LOCAL AND GENERAL

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 19, Issue 100, 18 December 1908, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Land Ballot.— A special meeting of the Land Board will be held on Monday next for the purpose of examining applicants for the sections in the Ronga, which will be ballotted for on the following day, at the Courthouse, Blenheim.

Surveying Resumed. —Messrs Wicks and party, who have for some time been surveying at the scenic reserve at Ngaruru Bay, Tory Channel, returned to Havelock on Tuesday. The party have now gone on to the Deep Creek district, where they will resume surveying operations.

The P. and o—At a meeting of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, the Chairman, Sir Thomas Sutherland, said the Australian passenger traffic was one of the Company’s greatest disappointments. It was actually of less value now than it was eighteen years ago.

Church Services. —The Rev. A. W. Stace will conduct service on Sunday as under: — Havelock 11 a.m., Canvastow'n 2.30 p.m., Havelock 7 p.m.; Mr Stace will conduct service at Deep Creek on Tuesday, 22nd, at 7.30 p.m,—Methodist services will be as follow:—Flat Creek 11, Carluke 2.30, Canvastown 7.30, Rev. O. Pittendreigh; Okaramio 11, Havelock 7, Mr F. White,, Y

Welcome Rain.— On Tuesday morning a warm rain set in and continued throughout the day. At night the fall was heavy and continuous, and up till 2 p.m. on Wednesday there were no signs* of a break. Then the clouds dispersed, the sun's warmth chased# away the haze, and perfect summer weather is now our portion. The rain has done incalculable good, and the only fly in the ointment is that it flattened a number of oat crops.

A Rowing Club.— For some months past there has been talk of starting a Rowing Club in Havelock, and now the talk is taking definite shape. One local gentleman has promised £2O, another £lO, a third £5 for three years, and several others sums of a guinea each, towards the funds of such a Club. We hope the project will be carried through. There is splendid material m the Sounds and Havelock to evolve some top-notch scullers, and a properlyequipped Rowing Club would soon bring these men to the front.

School Concert— There ought to be a big attendance at the concert in the Town Hall, this evening, for the local schoolchildren are particularly proficient in the various novel items they will submit for the amusement of the audience. Many of the “ turns ” are new to local school concerts, and will be found very attractive. Then in addition there is an exhibition of ventriloquism by a new arrival in the district, and this performer will also be assbciated with a local lady in what is described as a “ screamingly funny ” sketch entitled “ The Bashful Lover.”

Sounds Farmers’ Union.— An important meeting of the Sounds branch of the Farmers’ Union will be held at the Manaroa Schoolhouse on Tuesday, 29th inst. Matters very closely affecting settlers in the Sound are to be brought forward, and it is hoped the branch Will receive the hearty support—both moral and financial—of every owner and occupier of land. Without this united help very little in the way of progres'a can be accomplished, and as the efforts being made are for the good of all it is only reasonable to expect .a good attendance at the meeting.

A Champion Axeman,— Miley, champion Australian axeman, who will compete at the Eltham Chopping CarniVal at Christmas, arrived at Eltham on Thursday, and proceeded to Taxhape to train with the actual class o£ timber in which the contest is to he decided. Miley has put up some notable performances. His first big win was at Daylesford, four years ago, when he defeated P. McLaren. The following year Miley visited Australia, and won the world’s championship at 12-inch standing blocks. In 1906 he won the Australian championship by beating Gus Blanc and other champions. In 1907 he won the Melbourne Carnival Handicap in 18-inch standing blocks with a limit of 50sec.

Cheap Cables. —An important and influential meeting was held in London on Friday to consider the question of cable connection between the different portions of the Empire. The speakers included the Duke of Argyll, Lord Milner, Mr Rodolphe Lemieux, Lord Jersey, and Sir Albert Spicer. Recommendations were agreed to in favour of low-priced, easy, and uniform means of telegraphic connection within the Empire. It was resolved that the Government be asked to convene a conference of the postal authorities of the various States and dependencies of the Empire with the object of promoting wider recognition of the policy of State-owned and State-controlled cables. Captain Collins said the Australian Commonwealth favoured the cheapening of rates wherever practicable on a commercial basis. Australia would co-operate in securing a State-owned Atlantic line, bringing the Canadian land lines also under State control.

Noxious Weeds.— Recently there has been some apprehension, locally, that Californian thistfe was getting a hold in the district, but doubts were expressed that the plant was the real Californian article. In order to have the matter decided we sent a specimen to Mr Kirk, Government Biologist, who replied that the plant was the “ winged thistle, an objectionable weed but not nearly such a pest as the Californian variety. Two other plants sent to Mr Kirk have been identified as varieties of St. Johns wort. One of these grows very luxuriantly on the slopesof thehill behind the old Commercial Hotel, and of it Mr Kirk says: “The specimen is one of the fet. John’s worts, and is properly known as tutsan,which is a veryobjectionable weed, as it is looked upon as a milk-tainter. ’ The other specimen was gathered at the back of Mr W. H. Smith’s house, and is described by Mr Kirk as the true St, John’s wort. It is widely distributed throughout New Zealand, and is rapidly becoming an extremely troublesome pest.

Havelock Hauuouk Boakd— Messrs Reader (Chairman), Taylor, and Buckman were present at the monthly meetng of the Board, held on Wednesday. The Secretary reported that a number of iteeth were missing from the marine harrows; au'd as it was considered useless to attempt* further work with the harrows it was resolved to send them to Wellington for repairs and then hand them back to the Marine Department.

)he Secretary was instructed to again I vrite to the Marine Department regard- I ng the hire of a dredge, and to inquire ,f the Harbourmaster at Picton as to the t icensxng of launches. The Chairman ' ■eported that the new title deeds of the reserve in the Kaituna had been for- : warded to the Governor for signature, 1 ind would shortly be returned to the Board. The Marine Department forwarded a copy of proposed regulations 1 for launches and yachts, and asked for the Board’s opinion on same. It was stated that sufficient harassing restrictions were already imposed upon launchowners, and consideration of the matter was deferred till next month. Accounts amounting to £l4 were passed for payment, and the Board adjourned. A Mutton,.Faminb.— There are strong indications that sheep are dwindling very rapidly in France (writes a Londofi correspondent), Paris complains that good lamb and mutton can scarcely be purchased. Even 2a And 3s' a pound will not buy good chops, and the position has now reached so acute a stage that Parisians are Ibsing their taste for sheep, and are ceasing to call for it. Many reasons are advanced for the emptiness of the mutton market. First of all, course, comes the prohibitive duty on foreign meat, which Mr Coghlan so ably made war upon at the recent Refrigerating Industries Conference in Paris. France will not Jiave the foreign article, and her landholders apparently make larger returns, from agriculture than from the grazing; of sheep, and hence the shortage. - It is reported from Paris that for some time past, when householders “ ordered a leg of mutton, which in former times was supposed to be a good substantial piece of. meat, their butcher invariably'supplied them with a bit (of skin and, bone that approached more and more Jthe size of a toothbrush. Mutton .chops * threatened to descend to’ the dimensions of toothpicks, and the bills might have stood for a year’s house, rent.” The world-, wide tendency of the people en the land to flock to the cities is another reason put forward for the falling off of the supply. This scarcity of mutton in the French capital is one of the many indications of the early opening of European ports to foreign frozen irteat—a happening of incalculable significance to every great stock-breeding country, Australia and New Zealand included. .

What oh, she bumps! Who does? Why that old girl we saw a cdmin’ owt 0’ Venimore’s with that huge parcel. What a time she’s goin’ to giv’ the kiddies. She knows where to do her shoppin’.