Local and General

Thames Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 9976, 24 June 1901, Page 4

Local and General

li JPhip carved head of kiatiri gum^ ; .:of -:Mr R. R t McGregor, of Pollen'ijtreet, is now on view at fWt ■Pv^ontag«e'«r«hop^-; -;?■■ y>-—,;:fe i' '^Some of3t|i© Koniata ;Reefs fliinerg (Thames oil' Saturday^night . en' route -to Auckland. A few Have obtained employment in the Opito■nui; district .

„Mr Williams, who was recently ap.pQinted, maaager oi the Waitekaufi Cpinpany'sv property, was at Thames on Saturday after having paid" a visit ; to, h Auckland. \ t ,; :

' The members of the Thames No. ji whp. proceeded to : Christ church, went in their Naval .uniform, Rnd were, attached to the Devonport \NavaT Artillery^ ;.

s The, v annual,,eppsignments ;pf- am-* munitipp for /the local volunteers have been received from the Defence" De-pa^men^-aii which the* hearts of the members should rejoice.' '-

¥i Vit has'fbeeri arrangejSltha.t fe Ja's. Bj^rdma^V Vice-President of the MintJnioti; will journey to Komate to-day (co interview Mr F. C. Brown, manager of the Komata Reefs mine, «n.d endeavour to arrange an amicable settlement of the difficulty that has; arise?} in connection Vith the introduction of single-handed work I into the mine.

: It is rumoured that a large number, of .miners; ht&ve.; been, discharged from their employment in the Waihi distrjct, the . reason being thfet ' the companies intend to keep expenses, down. •

■:i'vWe'lfeaTO that the Kornata Reefs | battery shut down on Saturday owittg^j to the large; number ot miners ...who] have thrown up employment on ac» cduntr:; of the Untroductiori of the ■ihgle^-handed system. '■■ '

The graves of the Maori chiefs and others who were buried on 'che summit' of Totara Point are in a very neglected state, and many are simply a mass of weeds and debris. One mound stunds alone, a patch of neatness' in a neglected graveyard.

Good progress is being made with the rehearsals of the entertainment to be given next Thursday in aid of the local Fire Brigade. In the minstrel part .which is being arranged by -Mrs N. Payne, some original quips, and cranks will be introduced. Altogether an enjoyable programme will be presented.

.Constable Hodgson,: /who was in attendance at the football match on Saturday, was careful not to allow any sof the brakes >or cabs to be overcrowded.! One party were : comfort* ably installed in on© of the carriages when the constable came along and compelled those Over and abofe . the licensed number to vacate their seats.

;. A> private letter received by a Thames refeiden'o from Bloemfontein, Orange ttiver Colony, states that several New Zealanders are negotiating for farms in the Ladybrand and Ficksburg district, and are confident that they will do well. They intend ; to- use the 7 latest agricultural appliances and to work the farms on a scientific manner, and as they-have had several years experience in New 'Zealand where agriculture has made rapid strides, they are confident of success. "If the Boers can make a deal of it with their old fashioned ploughs, hand sowing, and hand reaping, ; surely with our double furrows, machine sowers and harrowera, and reapers and binders we can make a 'do'of it." The possibilities of South Africa as an agricultural district are enormous.

; The Ffengh Anti-Alcoßol §oc}ety is displaying on walls and othor suitable places' in Paris small bills, on which are printed short sentences calculated to make drinkers pause, *uch as the following: "Alcohol- now-<a-days is responsible for more ravages than pestilence, famine or war.—Gladstone." "Alcohol'is no more a digestive than an appetiser. In whatever shape it present* itself it is a poison.—Francisque Sarcey." "Do you know what that man i' drinking from glass which 'shakes in his trembling hand? He is drinking the tears and the blood and the life of his wife arid children!—Lamonnais.*' "Alcohol gives neither Health nor' strength, nor warmth, nor happiness. It does nothing but harm.—Tolgtoj."

la ttie olden days, for an ablebodied man to be caught a third time begging, says Mr Froude, was held a crime deserving deatih, and the sentence was intended on fit occasions to be executed. If caught Jbegging once, being neither aged nor infirm, he was whipped at the cart's tail. If caught a second time his ear was slit or bored through with a hot iron. Jf caught a third time, being thereby proved to be of no use upon earth, but.to live upon it only to his own hurt and that of others, he. suffered death as a felon. So the law of England remained for sixty years. Firat. drawn by Henry, it continued unre--pealed through tihe reigns of Edward and Mary; subsisting, therefore, with the deliberate approval of both the •great parties between whom the country" was divided. Reconsidered under Elizabeth, (the same law was again formally paflsed, and it was therefore the expressed conviction of the English nation that it was better for a man nott to live at all than to live a profitless and worthless life. The vagabond was a sore spot upon the Commonwealth to bej healed by wholesome discipline, if thfe gangrene was not incurable; to be cut aiway with kknife if the milder treatment of the cartwhip failed to be of profit.