection of the industry. The Timaru Herald reports that a frost was experienced at Oeraj.dine on the 30th ult., and many gardens suffered, tender Clants like marrows, beans, and tomatoes eing blackened where they were not well Erotected. A slight frost was also observed y early risers in Timaru.

Metal workers' assistants in Wellington recently applied to thqir employers, the ironmasters, for a 10 per cent, war bonus on tho minimum wages of Is 2d and Is id an, hour. This was at first declined, but ultimately was conceded after representations had been made through tho union.

Mr J. 0. Thomson, M.P., has been informed bv the Mines Department that tha Supplies Board of Advice has requested its experts to obtain a supply of canvns fo? gold-saving purposes for the miners at Orepuki. Miners have not. been able to procure this themselves owing: to the war.

Some 99 acres of Crown lands in fcha Auckland Land District, 5217 in the Tara/nalri district. 200 in the Hawke's Bay district, and 2718 acres of settlement lands in the Auckland Land District, have been proclaimed for disposal by way of sale or lease under special tenures to returned soldiers.

Sir Walter Buchanan has (says the Mastcrfori correspondent of the Dominion/ handed a cheque for x)2(Xj to the Wnvirarapa Patriotic Association, to be expended in trench comforts for the Wairarapa soldiero. The money is to be cabled to the Wairarapa representative of thv Y.M.O.A at flic front.

Mr Hugo Friedlander announced at Stavcley (says the Ashburton Guardian) that Mr A. M'Farlane, the oldest resident of the district, had given a handsome challenge shield as a prize for competition by the schools of Canterbury in agricultural science. The announcement was received with loud applause. Mr J. Longton, who has returned from a visit to Melbourne on behalf of the Fruitgrowers'' Federation of New Zealand, says that most of the rose gardens on the other side have been decimated by the . ravages of a new sort of blight, and he was advised to warn all rose buyers against importing roses or rose cuttings from the commonwealth There was some trouble in the camp at Trentham a day or two ago {says the New Zealand Times), due, it is stated, to the condition of the meat distributed at one of th« meals. The men resented very strongly the presence of more in tlio meat than had any right to be there, particularly as it was supposed to be perfectly fresh meat when issued to the cooks. The Lvttclton Times reports that at a meeting at Walthaiii on thc< 23th Ult the Mayor of Christchurch stated that for many years lie had had an electrical washer in his house. He had had it renewed about 18 months ago, and now found that it would work for eight hours on one unit, costing one penny. As a matter of fact, the family washing could be done in two hours. The head master of the Whangaraomona School has received word that his brother. Gunner J. Mills, has received in England a first-class badge for rapidity in putting together and getling ready for action a machine g-un. The quickest time in which this had been done was 35sec. but the Taranaki soldier broke the record by doing it in 25sec. A widow who owns a farm adjacent to Riverside, and who is having a new residence built thereon, was to be seen, together with her daughter, at an early hour on Saturday assisting to unload bricks from a railway truck on to a traction wagon (writes the Mataura Ensign'e correspondent). They were both putting in really good work and performing their task as well as men could do.

It is stated that legal proceedings will be taken against a local body near Christchurch for allowing- part of an old road to be quarried away. Other instances of the same kind have occurred in Canterbury, and the ease will be a test. one. In order to ascertain if the Supreme Court, can issue an injunction rest-raining" local bodies from interfering in this respect with public highway*.