TOWN EDITION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 14221, 12 February 1917, Page 6

TOWN EDITION.

Mi* R. Stone Flonmoe, S.M., who has been cuiuiueliug sittings of the Magistrate's (Viu)l at the ("oast stations, is expected to u.turn to <Jis«burne to-mor-row. 1 At Wellington, on February 8, his Honor Mi- ,lust|'ice. Cha-pnfcui grunted; probate in the e.-itate of Robert Wilson, iof Kanakanaia, sheepfarmer (deceased j soldier) to ilohn Willson Bright, on the i motion of Mr H. E. Bright. The general monthly meeting of the Laborers' Union will be held in tbe iSiottish. Hall on Wednesday evening at 8 o'clock. Building trade laborers are espeeally urged to attend. Tho exeiru ti\o -'.re' notified that" their meeting wili ik.j h(. h.-id' this evening. Owing to .the labor trouble ou *t!:e Nap. or and Wellington waterfronts, some of tiu< outside racehorses that were competing' at the local race meetings have been held up here, and it is not detinkc as to Avhen they will get away. Most, of the horse w.'ie to havo left on Saturday night by tne Ripple, but they w-ere not shipped. Four ot the horses were shipped by tho Tarawera which L'i'b this morning. Tho following is an extract from a letter recently received in connection with (he Maitai wreck : — "Owing, presumably, to rotting cargo in the holds (which are full of water) a truly awful smell is wafted along the sea-front. So malodorous has thei wreck become that unless the Union Company will deal with it in some way the administration will be compelled to do somethrig. A publi'ci inquiry into the cause of the wreck was held by Mr W. J. Stevtsieon, Collector of Customs at Rarotonga. The evidence (which has been sent to the Customs Department at Wellington) shows that shortly after the Maitai anchored, and in the dark, the cable parted, and she, being but a short distance from the reef, touched the tail of the reef before way could be got on the vessel ; that- , the captain was on the bridge the whole time, and the officers a-t their stations; that- at that- time of -the yoar, and especially rearing high water, a swift current, four knots or more, sets from the anchorage on to the point, of the reef where the Maitai .-struck.'' An experiment of great interest to gardeners has 'been carried out. at Addington. In August last (says the Christchurch Sun) a horticulturist desired to make experiments on lighting liis greenhouse to endeavor to make his plants work overtime, wliich', he -explained ,he did not think the Arbitration Award had any jurisdiction over. ■Fourteen 100 c.p. and oq© 150 c.p. lamps were -installed in this greenhouse. These are of the half- watt .type which aro rich in actinic rays, or chemical rays, distinguished from the normal heat rays. The filaments in these lamps are worked at a very high temperature. He used sufficient current to cost at -j*d rate 12s 6d, per month; but the result was that he had -tomatoes - , in thfj market a month earlier than he would have had without the use of the lamps, and from his standpoint the experiment was one worth repeating. The Christchurch City Council "Electrical Department donated the current free for these experiments. The current was turned on after 9 o'clock in the evening and turned off at 5 o'clock in the morning. A military appeal case which has attracted great attention in Oamaru and, indeed, throughout North , Otago, was again -mentioned before the 'Otago Military Service Board at Oamaru last week. The ciise was that in which Joseph Preston, runholder, appealed for the exemption of liis son, James Thorp Preston, of Longlandsi Kyeburn, station manager and head shepherd. When th<? case was before it at the end -of last December, the Board granted conditional exemption, adjourning the case sine dio, largely on the ground that one ofsMr Preston's managers and many of his men had already gone to the war, and also because James Preston was both head shepherd and' station manager of considerable special knowledge. Tlie decision (states the Otago Daily Times) aroused much disapproval, to which some, expression was given ih the Oamaru papers, and there Was even talk of a public indignation meeting. L-ast week the eaflo was reopened at the instance of Captain Free, who wrote asking the Board to give it further consideration, as he now had further evidence available. Captain Free stated that James Preston had since endeavored to enlist, but, being a balloted. man, he could not enilist. He had -withdrawn his personal appeal Joseph Preston had also sent in a. withdrawal of his appeal as employer, and this Captain Free handed' to the Board. Tho withdrawals were accepted, and^this terminated the matter.