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Southland Times, Issue 17025, 25 April 1912, Page 4

Captain Hickey, D.5.0., the officer ia charge of the Southland Territorials, has been an exceedingly busy man since assuming his present office. He lias had to attend to his routine duties in the Defence office, and apart from that on each day during the past fortnight he iias had to visit a country town and do organising work. Yesterday Captain Hickey visited Alhol for the purpose of obtaining a site for a drill hall. Throughout his peregrinations Captain Hickey has not met with the slightest difficulty in the training of recruits, and he expressed great satisfaction on this score, and also on the physical stamina of the Southland men who have had to undergo the necessary test. A Press Association telegram from Wellington slates that the Secretary of the Post and Telegraph Department (Mr D. Robertson) has been officially informed that The statement that the Hu stern Hxiension Telegraph Company proposes to remove its landing place in Xew Zealand from Wakapuaka to Wellington is unfounded. The Otago Daily Times states that iho work of refitting out the salvage steamer Wairoa is being rapidly pushed forward, and the vessel will probably he ready to go up to Dunedin from Port: Chalmers to-day, when she will take in stores and make complete preparations for her cruise in search of the General Grant’s sunken treasure. It Is reported that a well-known retired runholder has taken a keen interest in the venture, financially and otherwise, and will probably take a trip down to the Auckland Islands during the course of operations. Very few of the large number of immigrants who arrived by the Corinthic on Tuesday have so far called upon the Labour Department for assistance in obtaining employment Isays the Xew Zealand Times), and no difficulty has been experienced in finding work for the hulk of tlio.se who have done so. An illustration of flic speedy manner in which the newcomers we re piovided jor was mentioned by an official of the Department to a Times representative. It concerned a iamily of foui a man, his wife, and their two_daughters. They called at the head Once on the morning after arrival. The father was provided with work at once, the elder daughter accented a telegraphic offer of a situation which arrived while they were waiting in the room, the younger daughter wa's engaged ten minutes after, and the following morning the mother also found congenial employment. During the hearing of a maintenance case at the Magistrate’s Court, Auckland. on Friday, says the •‘Post,” the solicitor for the defendant handed in accounts to show that a husband, in receipt of £3 per week salary had received from various firms in the city accounts for clothes for his wife which totted up to quite a big sum in a few months. One dress which cost £ls 15s the wife explained was for a ball at Wellington. Then there was £3 3s for a silk blouse, and for costumes £7 17s, 6d, £4 14s Cd, and another at the same figure. There was an account for a sac suit at £5, which the husband said was not for himself but for a relative of his wife. There was also a bill for £5 for the hire of a motor-launch, which money the husband said he had already given hia wife, who also collected £2 10s from those in the party. There were also accounts for motor cars. For Chronic Chest Complaints, Wood** Great Peppermint Cure, Is 63, 2s Mk

The railway men have carried out the ■excellent idea of forming a debating club among themselves. The majority ©f railway men are keen readers and .keen students of public questions. Many *>f them are also speakers of more than •average ability, and a debating society started by railway men ought to have a long and active life. The first meeting Will be held in the library this evening. A Press Association message from "Wellington states that Messrs Levin and Company yesterday purchased from the Baillie collection of pictures a canvas from the brush of Melton entitled, "The Rose-makers of the East 3£nd of London." The price of the picture is £350, and Messrs X.evin and ComJiany are presenting it for the National Art Gallery. A resident of Eketahuna drew a prize ■•£ £IOOO in one of Tattersall’s recent ■•weeps. Before the commencement of iho Lumsden stock sale yesterday. Messrs J. E. Watson offered for auction three Sections in Lumsden township. Section 3. block 19, consisting of one acre at the ■corner of lona and Orion streets, was purchased by Mr Loftus Jones ; section 32, block 17, containing two roods, was disposed of to Mr G. F. Johnson, on behalf of the Lumsden Swimming Club ; And section 1, block 21. containing corner of Taura and Iva streets, was bought iby Mr T. Martin for £l3 10s. During the sitting of the conference •f Gaolers in Wellington, the Hon. J. A. Uanan. Minister of Justice, attended, And outlined the subjects on which he Aought information. He expected them, he said, to go very fully into all the 3>hases of the present management, and "to report to him on the lines he had indicated. When they have presented their report the Minister will again meet them in conference, with a view to further discussion and securing any additional information that will enable him to go comprehensively into the question of how best to improve the existing tnethods. An interesting note on the disinfection of schools is embodied In the annual report of the Mitchelltown School Committee, says the "Dominion.” The Teport states that a system has been instituted whereby the school is disinfected daily by the sprinkling of the floors each afternoon with sawdust saturated with lysol or Jeyes’ Fluid. To this the committee believes that the Behoofs freedom from epidemics of seri- • ous sickness is due. and it recommends the continuance of this system to the consideration of the householders and fnture committees. The total cost of this work, including sawdust, disinfectant and wages to boys for spreading it, ■only amounted to £1 2s for the eight months during which the system has 3t>een in vogue. The new Hydro Hotel, at present being erected on a commanding site overlooking Caroline Bay Is to be unique at least in one respect (states the Timaru “Post.”) The building is to be fitted ■with hot and cold saltwater baths, there being six or seven in all. The water for the purpose is to be brought up from Caroline Bay, permission having been obtained from the authorities. "When the plans and specifications for the buildings were drawn up some two or three months ago provision was made for these baths, but It was not finally decided to instal them then. However, Messrs Hall and Marchant, the architects, let a contract for the work, which "Will run into some hundreds of pounds. The new Hydro Hotel will be the first hotel building in New Zealand to be so equipped, and it says much for the proprietor’s confidence in Timaru as a seaside tourist resort. Although the problem of intense cultivation has been freely discussed of late. It is doubtful ff anyone, even the most sanguine advocates of the system, havo attained such startlingly successful results as were alleged during the hearing of a case in the S.M.- Court yesterday. A certain Anna Victoria Cox was charged with allowing two cows to roam in Nith street, and Dir E. Murdoch, Assistant Inspector of Nuisances, was giving evidence when the following dialogue took place. His Worship : Is it possible to keen two cows in Nith street ? Witness: She has been doing so. His Worship : How big is the farm ? Witness: About ■a quarter of an acre. His Worship: That beats Taranaki. Defendant was convicted and ordered to come up for sentence when called upon. Two young men, residents of Brunner, named Robinson and Walker, were yesterday morning arrested charged on thirteen indictments during the past year with stealing a steam engine and a largo quantity of engineering tools from different places in Grey Valley, Brunner. Stillwater, Greymojth, and Nelson Creek, the property of two Brunner coal companies, the Government Railway Department and private individuals, estimated to be of the value of £l5O (says a Press Association message from Greymouth). Further charges will be laid. Robinson pleaded guilty to four minor charges, and sentence was deferred till after the indictable charges are disposed of. A brother of Robinson has been arrested charged with receiving the stolen goods. Nationalisation of the English railways is again proposed by the Labour party in a bill drafted on lines similar to those discussed in 190 S. It requires the railway companies to supply the Government with an estimate of the value of their properties, which can be considered in conjunction with similar estimates prepared by the Board of Trade. Having framed an offer, based upon these two sets of estimates, the Government is empowered to give notice that it intends to purchase the lines and have them worked as State property, under a board of control, "numbering not more than a hundred and not fewer than fifty persons.” As to the means of purchase, it is proposed that money shall be raised for the purpose either by an Issue of consols or by the creation of nationalisation bonds, bearing interest at 3 per cent., or such other interest as may be fixed after consultation with the authorities of the Dank of England. Opponents of private ownership say that the combined capital of the railways, which amounts in round figures to £1.300.000.006. is “largely fictitious.” as the result of stock watering and the payment of excessive sutn-s for land in the early days of transport development. It is supposed that the companies could now ho induced to take guaranteed stock representing a somewhat lower total, based on 25 years’ purchase. This would invoice an expenditure in interest or about £ 10,000,000 per annum, which would not. however, exceed the present aggregate earnings of the companies. Under State management a large increase would have to be made at once in the expenditure on wages, but it is calculated that this would 1 be more than counterbalanced by enormous savings in .administration and by elimination of the waste which competition entails. The romance of fishing sunken treasure from the silent sea is firing the Imaginative faculties of many of the observers of the little steamer V.’niroa. now undergoing improvements and repairs at Port Chalmers, anti preparing to sail for the Auckland Islands to attempt to raise the heaps of gold which sank in the wrecked ship General Gram (says the Dunedin Stan. Will the little steamer come back laden so deeply with gold, that her scupper holes will be awash? Will the gold be in the form of dust or in bars? Will it sparkle and gleam when the hatch coverings are removed and the* light shines down into the hob], or will it lie covered with the sea’s dull overgrowth? These are questions suggesting themselves to the observers of tilt- little steamer which is being fitted out to light the sea for its treasure. In answer to these queries It lias he-'-n said that the Wairoa will not bring back the gold to New Zealand, even if it is recovered. Rumour, the tanlali •dug jade, says that wiioti the div’ng for the gold begins, from far-away America will come white-winged yachts to bear away the recovered treasure to the land of the .Stars and Stripes ami millionaires. An interesting note obe;rvab!o in tliis talc of the wliite-winged gold-bearers is that one of those yachts will belong to Mr liearst, who is the “boss” of the candid journalism known In America as the ”Yellow Press.” He, R is said, will bo on the yacht. When the “boss” of the "Yellow Press” sees the gleam of the yellow gold which is recovered from tlie General Grant, what a talo may wo expect him to unfold: The thought of hoisting up basketfuls of gold from the sett like coals are hoisted from a collier’s hold is wakening the lust for.gleaming golden treasure in unoxpecu /j places, and rumour lias it that a retire,! runholdcr Us amongst those whom it s captivated, and that lie will accomr/a-n----the gold-seeking expedition to the .'ii/okXand Islands. For Chronic Chest Complaints, Yyoods’ threat Peppermint Cure, Is sd,

In connection with yesterday's petrol consumption tests conducted by the Southland Motor Association, a remarkable record was established in the motor bicycle division. A 3% h.p. B.S.A. roadster machine in full touring trim, accomplished the journey to Riverton and back on 3S I /; oz. of petrol. The distance was 52 miles, so that the B.S.A. machine made the trip at the rate of 216 miles per gallon of petrol. The officials were astonished at such a result being obtained, and the performance speaks volumes, both for tire quality of the machine and for the skill of the driver, J. Davies. Drink is on the decrease at Timaru (says the "Timaru Post"). The other afternoon a reporter called on several of the leading hotel-keepers in the town to ascertain the state of trade at present with what it was two or three years ago. In each case lie received the same reply—• the trade had decreased considerably on what it was a year or two ago. "When asked if they could ascribe any reason for tins change the publicans gave varying answers, hut all agreed that the popularity of the picture business was the loading feature in the decrease, of the drinking habit. Quoth one : "Como into my bar any time you like at night and you will not see more titan three or four in at a time, whereas two or throe years ago we were nearly always full. There’s only one thing that’s doing it. and that’s the pictures. Instead of young fellows spending their evenings inside the hotel as before they elect to visit the picture theatre, and there they stay until after closing hour.” Another publican told the reporter that the pictures had injured his business to a far greater extent than would be imagined. Xot only young fellows, but men of riper years who were wont to frequent his bar were now almost total strangers, a fact which he would ascribe to nothing else than the pictures. The age limitation in the Act had, of course, precluded a number of the younger generation from visiting bars, who were in the habit of doing so previously, but of course the Act would not interfere with older people. One publican went so far as to say his business in the liquor line had dropped by almost one-third. There is some humour in a detail of the arrangements made for this year’s receptions at Buckingham Palace. To many who attend these royal assemblages the ceremonial movements often appear slow to the point of tedium, and obviously if they were accelerated a larger number of presentations could be effected in the time available on each occasion. The Lord Chamberlain and his assistants, after a strategical survey of the position, havo agreed that the way to save time is to curtail the ladies’ trains. So an official order has gone forth —and early enough to preclude a panic among the fashionable dress-makers —that all court trains must be shortened by no less than a yard. It was estimated that the change would secure a saving of at least half an hour at each reception ; but when the King and Queen heard of it they decided, while approving of the new order, that Instead of availing themselves of the economy in time they would have the invitation list extended, and devote the spare half-hour in receiving a larger number of guests. This is agreeable news to many ladles who might otherwise have failed to secure a presentation at court before the close of the

season, as the number of requests made through the Lord Chamberlain for invitations is much larger than usual. Though the new dress regulation was not generally anticipated, it is being submitted to cheerfully enough. It is accompanied by instructions which mark n welcome departure from the graceless narrow gown, and leave the way open for an immediate return to more rational styles. Can’t be beaten Undrlll’s Hats, a big lot just in, all prices, all sizes. A smart tailor cut costume in tweed serge or Venitian cloth at a moderate price are what Thomson and Beattie are now offering to the Southland public. They are made to measure and a perfect fit is guaranteed. Ladies can select their material and have their costumes completed in ten days. Prices, 45/- to 63/- each. For dainty Evening Wear go to Price and Buileid’s in Tay street. Just opened; inspection invited. The new Tosca Nets for over dresses in a large and beautiful range of colours. Tosca Nets with a satin charmouse foundation are the latest and most handsome materials for evening and dinner gowns, also pretty Ninons and Crepe de Chcnes in various soft evening shades, such as white, cream, champagne, pale blue, pink, grey, lielio, reseda and cerise, besides Satin Charmouse, Satin Oriental, Satin “Florc = ca" in white, grey, cream, pale blue, sax. Copenhagen, pink, vieu rose, strawberry, apricot, hello, grey, mole, nil, emerald, olive, brown, navy and black. Cream Silk and Woo! Taffettas, a pretty material for evening wear, in qualities ranging from 1/6 to 3/6 a yard. Just opened, direct from the leading London and Parisian houses, some magnificent rich Evening Robes in bead, pearl, sequin and net, and embroidered silk and net oriental designs. These are in the newest and most fashionable styles. We have now a complete stock of all the latest and most up-to-date Dress Trimmings : some really choice and high-class goods. See our window display. Special attraction. —PRICE AND BULLEID. SYNOPSIS NEW ADVERTISEMENTS. On Pago 1— Wanted, navvies. Clerk desires position. Wanted, ironmonger’s assistant. Wanted, well-educated youth. Working manager for farm wants engagement. Princess Tea Rooms open every evening. Mutton birds. First of season at Pascoe Bros. Wanted, leading bushman, etc. Luxurious Travel by reef and palm in southern seas. Stephen Hunter has four properties for sale. On Page 3 See results petrol consumption tests B.S.A. P. H. Vickery. On Page 4 Funeral of the late Mrs Cockroft on Friday, 26th inst., at 1.30 p.m. On Page 6 Hayward’s Pictures, to-night, at S. Fullers’ Pictures, to-night, S. Fasola, Municipal Theatre. S p.m. Concert by Karsman Family. W. B. Scandrett returns thanks. Wesley Church, Toviot street, social. Acclimatisation Society. Election of Council. On Page 8— Mossburn Stock sale, 29th Wright, Stephenson and Co. ] Clearing sale at Linton Park Otautau, Bth May. J. G. Ward and Co. W. Todd and Co., sale of plant, c a? fectionery. etc. Preliminary notice, J. Iloiloway, j,. t d land rale.