THE COLONIST. Published Daily—Morning, Nelson, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 1906.

Colonist, Volume XLVIII, Issue 11736, 19 September 1906, Page 2

THE COLONIST. Published Daily— Morning, Nelson, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 1906.

Opening of the Boating Season. — The formal opening of the boating season will take place on "Saturday next, 22nd inst., the Nelson Club taking the initiative, and making the usual arrangements. Afternoon tea will be dispensed in the new Boat House, to which all friends of members are cordially invited. The Garrison Band will play selections during the afternoon. Entries for the tria l fours close on Saturday with the Secretary. Hockey. — A team from the Federal Hockey Club leave for Blenheim to-morrow morning, playing a match with the Blenheim Club on the Friday, and with the Kiwis on Saturday afternoon. The following players will represent the Federals: — Hellyer, Neal, Sherbrook, Ryder (2), Taylor, Stevens, Dee, F. Brown, Webley, Anstice. •■ — Not for Nelson.— The Trustees of the Bishop Suter Art Gallery, learning through the Press that the widow of the late Mr Chevalier had made a gift to the Government of some valuable pictures, provided that they were safely housed, the Trustees made application t othe Government for permission to have some of the pictures. They have been informed in reply that it was expressly stipulated by the donor that they should be suitably accommodated in Wellington. The Railway Deputation. — Councillor Lightband will represent the City Council on the Railway Deputation. Councilor Lightband left for New Plymouth on Monday evening, and will join the deputation in Wellington. S.M. Court.— Yesterday, before Mr H Eyre Kenny, S.M., a first offender was convicted of drunkenness, and dischaiged, — Judgment was given for the pi aintiffs in the following cases: — Griffin ana Sons, Limited, versus A. H. Izzard, for £8 2s, with 10s costs; J. C. Mercer (Mr Macbell) rersus J. R. Watson, for £4 7a 6d, with 15s costs. A ngora Goats and Noxious Weeds. — Mr Jennings bas given notice to ask the Minister for Lands whether he will place on the table of the House the reports from varioas inspectors showing the adaptability of Angora goats as eradicators of noxious weeds, their commsreial value as far as the clip of hair per animal for each year's clipping is concerned, and any other information that may be useful and instructive to settlerslwho may wish to secure a small herd? Mr Jennings points oat that in Taranaki a small herd of Angoras bave completely cleared acres of brambles and other weeds and they show, he says, no inclination for grass if there are noxious seeds to browse upon, The Thmpkbatobh. — At tbrfw ./olooSr ibiß morning the thermometer outside this office (entered 34 degree?.

The Leper's Sympathy. —The terrible misfortune which befel the City of San Francisco touched the hearts of the poor lepers at Molokai tbe scene of Father Damiens heroic labours. They determined to show their sympathy with the oitizens of San Francisco, and collected about £40 and despatched it to the relief fund. The donation moved the hearts of the peop eto whoni i.t was sent more than any other gift.

What was Needed.— Mr W. J. Napier, who has been on *a flying visit to Scotland, has written a letter to the "Glasgow Herald," advocating the cuttine up of the land on the lines of tbe New Zealand Land for Settlement Act. "What particularly struck me," he says, "was the truly awful conditions under which the poor live in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and the deserted condition of the land in the rural districts and its monopoly by a few individuals.

Jack's Food.— Mr Arnold White* recentlyrmade an interesting comparison, partly from his own observation, between the way the sailors in the Navy fared at meals durjmg the recent manoeuvres, and th^feeding of ttie pst'uperjs s*t ?^oplArv showing that much more consideration was given to the latter than to the men who were responsible for the Empire's safety. The feeding of our sailors has been severely criticised for years. It seemsjto have become almost an axiom, [says the naval correspondent of a London paper, that a bluejacket has no palate and no digestion. ! .If it was suggested that the men should have bread baked at sea, butter, jam, milk, or cheese,the Lords Commissioners held up their hands in horror at such pampering.

Engineering Feat. — America has the highest- bridge in the world. Within a few months the highest bridge in the world will be completed, and foot passengers will be able to cross the Royal Gorge, 2627 feet above the rushing waters of the Arkansas River in the United States. Several years ago, wheo tn.o proposition was advanced to bridge the gorge, the idea was laughed at.

A Coincidence. — The H&wera "Star" relates the following: — "When Captain Mitchell, of Manaia, was injured recently while hunting in New Plymouth, he was taken to a certain doctor. The doctor remarked thnt he thought he remembered the patient's face. Curiously enough it turned out tha,t when Captain Mitchell was injured in the South African campaign it was this doctor who attended him, and, further, the lady who is now the doctor's wife was the one who nursed him. When Captain Mitchell regained consciousness the throe had many a pleasant chat"about the war." The doctor mentioned is Dr. Wylie.

Strikes in Great Britain. — The Board of Trade returns show that there were 358 strikes in Great Britain last year, affecting 93,500 workmen. These figures are below the average, but the stikes lasted longer than usual, the workers losing the equivalent of a week's work for 600,000 men. About half of the time lost last year was accounted for by the mining and quarrying trade and although the number of days appear large, it amounts to only about one quarter of a day per head when spread over the whole industrial population of the country.

A Famous Band. — The members of the Be3ses-o'th' -Barn Band had a big send off at Liverpool, when leaving for |New York by the steamship Majestic. They will be absent from England eighteen months, having arranged to play in America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. They will play at the .Exhibition at Christchurch for a fortnight in the afternoons and evenings, commencing on January 9th, and on a later date will give a second season, lasting a fortnight.^ The remuneration ko be paid them for their services at the Exhibition ib fixed at two thousand five hundred pounds. It is said the Band is going "to give the people real, genuine music, the music that has made the Band famous."

An Expensive Motor.— Mrs G. P. Donnelly, of Hastings, Hawke's Bay, has caught the motor craze, and has given an order for a 40 h. p. car, costing about £2500.

Unexpected Assistance. — A ludicrous incident occurred. in a London

church recently. A young lady accidentally let her handkerchief fall. By repeatedlly stooping to reach it furtively she attracted the attention of the gentleman in the pew behind, who thought she was about to faint. With the best of motives he took her gently under the arms and raised her up, greatly to her surprise. As she tried to release herself another gentleman went to her assistance, and before the lady knew what was the matter they were moving her out into the aisle and into the vestibule. The finale can be better imagined than described.

The Latest American Sensation. — After a tedious wait of nearly three hours 40,000 persons witnessed at Brighton (New York) Beach racecourse a pre-arranged collision between two locomotives. A broad | track a quarter of a mile long had been laidgdown through the paddock, and the locomotives faced each other at either end. At a signal the engineers pulled the throttles open, jumped clear, and the engines, running at a speed of twenty miles an hour, crashed into each other midway on the track. The locomotives reared and rocked amid clouds of steam. Both left the rails but neither turned over. Although a marsh separated the wreck from the grand stand, fully, two thousand men and women plunged through the water and mire,some up to the waist, in a mad desire to get a closer view of the wrecked locomotives.

In the past great ignorance has been displayed in regard to the purchase of a sewing machine, and agents have often worked upon the credulity of buyers and obtained from them more than twice the real value of the machine. But now, though sewing maehines are being hawked from door to door, it is found very difficult to palm off maehines at exorbitant prices. This is owing to the fact that the wonderful Atlas Sewing Machines are being sold by Mr Lock (the well flnown Complete Furnisher) at half the price charged by these travelling agents. Lock is sole agent for the marvellous Atlas Machines, and has sold hundreds of them, all of which have given entire satisfaction and pleasure, as the scores of testimonials will show, Every Atlas machine is guaranteed to give entire satisfaction, so its no wonder it has become so popular. Write for lithos and testimonials to Lock, Universal Provider, Nelson. At Wakefield, at 1 p.m. to-day, Mr Wm, Lock will hold a clearing sale of furniture and effects on behalf of Mr Eodolph Fowler. Messrs Bisley Bros, and Co. will hold their weekly stock sale at Richmond to-day, when they will offer 150 fat sheep, 150 forward wethers, 50 hoggets, and 30 head mixed cattle.

According to the annual returns furnished by tho Agricultural Department there were 20,108,471 sheep in the Colony on April 30th last, 10,098,740 being in the South, and 10,C19,73l in the North Island. 'This shows an increase compared with last year of 977,596.