LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9675, 18 October 1909, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Eight entries hare been received bjU the Nortli Canterbury Board of Educa* tion for the Gammack Scholarship €?&., animations. • • . ': - The Post and Telegraph Ifc£ * partuient has been advised from Beniq that the route via Fao has been inter*, rupted between Bagdad aoad Bafisorftfc^ This morning's river refporfc jhow» - that the rivers of Canterbury, witfcttt*. ' exception of the south branch of I#sU Waimakariri (which is discoloured.) ftj» all clear. ■■.'■■ f-f*. The practice of ston^throwing is bjjkl. coming a nuisance it the Cashmww Hills tramway terminus. Lart evening,;, about eight o'clock, two youths were r% f<i dulging in flying shots at the Tramway . Board's property, regardless of danger to passers-by. "When remonstrated wifcui \. they used abusive language, yrbile thfWi 1 remarks about ladies in the vicianjl:; were of the vilest description. ;> ; j Some time ago the Rev Eliot Chambers presented to Canterbury Museun*a copy of the first issue of the author^ < ised version of the Bible, published in' London. A great deal of interest waa taken in the exhibit, and Mr'WilliamJ • Williams has now presented the Mv- 1 3©urn with a copy of the Bible printed' in Latin in Geneva in 1617. The copies have been placed side by side m the case set apart for fresh exhibits. I At th© annual meeting of the Can* terbury Centre of the New Zealand Amateur Swimming Association on Oc-^ tober 22 Mr GrifE Rich wih me^ that the following rule shouKl be added te the rules of the Centre :— " Any del** gate absenting himself from two secutive meetings shall be deemed ta have resigned his seat, .and his cluß shall be notified of the vacancy and shall elect another delegate. Any dele< gate so losing his seat shall not b« eligible for re-election during that season." -..-;.' Mr H. F. Toogood, who was a studentj at- Canterbury College and who is now? engaged on engineering works at Singa^ pore, has presented to Canterbury Mu-* geum' some very quaint Siamese coins^ They are small pieces of metal, almost round in shape, but utterly devoid o( inscriptions or workmanship of_ any kind. In the collection there is tical, which is worth Is 8d; two sulangs k . representing half a tioal; one sulang, a quarter of a tical; cno faung, aaf eighth of a tical; and one songpie, on««^ sixtoonth of a tical. These coins welH in use in Siam recently, but they hat^. D©tr been replaced by a- modern systc^ of mintagf. ' ■ . ■ Zymole Trokeys are popular because they are pleasant in taste ; they loosen , . tight, dry coughs and strengthen thf throat. 25

The current issue of the "Canterbury Times" is quite up to the usual high standard and maintains, its position as the foremost illustrated weekly of the dominion. Tho illustrations cover a wide field, depicting tne occurrences of the past week and a miscellany of views, that provide an excellent souvenir for friends at Hqme or abroad. The Volunteer manoeuvres on Labour Day, the Kaiapoi Band Contest, tho fatal motor accident on the liiccarton Road, the Amberley Horse Show and the new Anglican Church in Manchester Street, St Luke's, are the principal features of the pictorial section. In the literary sections will be found a' further instalment of Mr Le Queux's serial " Lying Lips," whi.e nine complete stories, selected with discriminating care, will prove of interest bo young and old. The usual compendium of scientific informative articles, written in a popular style, include this week rt Indispensable Bacteria," " The Fly, the Disease and the House," and "Unused Energy." The "Sketcher" treats of matters of topical interest now in" the public eye. The sporting columns will be found as up to date «s ever, with th 6 latest comments on ■ matters referring to the turf, boxing, athletics, aquatics, cricket and other sports. This week's issue will be on sale to-morrow at noon. ■ ; There are only twenty-one > assisted passengers on board the Rimutaka, ' due at Wellington this week. Only eight of them (seven adults and a child) were nominated by the High Commisjioner. Mr 0. Christiansen and Miss P. M. Herring have resumed the positions or masseur and masseuse at Hanmer Springs, . under the control- of the" Tourist Department. A number of patients have been j waiting to secure' treatment. | The tourist season has set in early, j according to the' Tourist Departments | advices., At Rptorua most of the accommodation houses have been, well patronised since the beginning of September.' A big season is expected, especially as there will be increased excursion facilities from Australia between Christmas and April next. A woman who was uuder cross-ex-amination "in the Auckland Police Court threw the Court into sudden confusion by abruptly leaving the box and declaring,, in a hysterical manner, that she would' not be, cross-examined any longer; she would rather be committed for contempt. Another witness was taken, an<L later on the woman recovered., her equanimity sufficiently to make » reappearance. - According to Mr Foster Fraser, the attractive features of , the Garden of Eden have been vastly overrated.; A-s one who had passed through one of the •athenicated gardens, fie assured his, audience on Saturday evening tnat Eden was simply a plain hummqeky place with not even footpaths,, for cyclists to ride upon. After his experience of the garden,* he felt suro that Adam and Eve felt no regrets at leaving it. Some indignation is said to be felt In Harfmer at the Tourist Departr meniils refusal to accept the offer of a shopkeeper there to constitute his verandah a stopping and starting place for the Government motor car service. At present the cars start from the Post Office, where there is little shelter and no seating accommodation . !The verandah under offer was the one running along the front of the Hanmer Hall. It provided excellent shelter, and is supplied- with seats at in- j tervals. "■ ■ - / At the Opera House this, evening, Dr Truby King will deliver a popular lee^ ture on ""Life, and the Struggle for Health and Sanity." The proceeds of the lecture will be given, to the Society; for the Health of Women and Children. Dr Truby King, was one of the organisers of the jstociefty, which had its origin in Dunedin, and since its inception he has been one of its most ardent supporters, T Hel has always been es^ pecially interested in the study of the evils against which the Society is waging a vigorous war,, and he has previously given most successful lectures in" aid. of the Society in Christchurch; ; Lord Kitchener has issued a circular letter, says the "Times" Simla co--respondent, drawing attention to the great improvement in the health of the British and Indian troops during the | past few years, and congratulating all concerned on the results of their,strenuous/ efforts, in which -ho has always taken the deepest interest. Tne d>atb-tfate of the British, troops has, fallen from 17.13 per thousand between the years 1894 and 1903 to 9 per. thousand in 1908; and the constantly, sick in hospital from 6384 to 3139,. t This reduction means a saving of 500 lives yearly, also the addition of 2000" men to the fighting strength.' The deathrate: in the Indian Army has been T'educed from 11.33 per thousand to 7.4^, and the constantly sick from 3721 to 2749. N . 'A prominent labour agent in Dunedin Ibas informed an ' T Otago Daily Times " reporter that there is at present a fairly wide demand for experienced farm hands for all classes of wcjjrk. It is, however^ difficult to get the/ right stamp of men, the majority of those in search of employment just no*w being unskilled labourers. Mustering has commenced on the various sheep stations, and that has provided work for a good many hands. About the first week in November shearing will be in full swing in the sheds throughout Otago and Southland, and fchtp, of course, will absorb a great deal of labour. Men for sheds where machines are in vogue are easily obtained, btft it is anticipated that there will be ». 'certain scarcity of blade shearers. (The usual inundation of . Australian shearers will commence about the beginning of November. Some months ago Mr T. Blomfield, crossing a dangerous ford in the Opitiki district after dark, had his horse and trap washed several chains down the stream, and the trap capsized. With. ■ome difficulty he got them out and completed his journey. Offer of a reward was the means of recovering the' contents, except a portmanteau, which was naturally given up for lost; but lately, four 'months after the incident, it was hauled' up by a fishing party, near Whakatane, eleven miles from the scene of the accident. It had suffered considerably from snags encountered on the way and from attrition with the rocky riverbed; in fact, the bottom, was rubbed through, and the outer clothes' somewhat chafed, but otherwise the contents, including a suit of clothes, watch and chain, razors, etc., were very little the worse. In speaking at the luncheon given to the visiting delegates to the Imperial Commerce Congress on Saturday, Mr- J. Foster Fraser gently reproved them for their enthusiastic exbressions of approval of New Zealand.. He said that when a' similar congress was held in Canada, six years previously, the delegates assured the Canadian journalists that Canada was the finest country that they had ever leen. When the delegates to the last pongress were in Australia a few weeks ago they declared that there was no country on the face of the earth that possessed Buch possibilities as Australia. He was interrupted by interjections of " No, *no " from the visitors, and general laughter, but, continuing, said that now there was apparently a unanimity of opinion among them that there was no other country in the world that could compare with New Zealand. He wondered a little whether, on fcheir arrival in some other country under the British flag they would be able to find sufficient appreciation of 4b» good qualities of that country.

I Messrs S. Ayers and F. Gulliver were ' nominated tq-<lay for the election to fill the vacancy in the Rangiora Borough Council caused by the resignation 01 Councillor Wita;n. Tho election will be held on Manday, October 25. The third heats for the Commodore's and Mr Power's trophies were. sailed at Victoria Lake by the Christchurch Model Yacht Club on Saturday afternoon, with the following result: — For the Commodore's prize, Mr M'Coll s jfipi was first, Mr Garrard's Maid second and Mr Bond's Nellie third. The heat for Mr Power's brophy was won by Mr Haydon's Doris, with Mr M'Coll's Katie second and Mr Philpott's Dominion third. The final heats for these trophies will be sailed next Saturday- ... . At the Juvenile Court, held at Kaiapoi,byMrT. A. B. Bailey, S.M., to-tiay a Maori boy, about sixteen years ot age, | was charged with haying attempted to commit a criminal offence on a native girl between thirteen , and fourteen years of age. Mr Johnston, tor accused, admitted the offence, and suggested, that .a sound thrashing . would be an effective punishment, and preferable to sending the case to the bupreine' Court, where probably it would not be more severely dealt with. Sergeant Mackay offered: no objection to the case being dealt with as suggested. Major Cossgrove, master of the .Native ScnooJ, informed the Magistrate that the boy had no father. JNext month he would go out shearing and would earn from £17 to £20. Mr Bailey said he did not wish to start the boy in life branded as a criminal, and after admonishing him, he was ordered to pay costs £2 7a 6d, and was discharged' on the understanding that Major Cossgrove would see that he received a thrashing.