LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 7923, 30 January 1904, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Full particulars in connection with the 1 Eait Christchurch Schools' picnic are advertised in another column. The Nelson hop orop will be very light, and a correspondent says that there will be an estimated deficiency of one half. At the annual meeting, last evening, of. the Kaiapoi Building Society, the balancesheet and annual report were adopted, and the retiring officers were re-elected. A meeting of the Past Grand, of the American Constitution, 1.0.0. F., will be ; held in the Washington Lodge Room, oa Monday evening, at eight o'clock, to considier the question of the .extension of the Order., • • ' . v It is expected that Sir J. G. Ward will~ visit Kaiaipoi on Wednesday next, to formaOly open the new Railway Station and lay the foundation-stone of the new Post Offioe. The Drillhall has been, secured for a great function, at which from 500 to 600 people are expected to be present. A telegram from Feilding states that the Mayor presided yesterday at ai meeting of persons interested in the formation of a co** operative company for the purpose of erecting a bacon factory at Feilding. The meeting decided to form a company, witb a capital of £5000, in £1 shares,' £2500 to be called up. ' "• , At Auckland, to-day, for being i_ possession of six pounds of smuggled tobaiccO, Allan Morton, an Auckland hairdresser and tobacconist, was fined £100, the penalty being mitigated to £_V with costs. The Crown Prosecutor said that extensive smuggling was going on, requiring the Customs to take drastic measures. Mr W. R. Haselden, S.M., presided at the Magistrate's Court this morning. lbe only business deal, with waa a charge ! against an elderly woman for having beeui drunk on,,the Christchurch Railway Station platform on Friday -evening. She pleaded -guilty and was convicted and discharged, the. Bench cautioning her not to repeat the offence. *. As the Premier's stay in Christchurch this . ■ morning was very short, Mr C. Bean, who had desired to* see him on behalf of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, decided to postpone the interview. . Mr Bean hopes to see the Premier on bis return from the south, amd will then urge the claims of the Society to Government assistance. Tbe annual .statement of the Auckland Saving. Bank/showed that tbe bank dealt - with considerably over 'half.- a million during the year. lbe deposits totalled £773,350, and. the withdrawals £753,841. There remained at the credit of depositors £874,336 ; tbe number of accounts total 31,729, an increase of 1700 over the previous year's number, and the surplus profits amounted to £67,505. ; The secretary of the Christcburch Shorthand Writers' Association has received the results of the examination held under tbe Association's auspices, in September last. The successful candidates were:— Miss E. M'Cully, 140 words. Miss Harriet E. Halls, 110 words; Misses Venue Young, Rosa Marshall Ethel Idiens, Annie Wright,' Tvy Cooke ana Alice E. Andrews, and Mr A. E. Leggett, 100 words; Miss Amy. L_ Hart, 90ytords. A novelty which is attracting some attention is at present on view in the Singer Manufacturing Company's agency, in Colombo Street. It consists of a twelve needle and twelve shuttle .owing machine for performing twelve rows of stitching in the one operation, and has been specially imported! for one of the Christchurch clothing factories. This is one of about two hundreddistinct styles of machines made by the . company for manufactoring purposes. . The Elite Band will play tbe following, programme on the Victoria Square _.otun_a, on Sunday /afternoon, commencing at 3;30: — March, "Stars and Stripes Forever '\ - (Sousa) ; air varie, "Vesper Hymn" (H. Round); song, "I Trust You Still ' ' (D'Auvergne Barnard) ; march, " The Dur- ,- hams" (Shipley Douglas); trombone solo, . " The Village Blacksmith " (W. H. Weiss) ; ' air varie, "Rousseau's Drea m" (H. Round) ; song, '"Holy City" (Stephen Adams); march, "Hyde Park" (E. VV*. Berry). At the Christchuroh Magnetic Observatory, at 9.30 a.m. to-day, the barometer stood at 29.271, and was steady. Tbe wind was north-west, and cloud (0.10) 8. The maximum temperature during the preceding twenty-four hours was .77.5, and the minimum 52.4. The .temperature _t 9.30 a.m. was— Dry bulb 65.9, wet bulb 64,7, humidity 47 per cent. The maximum temperature - in the sun was 140.7, and the minimum thermometer on the grass 47.3. Tbe rainfall was nil. ■■.'■' True to promise, Strange and Co. commenced their Great End-of-Summer Sale at 10 a.m. yesterday, and speedily every department was crowded with buyers. During the afternoon the great establishment was like the proverbial fair,H_e attendance being enormous. Tbe reason why Strange's Sales are so successful is that the public know by past, experience these clear-' ances are thoroughly genuine in character, amd that the goods advertised are actually * on sale at the prices quoted, and* trill hi sold to the first-comers. The bargains at the present sales are quite exceptionally at« tractive and numerous. The sale is briskly proceeding to-day. '.. 7144 The best medicine known is SANDER and SON'S EUCALYPTI .EXTRACT. Test its eminent powerM effects in coughs, : colds, influenzal; tbo relief is instantaneous. In serious cases, and accidebts ol all kindsj be they wounds, burnSi •oalds, bruises, sprains, it is tbe safest remedy— •' mo swelling— no inflammation. Like surprising effects produced in croup, diph« theria, bronchitis,, inflammation ef lnngs A (.welling, etc., diarrhasa_ dysentery, <S_. eases of the kidneys and urinary orga_t. BANDER and SON'S EUCALYPTI EX. TRACT is in use at hosp*-**lg and medical clinics all over tbe globe} patronised by his Majesty tbe King of Italy; crowned with medals and diplomas at __ternation-_ Exhibition, Amsterdam. Trust in tbif approved aiticle_ and mjnnt ill oilmr ■ (idvt.y g. ■

There are 456 registered pharmaceutical .shemi_ts in 'New Zealand. Eight of them Hre women. The Tourist Office was advised this morning that the Waimakariri, Rangitata, Waitaki and Rakaia Rivers continue in good order for fishing. The Premier bas received notice that the postal Conference at Rome has been postponed for a year, at the request of the Italian Government. The "Woodville Examiner" states, that Major Stevenson will hold an inquiry into •ihe alleged insubordinate conduct of a member of the Woodville Riflesj who is alleged to have insulted an officer' when on parade iast Friday. The employees of- Messrs Taylor and Oakiey held a picnic to-day at Purau. The party, accompanied by the Elite Band, and numbering about 120, was conveyed from Lyttelton to Purau by the launches Canterbury and Lyttelton. The "New Zealand Times" understands Ibat a movement ie on foot to call a mass meeting of the people of Wellington to protest, on Imperial grounds against the proposed importation of Chinese to work in the . gold mines of the Transvaal. *The vital statistics for January for Christchurch and district are :— Births— Ditv 37, district 109, total 146. In January, 1903, -the total was 164. Marriages— City 18, district 17, total 55. In January,. 1903, Vhe total was 51. Deaths— City 23, district 41, tctal 64. In January, 1903, the _»ta_ was 71. A few weeks ago Mr Ernest Arnold, of Wellington, and some other young New Zeajanders who. arc resident in London, met )nd decided to form an association to be composed: of young people from the colony who are settled in the great capital. An office is to be taken, and- it is intended to make it the rendezvous for all young New Zealanders who may be in London. The superintendent of the Lyttelton Sailors' Home acknowledges with thanks the receipt of the following donations: — American illustrated papers, from Mrs Hornbrook, Opawa; London "Graphics" and; "Tit Bite," from Mr C. J. W. Cookson, Lyttelton ; magazines from Mr W. G. Brittan, Christchurch ; also £1 worth of games for the Seamen's Rest from Mr F. Beverley, Lyttelton. The following is a statement of Customs fluties collected at the .port of Lyttelton during the week ending January 29: — Spirits, £1229 ls 3d ; cigars, cigarettes and ;nuff, £352 2s lld ; tobacco, £846 16s 6d ; wine,. £122 9s lld ; beer, £3 4s 8d ; tea. £99 10s 8d; coffee, cocoa and chocolate, 8s; sugar, molasses and treacle, £186 13s 4d ; weight, £554 10s 2d; -ad valorem, £3069 3s; other duties, £262 12s Id; total for the week, £6726 13s 6d. The Masterton Chamber of Commerce, paving written to theJWellington Education £oard suggesting that the metric system of Weights and measures should be introduced : into the schools, the Board has remitted Jhe question to be considered at the coming conference of inspectors, though members Appeared to be of opinion that there would be" no room in the syllabus for the metric system, until, at any rate, this system had been adopted by the commercial community. The first sale of lands by the East Coast "Native Trust Lands Board was held at Gis- _ fcorne to-day, there being ai large attendance. Township sections at Tolago Bay, thirty-five miles north' of Gisborne, brought from £15 to £30 a_ acre ; small dairy farms n the Paremata Estate sold at form £8 to >_14 per acre, larger areas bringing from £3 lQs to £5 10s. Hill lands brought from fi3 to £4 2s 6d. The Tepuru Block, of js99l acres, was sold to Mr Carmichael at jB4 per acre. The Customs duties collected' at the several ports of New Zealand during the quarter ended December 31 last totalled £641,982, as compared with £593,030 during the corresponding. quarter of 1902. Spirits show an increase from £120,859 to £122,967 ; cigars and snuff fell fr_m £7308 , \o £6898, and cigarettes rose from £18,300 .o £21,579. Manufactured tobacco rose from £75,250 to £82,756 ; Australian wine iecreased from £4524 to £3767, and ale and Seer, etc.. from -£5841 to £5701. Sugar, _olasses aricF treacle increased from £63,151 io £55,325, goods by weight from £59.076 to £64,791, and goods ad valorem from E201.238 to £226,834. For the twelve •months ending* December. 31 the Customs .avenue amounted to £2.501,897, .as against £2,285,157 for 1902. The receipts at the jour centres during the year were ia follow, the firures for 1.02 peing given in parentheses : — Auckland, £636,740 (£604,514); Wellington, £636,650 (£539.179) ; Lyttelton and Christr church, £369,756 (£336,625): Dunedin,. _8413,873 (£.06,032). ? The Excise duties Sollected during the December quarter of 1903 totalled £29,722, as compared with 526,786S 26,786 for. the December quarter of 1902. f this amount, beer contributed £28.153, .s against £25,361 for the corresponding period of 1902. The total Excise revenue for 1903 was £100,021, as compared, witb £94,484 for 1902. The arrival by the Mokoia on Monday of , >wenty-eight Austrians to join the 2000 of their countrymen who are already settled |n New Zealand reminds one (says the Auckland "Star") of the part which the Austrians are taking in the establishment of the wine industry .in tbis colony. The systematic immigration of Austrians to New Zealand began only a few years ago, and the most usual destination has been the • Jiorth of the Auckland Province. Last year % number of them were seeking freehold I •around Helensville and further north, and, | .swing to the impediment offered by their inability to speak our language and their ignorance of our land laws, they applied for md secured tbe . assistance of an Austrian official, who visited their district and plantid a number of them on the land. The . gum wealth of the north affords them a valuable means of paying their way while they ere saving up the necessary money to purchase land, for the men are almost exclu*ively of the peasant class and are not well iff. They are declared by the Austrian Consul (Mr Langguth), the Government Viticul- , turret (Mr Bragato) and other Austrian officials to be very decent, industrious people, who will prove valuable additions to our permanent/ population. Having seen much of the wine-grape industry in their own Country, many of them have naturally turned their attention to this industry in NewZealand, and bave now a number of vine- , yards on the point of bearing. It is stated that they are delighted witb the conditions »f life in -New Zealand, and have reported favourably to tbeir kinsfolk on the advantages offered' here. Tbe influx of Austrians & l therefore, expected to be continuous and creasing.