LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7808, 12 September 1903, Page 5

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

| By an Order-in-Council blackleg (symptomatic anthrax) has been declared a disease •oaf the purposes of tbe Btock Act, 1893. A meeting last night of the PalmerstonNorth Working Men's Club approved tbe •purchase of a central site in town, and will erect new club buildings thereon at a cost pf£2ooo. The priwo-paL items in tbe cargo taken to Africa from, the colony by the subsidised steamer Suffolk were— -9702 carcases mutton' and lamb, 8152 sacks oats, 2920 boxes butter, and 2824 sacks bran. Majpr Moore, commanding the New Zea.la__d Permanent Force, states that as the Boya! New Zealand Engineers are now up to full strength, tbe corps will be closed for recruiting until further notice. Tb« -Rey J. A. Jtaxfond, President of the Methodist Conference, will conduct jmemorial services in* connection with the late Rev W. G. Parsonson in the St Albans, Methodist Churcb to-morrow evening. The Rev J. Richards will preach in the morning. " According to the " Now Zealand Times " of yesterday, one of a number of pedigree sheepdogs brou-ght frora England by the x TuTakina haa been killed. The chain by which it was tied up snapped, and, in its delight at finding itself free, the animal fell down the hold and wtas fatally- injured. The dog, which was booked to Chril&jhurch,. was probably tme of three ordered byv a. Timaru gentleman. It wa_* valued at £40. - The Minister of Railways notifies in this ■week's *" Gazette" that after September 14 all exhibits consigned for the Wairarapa Art and Industrial Exhibition, to be held in Masterton ou October 13 and "following days, wilT be carried free on the New Zealand railways. All loading atd •ualoading must be done at the expense of tbe consignors, and, in the event of the exhibits being sold, the full ordinaaj- railage charges ", must be paid. IVlessrs Cojriway Matson and Sons' new horse bazaar in Madras Street was opened this morning, a' good sale being effected. Before tho sale was begun, Mr Matson made a. brief speech, explaining that his reason for opening the yards was his belief * that there was enough business in the city to keep two horse bazaars going. The health of the firm was drunk by a large gathering, which was entertained by the firm at luncheon. The Telegraph Department in Christchurch to-day received tbe following telegram frpm Mr Gray, secretary of tbe Postofiice, at Wellington.:—-"* With' regard to the • circular issued by the Eastern Extension Company regarding lifting New ZealandSyaney cables, I received service yesterday from the General Manager of ths Pacific (jable Company, who is at present in Melbourne, to the effect that the General Manager in Australasia of the Eastern Extension Company stated that there* was no truth in the threat to raise the cables. — W. Gray, Wellington." ''-\ The additions* recently made to the Ashley River protective works, above the-t-ramc bridge, cost the local bodies interested £281 18s 9d. The' amount§ payable by the^ different bodies as . follow : — Ashley Road Board, 40 per cent, £129 13s 9d ; Rangiora Berough Council, 25_ per cent, £66 5s Id' ; Kowai Road "ftoard, 23 jjer cent, £64 16s 10d ; Mandeville and Rangiora Road Board, 7£ per cent, £21 2s ltid. The actual cost of the work, wbi6h .was carried out by tbe railway authorities, was about £&OQ, but the balanoe above the amount contributed by the local bodies was paid by the Go- . Yernment. ( It was stated in Wellington on Thursday that a manager has actually been appointed for the New Zealand Starte Fire Inmirance Department — a department not yet 1 cxeated-^andf further, that the appointment has been conferred upon- Mr Brinrfley, now in Sydney. Mr Brindley wis; formerly manager for New Zealand of the Victorian Insurance Company. Rumour has for some $ime past associated his name witb the State Department of Fire Insurance. In reply to an inquiry on the subject, the Premier said: "There is .no foundation whatever for the statement. No appointment is yet* possible. The Sta,te Fire insurance Bill is still before the Legislature." About 7 Vclock yesterday evening, a young man employed as engineers' steward .on H.M.S. Lizard had a narrow escape from being drowned at Lyttelton. He had been- washing some clothes at the dock en-gine-house, and went to empty a tub near the slip. In the darkness, he fell into the harbour. Mr Beecroft, thd-dock engineer, beard the splash and ran out of the enginebouse to see what had occurred. Perceiving that tbe man had fallen into' the "water, he got a long-handled rake, which he thrust out to the drowning man. The latter got his arm around it and was drawn to fynd. But for Mr Beecroft's promptitude he would probably have been drowned, as the water was about 9ft deep, and he could not swim*. Dr Torrey and Mr Alexander, who recently travelled through Australia and New Zealand', o_» a musical Gospel mission, returned to their homes in Chicago at the end of June, and were received (ac- _ cording to the " Tribune ") "by six thou-sand-people, who sang hymns in- loud unison, .and showed <,the depth of their feeling - by faces suffused with religious fervour." Tbe doctor may be am undoubted authority on demonstrative religion 1 , but the address he delivered at the meeting betokened somewhat mixed ideas. Here is his description of Wellington:— "At Wellington we were told thj&b evangelists were unpopular, that the last one could only half fill the hall, and that the Atheists and Liberals were in possession of the town. But we downed' the Atheists on their own grounds, and left thousands of converts behind us." It is really, too bad of the doctor not to bave made clear the fate of the Liberals. *' The "Poverty Bay Herald waives an in : stance of the resourcefulness that has to be employed _x> overcome the prejudices of the Maori through the influence of' the tobunga which occurred during Dr Pomare's visit to Nuhaka. A Native child was found to be very ill from pneumonia. Dr Pomare instructed the parents to apply bot fomentations, but they revised, stating that they were forbidden to use hot water. " Well," said' the doctor, " are you forbidden to use cold water." They replied in the negative. "And may you use the old Native remedy of hot stones?" They replied that tliat was good. "Then," said the doctor, "get a bucket of cold water, and soak that towel in it." This was done, and the unsophisticated Native obeyed the doctor's further instructions with eagerness. He instructed them to get a flat stone, heat it in the fire, drop it into the towel, and" apply* it to the suffering child. Thus the hot towel was got to work, anidj tbe child, which was in great danger, rfc- , covereot, . j£ — ~^—~ • *

Constablfo <>*-(&-m£U and Mitchell arrest- ' ' ed a boy at St Albans this morning on a charge of assault. -. ' Mr Charles Clark advertises in this issus thaf tho plans of the Cashmere/ Hill subdivision, which will be offered on Thursday next, are now available. At Gisborne, the 'Divorce Court granted a decree nisi in the case of Elisabeth Hick, ! petitioner, against Francis Hick, now of i Hawera, respondent, on the grounds of misconduct. The dredge Manchester will begin to work double shifts oh Monday. In order to carry out the new arrangements, Captain John Lundie has been appointed sailing mate. x The Federal Council of tbe New Zealand Builders' Association will meet in Dunedin on September 22, when delegates froht J Auckland, "Wellington, Christchurca, Timaru ! and Invercargill will attend. _ The chief ' subject to be discussed is conditions of coni traot. A meeting of householders will be held at the Phillipstown School on Wednesday evening, to receive the report of- ' the ooan*mitfcee appointed to procure a piano far the school. The efforts of the^cooimittee axe meeting witb success, and np difficulty is anticipated in raising the necessary funds. According to a veracious correspondent* an inebriated individual who was aigzagr ging his way homeward along a city street and who obtained needed support from one of the electrical. pillars, wais heaxd to exclaim*, pn seeing the light at the bottom; "■Goo-gracious, hersh a munishipal footwarmer." Tlie Government of South Australia has prohibited the importation of live stock, wool, bones; hair, hoofs, horns, etc., except in accordance with regulations published in this, week's "Gazette," which provide, in the case of bjwie and bonedust that! thej shall, on being landed, be subjected to treatment under the supervision and direction of an inspector. The following is a statement of Customs duties collected at the Port of Lyttelton during the week ending September 11, 1903 :— Spirits £1543 16s lOd, cigars, cigarettes and snuff £244 ls ld, tobacco £902 13s, wine £118 15s 2d, beer £8, tea £121 Ss 2d, sugar, molasses and treacle £205 6s Bd, weight £421 14s 6d^ ad valorem £2149 19s 6d, other duties £77 19s 6d, total for week £5793 lis sd. At a largely-attended meeting of those interest^! in the establishment of a branch store of the North Canterbury Co-operative Stores Company afc Oxford, last evening, an offer was received from the directors of the company to start business if 1500 shares were takea up. It wis reported that capital to the value of IbQUt 3000 shares was forthcoming, and it was decided to proceed with the sale of Shares. Tl-9^ Ju v ooniOteFs- of the mttvement* for a Domfestio Helps Union of Workers -are hopeful of success, though they anticipate encountering censiderabie difficulties. Should tfoey succeed in getting a- case before the Arbitration Court the citation of the employers will be a work of some magnitude. The prii-iary idea of the movement is tosecure shorter hours of labour for Jbe girls, it. being stated that the .wages at _presehb paid are generally satisfactory. Tlie" Fiji Times," of /August 26, bt noting the .large amount of lax exported from this country, takes the opportunity of urging the Government of Fiji to offer a bonus of something under £5000 for the first hundred tons of flax fibre exported from Fiji. A variety of flax known as '• furferaea gigantea '* flourishes well in. that country, and, according to the ""* Times," is superior i;o the variety exported from New Zealand. .' Mauy complaints are made about the inconvenience caused/ by smoke in thie Lyttelton Tunnel, liie carriages get into a very bad state on account of the nuisance, aiid passengers' clothes are damaged and sometimes almost ruined. It has been suggested that coke or smokeless coal should be used, or, if that is not .feasible, oil f uel. There is no ventilating shaft in the tunnel and tbe sijioke hangs about. It is stated that if the tunnel is entered in the day time, a lighted lamp caa hardly be seen a few yards off. To-day's weather forecast is as follows :— Wind moderate fijpm westward at all plaoes during the next twelve hours, but changdtag after that time to strong from between the north-east and north-west at all places* south of Napier atad Wanganui. The barometer will further rise northward of Napier and New Plymouth, and fall elsewhere. The sea will be moderate on both coasts and the tides good on the western coast of the North Island amd at Cape Campbell, and moderate at other ports. A warning signal for a noi-tbsrly gale has been exhibited at Nugget Point. During the last twenty-four borors throughout the country tlie barometer has risen slowly, with moderate westerly winds and fine weather. Frost wasv reported from Gisborne, Tophouse, Naseby, Boxburgh and Clyde.