LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9933, 23 August 1910, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

, was the only candidate nominated to-day for tho vacancy on the Rangiora Borough Council, caused by tho resignation of Councillor ■VV. p. Johnston, and lie; was declared elected. /

The southerly breeze that came' up last evening brought one or two heavy showers during the night, This morning the weather had cleared generally in the dominion, Castle Point and Gisborhe being the only stations to report showers. .. { . . ' ■

The further charges against Bowron Brothers for evasion of payment of inwere called on before Mk Ef. n ' , ?P- at the Magistrate's Court this morning, and were adjouraj vl 1 ' a Ivee ' c - The Magistrate remarked that as counsel on both sides were engaged in the Supreme Court-, theparties would probably arrange for a hearing.

Hie committee appointed to arrange lor a fitting celebration of the jubilee of the Loyal Rangiora Lodge of Oddfellows met last evening and decided to hold a banquet in the Institute Hall Rangiora, to be followed by a dance in the Oddfellows' Hall. The celebration will, take place on October 12 * the nearest'.convenient day to the. jubilee date, October 15. •

An influential meeting .of, latepayeis, held at "YV oodville last night, discussed a proposal for a new drainage scheme for the borough. Dr Frengley, of the Health Department, strongly supported trie proposal. A motion m favour of taking a poll on a loan of £12,500 was carried. There is a good deal of opposition from those within the rating area who cannot take advantage of the scheme, but it is expected that the, loan will be carried.

Messrs A. L. Ross and Co., who have had the contract of repairing the clock in the Jubilee Tower, at the corner of High Street and Manchester Street, have sent tho following letter to the Mayor:—"We have previously informed you that the hands on the four dials of the Jubilee Tower clock show a varianco in denoting time, and that the fault lies with the clock construction or fitting of tho gear. Being wishful to leave a good job behind us in completing our contract, wo have decided to correct this fault without additional cost to the Council., and ma v. therefore require a further stoppage of the clo«k. but this will not mean any long delay." __ A decision of some importance to the Native race was given at tho Thames, a few days ago. Some weeks ago the Marine Department was informed that a Maori had been selling oysters, to a hotelkeepor at the Thames during the close season, and had attempted to justify his action by contending that aboriginal natives were privileged under the Treaty of Waitangi to tako what shell-fish they liked. The authorities in Wellington declined to accept the man's plea, and they authorised a prosecution. The magistrate at the Thames has fined tho accused 20s and costs (57s (kl), holding that under the Treaty Maoris cannot take oysters when and where they like.

A sawmill hand named Murphy had a sensational experience the other day on an extremely narrow portion of the Akatarawa tramline, some miles from Upper Hutt. He was canterm-s --.limn a bluff whore the side of tfio road falls almost precipitously a hundred feet when his horse suddenly stumbled and shot his rider ovor the cliff. As the man was falling, lie instinctively threw out his arms, and one. hand just managed to grasp tho wooden scantling of the tramline. As he hung there he waß horror-struck to see liis unfortunate horso topple head over heels into the deep ravine and crash downward to tho < bottom, where it was fouud later with a broken neck. After muc& exertion Murphy hauled himself into safety, but was some days before ho recovered from the nerve-racking experience.

Every woman should have and can hnyo a permanent- health—Stearns' Wine of Qod Liver Extract supplies tho strength that withstands the .strain iniposed upon her—permanent-, too, 19

There is a noticeable increase in the demand for general labourers in Christchurch, the fine weather having relieved the labour market. ! Mr Paulin's forecast, telegraphed this afternoon, is as follows: —Strong northeast to north-west winds and stovmy weather in about thirty hours; barometer fall fast. I Detectives Kennedy and Snon arrested a man to-day on a charge of having stolen a bicycle. Another man ■was arrested by Detective Gibson on a charge of vagrancy. I Mr Cyrus Williams, engineer to the Lyttelton Harbour Board, who is on a visit to England, has sent a cable message from London stating that lie is •waiting the Board's instructions m regard to tho new dredge. I The inquiry concerning the management of the Sydenham and Addmgton Working Men's Club will bo opened on Saturday. Mr J. A. lOesher will represent tho petitioners and Mr i. «• Russell the club. It is understood that .the petitioners will call about ten witnesses. I October 1 has been fixed by the Inventions' Board as the date upon which trials of aeroplanes entered for tho Commonwealth prize, will take place. Jt is by no means certain that any of the competitors will present machines. Some, lnwever, have stated that if given a few days' notice they 'could prepare machines, and the department accordingly proposes to give them a mouth's time in which to make ready. The Telegraph Department has gangs of men at work in different parts oi the city pulling down the largo telegraph poles. It is found that with the use of cables ill place of single wires fewer poles are needed, and many of tho large ones, which have stood in the streets for years, are being taken away. Several consignments have been sent to Greymouth. Others have been used in Asliburto-i, where the metallic circuit is being installed.Most of the poles are of totara wood, and are quite sound. His Honor-Mr Justice Sim granted n rule nisi in Vhe appeal on behalf of James Boyd oi Ivaikouia, against the imposition ol Mr.E. S. Florance, S.M., at Kaifcnura en August 16 of ' three months'" imprisonment for a breach of a prohibition order. Tho rule wv<w made returnable at 2 p.m. on the tullowing day, when the appeal will be heard. ' The effect of the rule nisi is that tho chief gaoler at Lyttelton gaol te'ill have to appear beiore the Court and show cause w 11y the prisoner should not be released. In a case heard in tho Supremo Court at Auckland to-day a young > man who was being charged stated that lie had been in communication with "quacks"- in Australia. Correspondence was handed to the Chief Justice, yho, after perusing it, remarket! that one letter contained a deliberate attempt to blackmail the young fellow. Sir Robert Stout suggested .that .the letter should bo forwarded to the Commissioner. of Police in Sydney, Accused's counsel stated that £lB had been extracted from the young nian by tlie " quacks." , , Professor Haslain will leave . Christ;liureh on Monday to attend a deputation to the Prime Minister in "Wellington to urge that university professors and lecturers should be brought, under the Teachers Superannuation. Act. Professors will bo present from all the principal centres of the dominion. Mr G. W. Russell and Mr H[J. Ell-will represent tho Board or Dovernors of Canterbury College. ■ Sll Robert Stout, Sir Charles Bowen, Can-, terburv members of Parliament, a™ 'a large number of members of both parties *.in tlie House of Representaalso be present. , During' the hearing in the Supreme Court this morning of a" claim for damages arising out of the sale of a sheep farm, it was explained thaf; the purchaser had to an agreement that' ho should spend all the .profits from wool 011 felling bush on the property. "How did you'.propose that the plaintiff should' make a_ Irving £ Asked counsel in • cross-examining the tlefendanr. " He, suggested that he should open a trade with the Maoris in boots." was the reply! " \Voukl boots afford means of a lucrative, business among tlie .Maoris* in the neighbourhood of tho Wanganui River? was rounsel's riext question. T-fle witness would not permit himself to an opinion, but allowed counsel to present to the jury a picture, suggested by his evidence; of a sheep farmer relying entirely for his living 011 a side-line 111 leather goods. , ' The remarks of Mr H. A. Hunt, Australian 1 Federal Meteorologist, concerning the sun-spot theory in weather forecasting, were greatly condensed 111 the - cable messages. Ho said tha,t Australia, the same as other parts of the world, would have periods of drought, " but there was absolutely 110 justification bv past experiences of cycles of any kind to take a pessimistic view of the immediate or distant future of Australia.' .The sun-spot cycle,, he added, occurred about every eleven years. The years ligil to 19i6 were mentioned as times when Australia would experience droughty conditions. If that should be so, tho same conditions should occur between 1922 and 1927, and again from 1933 to. 1938. This assumption, however, should be based on the experiences of the past; for whatever applied to the future must also be retrospective. On consulting tho records, he - 'had found that, with the exception of the years 1901-2. the rainfall for the period 1900 to 1904 was above the aver- . age in tlie whole of the eastern States, while in 1903 record crops were obtained in parts of. New South Wales. Go- ( ing back another epoch in the cycle to 1889-1894, there was a group of years that stave the finest rain in the history of the continent. ■