NEWS OF THE DAY.

Colonist, Volume LV, Issue 13739, 3 June 1913, Page 4

NEWS OF THE DAY.

Prize schedules for the Nelson. Poultry Association's show have been issued. To-day will he observed at «. holiday by tho Nelson School of Iviusic. A social and danco in connection with St. Mary's Church will be held at the Druids' Hall to-night. Tho adjourned half-yearly meeting of the Nelson Industrial Co-operative Society will bo lwld in tho store tomorrow at 8 p.m. The railway goods sheds will be closed from 12 noon to-day. Special holiday rates are advertised. The annual meeting of the Nelson Jockey Club will be held on Saturday, Juno 28th., A young man named Nicholls, who died at Marton recently, received a kick on the head while playing football. Jhe injury developed during the week ; and culminated in a n't at 3" o'clock on : tho morning ot the Saturday following ■ the date of the injury. An automatic acetylene light will shortly bo placed on Watchman Island, oft Cape Colviile, in Auckland waters,, says, a Wellington telegram. > A Gazette extraordinary issued yesterday convenes Parliament for the despatch of business on June 26th at •2.30 p.m., says a Wellington telegram. If the weathor is favourable,, says a Wellington message, it is expected a start will bo made with the erection of tho automatic light tower on Karori Rock during the. next few days. The public are notified that when a mail is advertised to close at the Chief Post Office at 5 a.m. only correspondence posted at and cleared from the Chief Post Office posting box will be included in such mail, there not being time to sort up and forward correspondence cleared from the various pillar boxes. The rainfall in Wellington for May was 11.8 inches. Nearly all this fell in the first fortnight, and since then only a few light showers have been experienced. This fall has been exceeded only four times, tho record being 12.94 * inches in October 1904. On .throe other occasions 12 inches were slightly exceeded. The average for May is 4,85. Eight hospital boards in the. Dominion have adopted the Health Department's scheme for supply nurses to tho settlers in back-blocks, districts. Tho Auckland Board has decided to erect a cottage hospital, or nursing cottage, at Warkworth, and is considering'the adoptioif of the scheme in other directions. A statement was recently published in Wellington alleging that the Government was advertising in an Irish newspaper for reerufcs for the police force, "Irish Constabulary preferred." The Hon. A. L. Herdman denies tho dlogation, and states that the Department does _ not advertise anywhere for recruits. A circumstantial story is in circulation to the effect that the Civil Service Commissioners drew up regulations to fc)o observed by the Government Print- , ing Office; that those wore sent out to that office to be printed; and that tho men setting them up in type took strong exception to some of tho proposed regulations, would have do- . privetf them of .some improvements , introduced under tho regime of Mr. , Fisher, the Minister in charge of tho offico. It is stated that a plain hint was given that if the regulations wore going to bo insisted on there would not be anyone in the office to set thorn up. The proposed regulations were, therefore, withdrawn, for the present , at any rate. ! ] 1 «

The public's attention is drawn to the special provisions made by the Anchor Company for excursion trips to H.M.Si New Zealand from Motueka, and Nelson. Full particulars are advertised.

A Wellington telegram reports that the Minister of Marine stated yesterday that for the year ended 31st March the Marine^ Department's revenue totalled £57,756, and the expenditure £63,369. These figures include the Department of Fisheries, and tho meteorological, harbours, lighthouses, fish and oysters, and Government steamers accounts.

The Hon W. H. Herrios informed a "Post" representative yosterday that he had completed the purchase of 3000 acres of Native land between Napier and Wairoa, near the line of the route of the proposed Napier-Gisborno railway.

The "Pahiatua Herald," in discussing the, proposal that motors should be used for opening up the East Coast districts, says the policy to adopt now is to unite in ondeavouring to obtain the motor service, and to press for the light lines afterwards.

TJio To Kuiti Magistrate was confronted the other day with the question as to what constituted a labelled parcel of liquor. The case in which the point was. raised was one where the licensee of an hotel had wrapped the bottle in paper and labelled it. Tlio purchaser of the liquor placed the parcel in a bag, presumably for convenience in carrying. The Magistrate said it was a reasonable thing to place the parcel in a bag for convenience, but the practice would leave room for abuse, and the Act evidently intended that the label should be on the outside covering.

"I. object to militarism on principle, but I will not anchor that principle in an unjust court/ Mas the utterance which fell from the lips of a defaulting Territorial in tho Police Court at Auckland. When fined £2 and 7s costs for failing to attend cump, the same individual said luS would rofuso to pay. No notice was taken of this refusal. The Defence Act allows the line to 'be recovered by tlu< authorities direct from tho defaulter's employers, who take it out of tho defaulter's weekly wages, either in one sum or by instalments, according t» the relative magnitude of the fine and tho wage.

"I am always .amused when I read about New Zealand having tho most southerly, town in the Southern Hemisphere," a sea captain told a Dunodin "Star" reporter, on Friday. This captain, who is himself a New Zealandc-r, said that Port Stanley, in the Falkland Islands, a British possession, is tho most southerly town in this-hemis-phere,' .Port Pegasus, tho meet southerly port in Stewart Island, is situated in 47dog. 12m. S., and Port Stanley is in 51dig. 41m. S., thus Port Stanley is approximately 269 miles Boutli of Port Pegasus..

A Taihape resident -scin<> time ago left for a fortnight's holiday, and during liis absence one of his hens hatched out a brood of sixteen fine , chicks. The hen and her brood were ; cared for a next-door neighbour until the owner returned. Since then the chicks have reached full development, and the hen has resumed egg-laying duties again. Apparently out or gratitude to the neighbour who cared

for her brood, that lion now comes through the fence each morning and pocks at tho neighbour's door until admitted through the kitchen to a little back room, where she obligingly lays an egg, after which she struts out again with the air of one who has done Tier duty towards her neighbour. With eggs at 2s 6d per dozen, a, good many people wiil wish that their neighbours kept .hens of this kind.—Taihape "Times."