TOWN & COUNTRY.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 11701, 10 March 1902, Page 2

TOWN & COUNTRY.

The Customs revenue for eleven-months of the financial year exceeds the estimate for that period by £BO,OOO. A temporary transfer of the license of the Arowhenua Hotel was -granted ion Saturday from Mrs Falconer to W. -'O'Brien. The Warrimoo took 152 tons >:of cargo to Sydney on Saturday, of wihieh'll2 tons were from southern ports.

Captain Edwin advised on Saturday as follows : : —Strong north to cast «nd'southeast winds, glass fall, tides ordinary, • considerable north-east pea outside. Ladies' chrome shoes, button or lace, 5s 6d; bluchers, 4s 9d ; men's shooters, -7s 9d; children's from Is pair to clear. Last few days at Prosser's Arcade Boot' Shop.— (Advi..)

Sir James Prendergasfs appointment to the Bank of New Zealand is to membership of the Board in succession to Mr Blair, Mr F. de C. Malet being ralseady sident.Owing to the rivers all being high and stopping traffic, the dceing of .entries for Class 119, jar of butter, at the Mackenzie Agricultural Show, has been postponed' till this evening. The ten 20-tori tip-trucfe made !by ? the Southland Engineering Company for the Harbour Board have all been put together, and were taken over bv the Resident Engineer on Saturday—subject, of course, to the trial and maintenance conditions of ihe contract. At Court on Saturday morning, before Mr C. A. Wray, S.M., John Thompson, arrested by Constable Perriis"kie, rpieaded guilty to a charge ©f drunkenness. As he had been before the Court twiee 'previously that week, a fine of 10s wias imposed, in default 48 lours' imprisonment.

There are over 5000 pairs of boots «and ■hoes, consisting of American, English and Colonial lines, all marked at prices at Whittaker's annual sale for one month only, commencing Friday, 14t'ri February. It \vill pay you to inspect our stock before tmrdkasing Elsewhere.— (Advt.)

Mr P. G. Allen, seedsman, had ««noe very fine show and «acfcus dahlias :in his window on Saturday; and Mr jßadcHf&j decorated one of his windows with a 'fine bunch of lilies from his own. gar dsn. The weather we have had appears to haro® 'been very suitable for producing a rieii crop of autumn flowers. The latter half of last- week was .almost. lost as regards work at the hsiibour cpiarrv, the rains making the clay on which the men have to work, whether at stripping or stone-lifting, a quagmire, and with the soaking it- has had the ground will handly be fit to work on till alter scane days of fine weather.

At Feilding, at 10.30 on Friday nigt4, a fire was discovered in the stable at the «ear of the C.T.C. store in Manchester street. The Fire Bridage were quickly on the spot, and with the help of the ptiblic the fire was quickly extinguished' after destroying tbe stable and the outbuildings of the " Star" office, the proprietors of which lost about £3OO ; Wilson and "Haswell, and the C.T.C. £IOO. and Bunlhtg, photographer, £5. The "Star" outbuildings and contents were insured for £2OO in the Phoenix and New Zealand Insurance offices. Heavy rain and the absence of wind also prevented the spread of the fiie.

A telegram from Wellington states tliat nothing has been finally settled about, the visit of a team of shooting men to Bisley. The notice which was posted on the board at Trentliam, asking those who fired in (lie Last Stage Match to state whether I hey could go if selected, has led to a misconception. The selection of the team will certainly not be confined to these, as it is recognised that there are many good and reliable shots in the colony who, perhaps, were unable to attend the Trentham meetinc. Colonel Sommerville declares that the very best men will: be selected, irrespective of district. This he emphasised at the presentation of prizes by. Mrs Seddon. The sum of £2OOO is about the cost of the visit, and unless this sum is granted by the Government no team .can go..

Tile mail's by the Sonoma, which left Auckland on the Ist ult., arrived in London on the afternoon of the 6th inst.

Five men, who were arrested for drunkenness on Saturday, will come before the Magistrate this morning. The time for receiving entries for the Geraldine St. Patrick's Day sports meeting has been extended till to-morrow evt.iing.

Mr D. Mahoney has several farms for sale or lease; sections for building on in Row, South and Arthur streets, and houses on Roslyn terrace, in Wilson and Elizabeth streets.

Members, and intending members, of the Star Football Club, are reminded that the annual meeting will be held next Wednesday evening, in the Sophia Street Hall. A good attendance is requested. " The Premier has suffered temporary embarrassment through the bursting of a steam pipe," says a West Coast paper, referring, j not to Mr Seddon, but to the Premier! (Buller) Company's dredge. The vice-president of the Timaru Tennis Club has offered a handsome trophy for a ladies' singles handicap. Entries shcrald be posted' on the notice board without delay, as it is desired to get this match played off before the Easter tournament. Owing to the inclement weather the Garrison Band did not play in front of the Pareora Buildings on Saturday night, but will play next Saturday night, they being engaged to play to celebrate the opening of the new buildings.

By virtue of its own merits the Seamstress sewing machine is finding a place in thousands of New Zealand homes. The factory (an American) covers seven acres, and is capable of turning out 500 machines per See prices—Hand ihachiMß, £3 10s; treadle, £5 10s; Adams and Qo.— (Advt.). " , . The public exhibition of the Australian Blondin is 'being looked forward to with great interest, especially lay the young people. He will malce his first appearance on Thursday night, : and also be sero out (weather permitting) 'on Friday and Saturday nigh'ts. The Wellington Post" -states that a remarkable sight is to be seen right alongside the roadwtty which leads around Waikaremoana. This is a rata tree, a branch .'of which has up and is supporting :a -huge rock about twenty tons.

With the introduction of up-to-date labour saving machinery and increased facility for a large output, Messrs Marriott and Marriott, of London, have placed a piano on the market which Begg and Co. next Theatre are able to sell at £37 10s. This is the result of using the new American automatic niano machinery, and is •undoubtedly the biggest and best value ever offered for the money.—(Advt.) Amongst the competitors at the Oamaru Horticultural Show last week were several exhibitors from Waimate. Of these there were successful in the Gardeners' Class Mrs Hayes, who took first and special prizes for collection of annuals, and second prize for best collection of fruit; Mrs R. G. "Baxter, first in Amateus' Class, for collection of roses, and first for cucumbers; and 'her cooking apples, in. "which class there were nine entries, were highly commended, f The Dunedin "Star" 'states anthoritai tively that the Premier will leave tha ■ colony about the middle of -April, accompanied by Mrs Seddon; and the Misses Seddon (2). Mr Thompson will accompany him in the capacity of private secretary. The Blenheim Borough Council passed, a resolution on ■Fridaynight in support -of 'the movement to prese'nt the Premier ~wit*h : a testimonial marking the people's appre- ■ ciation of his policy in regard to the South African war.

In consequence of the severe wet gale "which blew up yesterday afternoon, the "Mayoral procession and special service at 'St. Mary's were postponed till next Sunday. Only two or three dozen people turned up at the Borough Council Chambers, and the marshal], Mr A. Mills, and the delegates of the Friendly Societies conferred and decided t'o postpone the func'tion, seeing that it would indeed be absurd 'to persevere with it. The Town Clerk "and a few Councillors, some of the bands'men, and members of the Pipe Band (in "uniform), and a few members of Friendly Societies turned up. His Worship the Mayor, who lives some way out of town, probably foresaw what must happen, and did not turn up. Well-wishers of the Oainaru Coursing

Club, and admirers of longtails and fur, 1 'will no doubt be glad to iea-r, that the meeting at Oamaru on May Ist, 2nd and 3rd, promises to be most successful. The prospects are very bright, and payments by owners of dogs engaged are being regularly made. As the time of. decision draws nearer, the interest of owners is becoming greater. It is expected that 80 dogs will face the slipper, and that-£l5O will be available for the winner. The club is sparing no' effort or expense to make the ground first-class. • The escapes hare been moved to more suitable positions facing the hill, and 100 hares are expected from Peel Forest in a day or two, which should give ample time before the meeting to allow of getting them into condition and familiar with the escapes. Taken altogether a first.-ck.ss week's sport is likely to be provided. A meeting of the committee of the Winchester Mechanics' Institute was held on Friday evening. There were present— Messrs A. H. Crosbie (chairman), S. J. Hitchens, James Moore, J. Wilts and George Steftn. The chairman reported that the institute was in a very flourishing position, having at present 44 members. The treasurer, Mr Steven; reported a credit balance of £2 13s 9d, and that the Government subsidy would be paid during the month. A very hearty vote of thanks was passed to Mr Steven, who had acted as treasurer to the institute for nearly seven years, and Mr S. J. Hitchens promised to act as treasurer (pro. tem.). The secretary was requested to write and thank Mrs Ferguson for the hearty support she and her late husband, Major Ferguson, had given to the institute, and also to express deep sympathy with her in her sad bereavement. ~ The meeting closed .with the' usual compliment to the chairman. At the quarterly meeting of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce on Friday, Mr G. Laurenson, M.H.R., stated that he believed the Midland Railway would not ;be a paying concern for a hundred years. There was no reason for the Chamber 'to advocate the construction of a nonpaving line. The Government had now sixteen lines under construction in different parts of the colony to satisfy parochial clamour. That meant that none of them had arrived at a payable point, and the Government had to shut down on them. The Government should push on payable lines, such as the North Island Main Trunk and the" Waipara-Cheviot lines, leaving the Otago Central and the Midland alone for a time. One member pointed out that the Chamber had always urged the construction of the Midland Railway, and that Mr Xaurenson's views in this connection were not those of the Chamber's. A motion was carried that a committee be set up to secure the co-oneration of Canterbury members of th« House of Representatives in getting charges on the Lyt-telton-Chriatohurch railway brought into line with those prevailing on the other port lines of the colony. A garden party and sale of work, the takings of which are. to go towards asphaltiing the chip tennis court, were held' at the Girls' High School on Saturday afternoon. Rain in the early morning" threatened another wet day, but it fortunately cleared off about noon, and the afternoon turned out bright and warm. There was a good attendance of visitors, especially of ladies. It is a pity that there should be such a scarcity of young men. at these pleasant gatherings, as there was at this gathering. The sale of work was held in the gymnasium, which proved an excel- , lent p»:iee. The various fancy, sweets, i fruit, and flower stalls, were nicely ar- | ranged near the wall*, two ping-pong tables | occupied the middle of the floor, whilst a shooting gallery was placed in tke south- | west corner. A prise was given for the best decorated bicycle, the bicycle getting the highest number of votes being the winner. lor this event four competed, the successful competitor, Miss F. Wright, heading the poll by a large majority. Her bicycle represented " harvest thanksgiving" and was most, artist-icallv decorated, the thick bars being adorned with oats, the -pokes with blue and white cornflowers and in front of the handles was a heart made with velvet wheat, in the middle of which were the letter? T.H.S. in blue cornflowers. The other bicycles were also, nicely decorated. A prize was given for the best but-tc*-hole, and in this competition the judges had much trouble in coming to a decision, the winner eventually being Miss B. Cross. The different stalls were in charge of ex-girls and present pupils, Misses Watt and Mulliolland superintending the work. Afternoon tea, under the charge of Miss Cruickshanks, was provided in the cookery room. The grounds were rather damp, but tennis and croquet were indulged in in the latter part of the afternoon

A bituminous coal deposit lias been discovered 30 miles north of Invercargill. The coal has been pronounced of the best quality, and suited both for steam and firing purposes. A company is in process of formation.

On Wednesday last the bridge across the Kaihu Creek collapsed when a number of j.-argaville 'school children attending their picnic were upon it, the children falling into the river. A number sustained broken legs or arms, but no lives were lost. A high testimonial to the merits of New Zealand butter has been paid by a British firm which has no special interest in New Zealand as buyers, and which handles irrespectively Irish, Danish and Australian butters. The testimonial is contained in an extract from the firm's advertisement in English papers : " New Zealand butter of finest grade is far and away the best value. It is perfect in make and most delicious in flavour. Buyers who do a high class of trade should send us a sample order for one or more cases of our fancy brands. In our opinion Danish and Australian will ultimately take second place after New Zealand."

The parishioners of Merivale, one of the most important charges, in the Christchurch diocese, nave been divided over a letter sent to the vicar, the Rev. H. Airay Watson, by the churchwardens, suggesting short- ! comings on the part of himselt and his wife. I The letter, which has been printed and circulated broadcast throughout the parish, is signed by the churchwardens, and expresses profound dissatisfaction with the methods of the vicar and his wife, and states that the tension has become so acute that at Easter no one will undertake the office of churchwardens or vestrymen. The letter goes on to refer to an impediment in the vicar's speech, and after charging Mrs Watson with improperly writing a letter to a parishioner's wife, demands that the vicar should resign. On Thursday night the matter was publicly ventilated at a large meeting of the parishioners, at which the vicar made a remarkably moderate and sensible speech, regretting the friction which had occurred, and appealing to his people to help him to live the scandal down. Finally it was decided to refer the whole matter to | the Bishop, and a resolution to this eflect was passed.

DISCHARGING PILES. It is quite interesting to watch the work of discharging the big gum piles from the barque Devonport at the main wharf, and all oav on Saturday there was a' continuous attendance of town and country people observing it. A glance into the vessel's hold is calculated to inspire a wish to see the forest where these long straight boles of turpentine gum were felled; so straight are they that they,seem to pack together witlv scarcely a crevice big enough for a rat to crawl through. That, to be sure, is in part an illusion due to bits of loose bark lying among the piles. Each pile is hauled out of the hold by a steel wire rope, and by one of the .wharf cranes, a good many separate pulls being required', first tp get the pile within the hold into position for launching out through the bow port, and then because the crane s pull is limited to the length of her ordinary chain lift from the wharf level. When a. pile is almost clear of the snip, a second crane takes a hand, and 1 with a crane hoist at each end the pile is irresistibly and gracefully lifted and swung over the wharf and! landed' upon a truck. On* has only to try and imagine the work being done wholly by manual labour to preciate the value of the steam engine. To see the piles in the hold suggests that it must be much more difficult to get them in than, to get them out; but we are assured that it is not so. The piles are brought to the vessel down river on barges, which are just about the right height for launching the piles straight into the bow-port, and steam and tackle make quick work of -the loading.

A RAIN STORM. The rain which set in on Wednesday evening had practically cleared off on Saturday morning, by which time 1.46 inches had been registered at Timaru, and 1.90 at Kingsdown. We have not yet heard from inland observers, but judging from the high floods in the rivers on Saturday morning, there must have been a very heavy rainfall along the ranges. Some heavy showers fell on Saturday evening and through the night, but yesterday morning the' sky gave promise of clearing. About 1 p.m., however, a violent southeaster sprang up suddenly bringing with it a torrential shower, which the wind drove hard into every nook and corner on the windward side of things. The rain fell heavily for an hour and then tapered off, while the gale continued in full force till near sunset, when it lulled and died away completely, and the sky cleared. Light airs were coming from the west at sunset, and for away in the south, the clouds on the horizon were travelling fast from west to eastl There is reason to fear that with such a gale the rainfall on the hills would be even greater than before, and that as a consemience greater floods in our Tain rivers would follow. Our Waimate correspondent wrote on Saturday afternoon :—Thursday. Friday and Saturdav were wet days at Woimate'. the rain culminating in a fnll of 11 inches in 34 • hours up to 9 o'clock Saturdnv morning. It is feared mnch damape will be done unless the weather immediately clears, as there was. a high temperature in conjunction with continual calm and damp during the last three davs of the week.

SYNOPSIS OF NEW ADVERTISEMENTS. Canterbury Farmers' Co-operative Asso-ciation4-Sales for this week; special horse sale at' Studholme on 18th inst.; clearing sale at SeadownJ on 10th April, i Guinness and LeCren, Ltd—lmportant sale of farms at Waimate on 29th inst. Wright, Stephenson and Co.—Sell stallion at Awa Moa sale on Wednesday. D. Maioney—List \>f properties for sale on easy terms. New Zealand Railways—Tenders .for 1 lease of refreshment rooms. Mackenzie County Council—Has Lake Tekapo Hotel to lease. Lieut.-Colonel Bailey—lmportant district order. Mr and Mrs James Kennedy, Pukaki— Thanks tp sympathisers. Sophia Street—ls closed to traffic today. The Town Clerk—Notice of claims on Mayoral roll. Geraldine—Entries for St .Patrick's Sports Meeting extended till to-morrow. R. J; Wlivte—Contradicts a rumour. Timaru Gas Works—Want pick and shovel men. Blondin—At Market Square Thursday . and following nights. Dugald Macfarlane—Election of Mr Dixon to t3eraldine County Council. Star Football Club—Annual meeting oni Wedne«d#v next. T. and J. Thomson—PaTticulars of heavy shipments of ladies' goods. Funeral notice—By P. D. Herdman, Geraldine. Wanteds—Two notices.