Untitled

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11856, 20 May 1909, Page 4

Tho. Fire Brigade meet(S to-morrow night, hi lieu' of. Monday. ' , ■ Lottors of naturalisation have been iseue'd to Carl Kuklmann,' bushmun, of Gisbonie; ' tGeorge Brpbko Garter, formerly of Gfsborne, fiaV'been uppoihtbtt an*t meat inspector. : • „,,',,''■>, Mr Reakesj 1 Chief Gov^r'n^'eiit; Veterinarian, will be visiting .''Gi^orW. on" Saturday ,v 'and will attend at the Sfjroitgfi Gouncil''.at ;11 turn, ta-glw couaicilfom-' • kri ' op^btfMnity to discuss the querttjbn of naattblrs .with hiiti. : An^nfluririjini giiifte was played yesterday iarternpoh m. "obhnection %v itli the Turangaiju£ ; BpwJinjj: Club's Bennett Cup competition, ft. Cblley (16) beating J. J. Martin (5). Uolley gained .' tjie advantage from the start, and won very easily. Martin, who was level, with B. Hird for the cup,' has now to meet C. F. Lewis, and should, he wintluifc: game, .will have to play, the final with Ilird. In the event of Martin, being beaten by Lewis, Hird' wins the cup, the competition being finished; •, • ( >" ■ ' • Mr H. ilill^;li)ghectpr : of Schools, and the^diioi 1 of the' Napier ; /iVsl^gftiph, ar4 having a warm ; cohteet , in tjxat jpurnal. One sentence m Mr HjU's letter states: "The thirft point m your leader about using one's- influence m the return of special members •'..■; to ; the Education Board should be left to the membersf themselves. A more libellous statement could not be made. In the whole of my life, neither directly nor indirectly, have L ever asked' the membev of a cdnimitt*© nbout voting for n, member or for a candidate of an Education Board, ai^d ybt you dare- to make such am dicier to carry out yoiir uiimanly tactu:s,,c, Further I call upon you to fiubstitttiiiiatil your statement of oAy ■injustice ever done by me towa^'df the' teachers of Hawke's 'Bay. Wor^s fail me " m; ejtpi'e^sf hg my detestation of I your abominable &talen\en,ts, and I ask I you again to give one single instance where n teacher lias, not beJen v treated humanely and cpnsiderately in/this district." In the course of a sh«irp "reply the editor states : "Mr Hill's letter is convincing on one point. He is uhquestionabVy a. past master m the art of vijiiperativfl abnsel Evidentf.y, ho'enn be very terrible when he ia roused. But his anger is neither dignified nor academic." ; , •

Tho third dance m connection with the Maritana Assembly will be held m Whinray's Hall this evening. / The sacred concert, to have been held on Sunday night tinder the auspices of the Women's 'Guild', has been postponed. Messrs T. R. Lees, F. Faram, VT. Preston, A. Clements, and W. Peryer have been appointed a Domain Board to control the new domain at Te Ami settlement. A general holiday will be observed' m Gisborne on Monday (Empire Day). Only the ordinary Thursday half-holiday will be observed on Juno 3 (Prince of Wales' Birthday). Messrs Malcolm andi Co advertise a special sale of furniture and effects for Saturday, at 2 p.m., being the property of a gentleman who is' giving up housekeeping. The usual produce sale take^ place at 11 a.m. "" At a meeting of the Kaiti-City F/C. last evening, the election of officers for' the third fifteen was the principal business. -'Mr G. Dennett was elected captain, Mr R. Smith vice-captain, and Messrs Dennett, Smith, and Walters a selection committee* . • ■ ,; A Forty-Mile Bush dairy farmer informed, a representative of, the .^aiyarapa Age that at the present time, although he was milking / 10 f per cent. less cows than at this time last year, his herd was yielding 20; per cent, more milk. Ho attributed this to the exceptionally gbod 'autumn' season experienced this year .i n the Bush district./ ! The '. Gisborae-MptU' railway returns show 1 that the- revenue/ for the four weekly period ■ending March 31, was £1201, the expenditure being only £756, a profit of £4^5 for the month. The receiptsi wefe made up by the carriage of 6927 passengers, (an increase of 1898 for the corresponding period of 1909), 316 parcels (increase of 101), 13,018 sheep (ihereasei 12,724), 5 drays, 1849 tons goods (increase 102 Btpns). The work of constructing the children's/creche at the corner' of Grey and Kahutia s^trepts 7 has been commenced. The Women's 1 Guild * will be pleased to receive- help towards the' furnishing of thb building. Some assistance is already being received m this wayy but further help is needed, and it is hoped ageiierous; • response will be made m furtherance of the good Work' undertaken by the Guild. "•••• ;■ : /About thirty members of the New Plymouth Ciub, with Ithe . Mayor, of JWew Plymouth (president of the, Club) acting as chairman, spent a very interesting evening, when. a debate was held ;ori the (question "Was Sir. Joseph Ward's actiori m offering a Dreadnought to the, Mothei Country a wise v and proper one ?*' It was decided to hold ancfthet oh the 25tli inst.,> when the. subject ..... will be '■ Whether ' bl\ not" ,it is m the best interests of the 'community that. Rugbj football^ as ' a national pastime, shoulc bo ; fostered." v '■''" '. ' ' ■ A fatal accident occurred last week t.m the Murwilfumbah to T"weed Heads road at Bilambil (NiS.W.^ whereby the Rev. McWatt Allen, Presbyterian in'"isteiv at Twreesd HerfJd^s,- lost his life. No ,&n« witnessed 'the accident; But it is sup po»?d tliat a bolt, which wat> 'fount 'on the roadj became -loose, and dropj>evj oil! of the s'wihglebar, which fell- to' the horse's feet, causing -it to bolt. Th« body was discovered on the roadj^de, Deceased had only been at Twoed Hui'li for a few nibntlis, and w.s gvtHtly <-s teemed. He was upwards of £0 yenn of age, and leaves a widow and family, By the tragic death of Mr G. W W. Lightband; who was one: of the vie tims of the canoe fatality, at Tahuna the ranks of New Zealand's early, pion eers Baye been sadly depleted, states th< Nelson ■; jColonist,- His fate was, unfbr tunately, shared by his grand-nephew; The late Mr, Lightband was born ; h Worcester art 1834, and arrived m Nel soh m 1842. In 1851 he 'left for tju Victorian goldfields, and after many ad ventures returned to NelsbnV Aboul 1861 Mr ; Lightband and some othei gehtletneri; took a number of prominent Maoris .to England. During the/ , visit a comriinnd interview was given ,t& them by the late, Queen Victoria. Mr tight:band iind Mrs' Ligktfrand recently' cTolpbratpd their golden wedding by visiting relatives m various parts of Npw Zea* land. ? ' News has been received of the death m England of Captain William Scotland, for many years a master m the Shaw^ Sayill and Albion Company's service. Ho was born at Kircaldnio, Perthshire, Scotland, and was apprenticed tp a Wes/t Indian • trader when /thirteen years ol age. Many years w"ere passed m responsible 'jposititms with Londqn shipping fiims .;... Captain , Scotland first.- 1 coming New "Zeyand m 1873. •He Avds m command ,<of the <New Zealand Shipping Coj£ pany's Raiigatira for two years, and! in \ 1876 "entered the service of the. Shaw] SavHl\ auCAlbionX Company. ' He ; successfully commanded the G/lenora^ Cruisadeiv and Westland for the conY pAny, ( and later superintended the builds ing of some of their steamers. His last command was the Kumara, his retire mpnt from the sea occurring about three years ago. • l Judgment by default was granted at the Magistrate's Court.this. morning' by Air W. A. Button. S.M^ m- the ioflowj ing civil cases: Jolm 'l*>\vnlcy (Mr. % Alston Coloman) v. John fcjomerveli balance of qlflim , £}ovl4s' lOd, costs £1 14a 6d ; Samuel Deighton . Swainsbn (Ms L, T. Bulriard), v. OfcHn Alley'; £4o tfh J d costs £4 2s;, Benjamin Taylor. (M/r i£ T. Barnard) v. Dennis CVDwyefj" £45 9s 9d, costs £3 5s 6d; Joseph Price (Mr W.v'L. Rees) v. Sonny .Sidney (by can serit), £26 3s 2d, : costs £3 l4s ; George Eivelyn Hindmarsh , (Mr yj. Blah-) v. Reginald Peacliy Goodchap, £3 16s, costa 18« ; Dugald . Ferguson '... McKenzie and Finlay Ferjgusftn McKenzie' (Mr F. W. Nolan) v. Joseph Nor6roM, £115, costs £5 17»j ,6d ;' James Innes (^lr *J. Blair) v, Richard Clifton, £2 55,, costs ss. In the judgment summons ct\£e" of Norman File (Mi\ Jj Blair) v. Ghas. W. Moore, an order was made for the, immediate payment of £5 2s, m deiault five days' imprisonment; an order • \vi\6 als» made m the case of William Anj drew Martin (Air R. U. Bur ke) v. Sidney Major Shatid, for the immediate paj'mentof £32 9s, ?n default 30 days' inrpr isonment ; also m the case- of Mary Emma Rogers (Mr F. W. Nolan), V/ Arthur George Coleman . (Mr Li T. Burnard), by consentj for £14 16s/ m default fifteen i days' ' imprisonment. Li the, case of James Kelso (Mr G. Stock) v. Henry Cheetham Jackson and Te Kani Pere (Mr W> L. Rees) solicitor was allowed 10s 6d appearance fee. In the^case of Clayton and^Nisbett (Mr J. Blair} v.; Hau Kairej an oVdet was made 'for the iriimediate pavflient of £9 12s lOd, m default 10 days' imprisonment. -■ . ;' _ .I:'--'- v" An action for the recovery of £13 9s 4 d m respect ojf the sale of a horse was the of a „ civil case at the Magistrate'^ Cc^nrt' , this 'rhoniiflg^- when John George Jjblfnfetbne (Mr 'G. Stock) proceeded againsV'Johri Foster (Mr J. BlaiiO, £8 10s having Been pai(f.&ip .Coui't. Hauitiff deposed thnt 18 v :rt*bntp ago he .lent a h^rle -to dtefendiint', informing him tha'tV hB could sell .il r if he liked. for £9 10s, on. 'condition that if he obtained anytjiing over that amount he could retain fil for his trouble.. He subsequently ascertained the horse hod' been ; sold to diie Miller for £13, b\it defendant maintained it . had not been sold; , (Defendant's counsel admitted the transaction). By Mr Blair : He said he would not mind losing £1 on it, but did tell defendant he ' could keep all. over £9 10s. He owed defendant some nioney for carting. Defendant Foster, formerly , livery stablekeeper at Puha, deposed 'that plaintiff complained he liad been "had" over the horse m question, and he (defendant) undertook to sell the animal fbv Kirn, plaintiff saying he would be satisfied to get £8 lbs and lose, a £1 on the bargain. He had sold two horses for -plaintiff previously 6n similar -/terms'.- When he sol 4 the horso for. £13 he did' not pay plaintiff because the latter owed him £8 14s for carting. By Mr Stock : He rendered an account six or seven months ago.- He did not deny having sold the horse after it had' actually been sold. His Worship remarked that the evidence was very' conflicting, but plaintiff's memory, he thought, was defectivey and defendant.;!! version av.i^ the more likely one of the two.' rJutliKment would lie for the amount paid into Court £8 10s, without .Costs'.'; ■:'«:'■' '."

Joseph Norcross, butch.er> has filed a petition m bankruptcy. , '. ' At/ last a start is to be made on tho v construction of the new Government House on its commanding site at Mbuht View, Wellington. The preliminary work is to" be put m hand at once, instructions to that effect being issued <Jn Saturday. ■ ' ; '*'.'. Mr T. K. Donne will be entertained, on the 25th inst. at dinner by the merchants of Wellington, and on the 28th he takes his departure by the Moeraki from Wellington for By driey, en rbute for London^ -to take up hia duties' in the High Commissioner'e offiQe. •... ..-.^ Mayoress's Dreadnought Fund : Prtfviosuly acknowledged £5 Is 7d, Tokb"maiu Bay schoolgirls 3,5, WhatatUttt schoolgirls 8s 6d, Mrs Balfour QgilVys Private College £1 8s 6d. ->li» Aylni^r'a Private School 5s Bd, Mrs Nolan's, list l&s 6d, Makaraka schoolgirls 9s 2d'i Mftkat'iika' ladjes £1 4s, Gisbornb Bfotrict schoolgirls £3, Mrs ErickßOh '£1, total ms 18s lid. '" , : > . ;. A third-class passenger who arrived by the Tainui on Saturday from London had an encounter with -j'a- geiidtttftlie Vat Teneriff e. The gentleman with the sabre inflicted! a s.uperficial wound on the Visitor's arm as a sottyenir of the .occasion. The same passenger 'played tip" at Caper town and Hobart, and at the latter port made things so lively that lie arid vhis, combatant, a fellow traveller, were plac : ' ed m irons. . ,'r " ■ - Mr W. McLean, of Waioeka;. T states that a considerable area of the newlysettled land, m the upper Waio^ka 4 . trict has been sown m grass and turnips^ this season. The young grass no\y ;.i8 ' " coming on well, and judging. by present appearances, the turnip' crops wiljU.b'e' good. Mr McLean left upotiki for Gteborhe on Wednesday, and expects to return t'p his farm m about a fortmgttt^s time "with a flock of 1000 sheep.— Opotijsi Guardian. >■ - " " At the sittings of the Supreme Court m Timaru next month a ciVil .suit- is to be heard, m which. George SBlbie.t>f Claremont, farmer, ■ is claiming >-, £1000 damages from Aruthur Jamee Manchester, of Waimate, and John Shaw .ftniJ Oecil Shaw, of Timaru, jointly or sepebrtttely, for the death of his daughter. Jessie Bl izabetli Selbie.^ \ The defendant Cfecil Shaw was driving \x^io Timaru. from the Agricultiural and Pabtoral Show oh. October 28 last, and a collision occu^rM between his gig and the trap m whiblji the plaintiff and his daughter vwero acjat; cd.- Miss Selbie -wasitbiown out ahd run over by .Manchester'a motor ■car, re» beivkig injuries which led to her death on October 31. John Shaw is madfe a defendant to the action as the father' of the defendant Cecil Shaw, iwhooivas at the tinie m his employ; The Whakatane paper 6tates >% .- ; - << A > little while ago we drew attention to the fact that a change had tdketi place ih the / volcanic action of j_Whit|{ taland. Hitlierto "the island had been^continually emitting dense masses bf vapottr^dna steam. Within the last few weefes, Kb^vever/ great columns of blttck sincike •ha^d been shooting tip, and masters of .steamers m the vicinity , of ttt<& island state that they have Been Sheets of flame mingled with thd srioke. TJbiig cliunge of action seems to indicate that some great change has taken placfe m the subterranean depths of tlie civiter. Y-es-. terday, especially, the yplcano was exceedingly active, every Jfew minutes a great column of black smoke would arisen ahd be borhe away by cijhe AVinfl, while the island itself seemed to be wrapped m a thick mantle of haiie. In view: tit this hew outburst the island miaht'be worthy of scientific investigation. V ! V- A Timaru car owner is much perturbed m spirit" because, as/ he says, eVei^ Acqident that happens 4n the road is immediately] .attributed to a motor-car ' without waiting to inquire \vhp or might have been at fault;,. The fact is^ he says, that horsed vehicles are' m'ucti more dangerous on the 'roads^ than We motor-cars, many of the*, di'iyers o| tjie former not even knowing ; their own -mditt of l the road; and. riders of Jbicycles . ai'e very often, as bad.' H<* befieyes '/that cars are the least dangerous arid 1 ' best controlled users of the' ijbads, arid! 'tbat the great prejudice. agairist therili /is, ''tfiQ outcome of » sociaHstic spirit wSt^ti '4^* lights m abusing that 'which in 1 beyond-*"" reach. If, cars could be bought at a price within the reach of jr a!l;* he 'is c.ohfident that within a yyetik all the .prejudice would disdpptjaf and they would be the most popiiUtr vehicles on earth. "As for newspaper men who wri^ those abominable lies'about cars >" he «iid with scorn to a reporter, ■ 'tliey should fye; dragged m .f^jront of a car, and ruri' oVeij. by it; that would be plenty good enough f^r them." '^ , ■■-.•■',',■, ■ ■ ■*■'„ :- l The tmeluninary arrangements m coiir bection'.with the acquisition of the busi/newses .of ■ Messrs John Miiynard and iv T. Harries, and conversion into <i Co>operative Meat Company have no^- been '. practically coiijpleted. Conb«e!n signed,, -.nihd registration bf the coiripany is i^oav bbhig proceeded with. Ah .influential and TeprefeetttU:tivtt', bda;i ; d oi provisional; directors havfr consented to offer their feerv{ce?i and Jrdm tlie amount;' of support tho proino^rti 'have been promised; thor^ U .umaou^ft that the shares 'will be engeily appti^ for. The objects of the compahjr must commend themselves to all hbuseliblfler^K and ii is intehded 1 tOj.dfVbte the profits Jr)f the company, after payment, t)f nto^' hite dividendy on capital, .towards Vpttyjthent of bonuses- to shfirelioldws iil,;pr,Qto their ptehastts dnrinjr tho/ year. The prospectiw \ will be .' issued almost iriimediately*, itnd jritendirig share* ' holders may obtain full 1 information froni Mr H. K. Dbdd, ' broker of ths compariy aiid secretary pnj> tern., 6-r this company^ sblicitoi^, M-eisrs ReeVs Bids; and Bright. : ': > *The subject of "motori jti'bgs""- wAs in^trodticed ut a meeting of the Ma'kara (Wellington) Council by, Mf f. -f. .^re;, who narrated . hdw a ; \maftii with ' a child , on one and a valuable greyhbuM on a <}haih on the other, -While along the road at dtisk 6n6 evenirtg* ' reOeived a Revere shock when a c«if faced past him,, taking the dog 1 m its rush. The dog, a champion of its kind, fthd" worth £20, was killed outright, but thegeneral iriatfter of the road did .not wfijb to • see what , had happened. "Ife might^ . have been the other hand 1 , and the child would, have been run down just as exjie-/ ditioiis.iy/' commented ''tlie speakei 1 : ll was tpo dai'k^ and' the pace; wa» ttfp' fast to allow pf any/ obseryatibn regarding the car or iU drivel being ta|«n. Anbttter instance cited by Mr Mooiie was that of a load§<| v|hi(ye, which met two c^jps i n -^ close proximi%, and' evidently^facing.' The driyer of the leading racing slowed doiwn sprhewhat as he apiproaclied'/.the dancing, horse, but the other 1 , taking advantage of the lessening' , in ep/e^^ hiis ifytn en^he out, and shot iprwatd reikles^ly. For a fleeting moment ,th&f67 was a vision of a tangled aiid oVertuVi)ed. vehicle but the inches necess&nF. for . a ; cleir' passage were safely negcitfetedv and ; the horse and . vehicle, did-n^t gb over tlie side. It was decided to. ask tub City Council to co-operate ( iri aski% tjlei Government M appoiht rijotor police $ aafe^nard the public. against Hhis mena^V Mr T. H, S-mith, who',4ied jn iM Masterton hospital a few, days ag6j:.lM| a Very adventnroua career.' He had ■ be«lj ' in! business m Masterton, a/s a fru|wr% for some time before he diied" but m '$lW eaj-lier days h«s put bis" band to many thing's", and encountered many -perils vbyv land .and sea. Qn the i VjiqiSbrian gpW^. fields ' all his mates; succumbed 1 to iilii hardships, they met with, 1 he -alb^ of the party returned to/ Ajybourji^. He;passed'to and fro hetnveen thts NaW' Zealand . andi Victorian fleldiji, mak^nirand 1 loding several fortunes.' Fi-om th© *pun'-. staji m Otago he went to ArrdwtoiywV,Skippers, Upper Shotover, and otjbe'r Otiagd diggings," and crossed > over ' A 'U»9 ■ mountain ranges of north-west Otago 'it* Mfertiri's Bay, on ; tho W«st CJoast. After' months, spent m- prospecting, during' which he suffered .great- hardships;^ftA" was. at one time reduced to maintaining life on ;rats and cow thistles; he rfettt^nv ed to; the Upper ShotoverV arrivingf^itt a greatly exhausted state.' His mate xticd on the way. He accompanied the fifsbi party 6i -white men up the 11 Grey 'riy/erV The journey ; up the river, With wife'^ahS; child, was, made m a canoe, which piM>y» edvat tim|s a rathei risky, means of tr-aij|-y pprt for Ji household. After staying' ijin lifye "Grey for two years, M^i*: Sniith i Went; . from one rush to another, Until lie ; lian. visited almost, all the fields on tfw 'W.^i Ooast. He went to the Thames fje]^s, -hen to Wellington and Auckland, : «hdr ; finally ended his days m Masterton. 11 '

The distance of. the proposed railway nip the Clutlia, Valley is 21 miles, and. tthe cost of construction, according to the surveys already made, is under £5000 a mile. The people of Dunedin are to be approached With a view to securing their assistance and support. The promoters of the Wairarapa Cooperative Freezing Works have received a« offer from the directors of a large company to take up £10,000 worth of shares, provided the company can be successfully floated. Over 10.0C0 shares Xiave already been guaranteed. The Ashburton Agricultural and Pastoral Association lias decided to give over £50 m prizes for ploughing competitions to be held this season. .Although the matches -will not take placo For nearly two months, much interest is b«ng manifested m them. i The Hon. T. >JcKenzic, who so clearly forecasted the drop and rise m wool and the recent depression, told a Manawatu Times representative that he believes the depression to be at its end' now. "Why," he added, "-we, will have two millions •extra 1 for our wool this year, which is one item toward it." r In order to get, over the difficulty of •procuring medical attendance m case of sickness, the 00,-operativo workers on ttke Blenheim-Waipara railway at Domett propose to pay a subscription of 6d a week into \hn general fund ttAbe paid to the doctor, subscribers to be attended free of further charge. The matter is being arranged by the Co-operative Workers' Union. ' : ]Pig hunting m South Canterbury is *tm not, a thing of the past. Mr J. AY. Evans, of Wbodbury, killed an imutense boar afc WaihiUorgA last week. The animal measured 7ffc 4in from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail, hadi a girth- measurement of 57in, and a shield 4in thick. During his 25; year*' experiencfe of 'pig hunting Mr Evans lias 4 ebot 15,000 pigs. "I believe m the value of music," said Sir Joseph Ward at the presentation, of Trinity College diplomas. "I do not care -whether it is a Jew's, harp, a cornet, , a piano, ot any otlier instrument. I believe m a boy 'learning, to play some instrument, arid singing, too. What we want to remember is that the boys should be impressed wifh the desirability of emulating the girls m this n»*%er. fv ' • • There is profit m honey (says the Do/ minion). In the case of two Waikato apiarists, Messrs Hutchiiison Bios w the season of 1907-8 was- begun with 250 hives. jDnring the season they doubled tHe number by natural increase, arid «nd«d up with ten tons of honey and 500 hives. That honey, m lOlbs tins, at, say, £40 a ton net "wholesale, was worth about £400 — a handsome income from 250, hives. .The present season was begun with 500 hives, and as the increase during the year was to be limited to 300, the output of honey should be at least equal per hive to that of the preyious season. The income k therefore tshould bo £800. Next season the, intention is to reach the full 1000 ljives. If distributed m groups of 50 hives the business would entail the maintenance of 20 apiaries, and each complete round of visits -would involve ajoumey of 80 miVes. A motor car is obviously essential. A battle royal will be fought at Auckland between the rival managements, Meynell and Gunn and J.C. Williameon, during the week commencing May 24. Both managements arte playing their strongest cards. The Uoyal Comic Oper^i Company m "The MeiTy Widow" will represent Mr Williamson, and Meynell arid Gann's Pantomime and Musical Comedy Company m "Cinderella" will fight for Meynell and Guun. It will be an "interesting struggle for returns." Mr Geo. H. Smith, manager of the •'Royal Comics," has scented the affray from afar, and has made preparations to outflank the enemy. As the former company starts a week before the latter, the Opera Company is to fill it m with "The Dairymaids" (which is only the "Royal Comic's" second best bill, as all know down this way), reserving its broadside, "The Merry Widow," for the battle royal. Both shows are so good "that^ one cannot conceive either of them playing to anything but full houses. Some interesting information concern- : ing the gold hunters tip. the Irawuddy river, Banna, was' given to v, reporter by Mr P. S- Williamson, of the- Indian CiVil Service, and Deputy Commissioner m Burma-, who is now m Wellington m the course of a world tour. "Dredges are at work,"' said Mr Williamson, "taking toll of the river beds. New Zealanders and Australians form the greater part of the concern, and have big hopes of doing well for themselves. The gold won is of very good claw, heavy and well bodied. Formerly it. was sent. Home to London and H'am»M?g, but now the company conducting operations has decided to do. its own assaying. Last year the dredgers were unfortunate A ( big dredge went down the river, before a roaring flood, while cholera came into the settlement and severely retarded its progress. Nevertheless, lust April, the secretary of the eomptvnv took down gold bars valued at £5000 to Rangoon. The insurance, freight, and escort rates are very heavy, but I think that the dreging will become and remain a permanent industry." The reorganisation of the Maori Councils of the Dominion is almost complete, and the re-election of all but one Council is over, remarked the Hon. A T. Ngita to a Herald representative on Tuesday. All. these Councils have had their firefc meetings, at which either Mr Ngata or a «omnetent officer was "present to discuss with the Council* details of finance, the internal administration and the improvements m the organisation of/various branches of the Council's work. Already reports 'sent m by some of the Councils show great improvement, and there is greater activity amongst the comriiittces, ,, which are responsible for carrying out, the by-laws made by the Councils. In compact districts, containing a large Maori population, the collection of the dog tax haß ?a?en <.'.rried out exliaujlivelv, bint , where the districts are extensive and the Maori population scattered, travel luig is necessarily hea ; vy, and it is doubtful, the ■ Minister said, whether it will pay the Council to collect the tax. For instance, m one district the cost of collection absorbs about half of the receipts, the gross amount of which is infinitesimal. Tjierfe is, the Hon. Mr. "Ngata went on fo say, a marked improvement m the control of drunkenness and prevention of the introduction of liquor ipto Maori settlements or at Maori meetings. The inspection of kaingas by the Maori health officers and sanitary inspectors i» awaiting the reorganisation of ? the ' Public Health Department. In an interesting lecture at Dunedin, Professor Park stated that the great Clutha 'glacier, which began at Clyde, was 140 miles long, or twenty miles longer than the South Polar glacier discovered by Lieutenant Shackleton. - The professor believes, that tho phase of jrhidatibn now going on ,at the South pole e^espoflda with what he described as^ hiving iaken place, m the; Wakatipu djstrjbt, when the retreat of the invad-ing-Sfruih Polar ke was going on. "They m the ;§outh Polar regions aro m their secqiid phase, now," . lie remarked to »i Star -. "Ours has ended. Our glaciers, haye retreated right away back to ijnt*' mountains. Our present glaciers afe simply the stumps of those whichonce cextertded nearly to- the sea on both coasts." Another bjg: glacier mentioned by Ijini was the Kawarau glacier, which measured about sixty miles from its jqhetion. with the Clutha glacier to its source : amonjj the Livingstone Mountain^ whence it brought greenstone and sandstone rocks from near Milford Sound and the country between Wakatipu and Te 4 nau > an^ deposited them along its route. He mentioned, also thiat'at Henley there was the terminal moraine of a glacier that extended oack to $c' Clutha river. Professor Park's theory of a great ice age m tho §oulhein , Hettiisphere is understood to have excitS' a good deal of interest among scientists at Home. The proofs of polar glaciation m New Zealand furnish an explanation of the cause of undoubted signs of glaciation m Australia and Tasmania, for . whichj geologists who had not seriously considered the possibility of /'there! having '■ been* an invasion of polar ice . m the Southern Hemisphere have hitherto been somewhat at a loss to account.

The Leonta. Choir, Charters Towers, assisted by the Fire Brigade Banu was giving a conceit m tho hospital grounds on Sunday afternoon,, when the platform collapsed. Fortunately, no one was injured, although several ladies fainted. The bandsmen, who had placed their instruments under the platform, had about £70 worth of brass instruments 'smashed. The sensational denouement which has followed the latest escapade of Amy Bock has 1 excited a very general feeling of admiration for the remarkable cleverness of the woman. Already m Timaru (says the Post) there are youth ful .emulators of "Percy Carol Redward." The other evening two young girls dressed themselves m "male attire,' 'and wandered forth; presumably m quest of unsuspicious' and eligible young ladies. A gentleman friend., learning of their prank, assumed the role of Detective Hunt, and, hurrying after the girls, informed them, m a theatrical voice, that the game was up, and asked them to accompany him to tne station. The mftsqueraders, however, were not prepared to accept their fate so philosophically as. their heroine did. and with hearty screams they rushed away to the seclusion of their home.