LOCAL AND GENERAL

Wairarapa Age, 22 December 1919, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

A light fall of enow occurred on the. Tararua ranges yesterday. A Melbourne cable states that the Yal Marie has sailed for Auckland. The formation of an amateur athletic dub in Eketahuna has been suggested. A London cable received last night announces the departure of the-Wa-hine for Dunedin. A refreshing thunderstorm passed over Masterton on Sunday afternoon Several picnic parties were caught. Arrangements are well in hand fo! the Mangatainoka Athletic Club 7 a sports, to be held on Boxing Day. Several parties are being formed ir Masterton to make the ascent of Mt Holdsworth during the Christmat holidays. A heavy storm, bringing muchneeded rain, passed over the Lowei Valley and . Martinborough yesterdaj afternoon. An effort is to be made to hav< Napier included in the tour of th> Prince of Wales, when he visits New Zealand nest year. Quite a large number of tourinp motor cars have passed through Mas terton during the last day or two. The majority are going north. The licensee of White's Hotel al Foxton has been fined £5 and cost: for supplying liquor, to a Maori on the day of the Maori elections. The schedules for the thirty-thirc annual show of the Masterton A. ant P. Association, to be held in Febru ary next, have just been issued. The Labour candidate for the Pal merston seat is to be prosecuted fo having mutilated a newspaper in th< public library by cutting out a politi cal paragraph. The following are the results t< date of the St. Bride's Convent Queei Carnival contest: —Gloaming 9107. Desert Gold 7761, Mascot 7665, Hurrj Up 6996. ! There was a heavy fall of hail dur ing the storm at Martinborough yes terday afternoon. The Huangarur hills appeared as if covered with snow for some considerable time. The number of informal votes re corded in the Masterton electorate ai the recent election was comparative!; small. It is not expected that mori than twenty will be officially declared The Duuedin Star thinks that with out the services of Sir Joseph Ward the remnant of the old Liberal Partj will be "little more than wan derers in the wilderness of a disunited Opposition." The official recount of the votes iii Parliamentary and licensing polls ih the Masterton electorate will be completed to-morrow evenmg. The Returning Officer (Mr W. Gillespie) anc a staff have been working long hours during the last few days. The majority of the absent votes have no« been accounted for.

The Masterton Fire Brigade receiv ed a call to a store in Albert street Masterton, belonging to Messrs J Graham and Co., merchants, at 2.8 l p.m. on Saturday. Through the promptness of the brigade, the fire was only of as incipient nature, oik of the walls being charred. The building was insured, but the amount was not known on Saturday. On account of the secretary of the Wairarapa Caledonian Society being engaged with the official scrut.ny and recount in connection with the general election and licensing poll, am the Caledonian Hall being used foi this purpose, it has been found neces sary to postpone the date for entries until Saturday next, tht 27th, at noon, We understand tha; a splendid lot of entries have been received, including a large number oi local competitors. AH those who hav«. not already entered, are advised to do so as early as possible. A Melbourne paper has the following:—lt is regarded as not improbable that Australian tobacco companies may be forced in the neai future to increase their prices for manufactured goods. A recent intimation gave the price of the raw material at the high figure.of 60 c. per lb at the plantations, and from thai quotation it is thought probable the factory product may be raised in price next year, although uncertainty as to the result of any move in that direction is entertained, in view of the experiences of recent applicants for the sanction of the authorities for increased charges.

The following are the results of the commercial examinations held recently in St. Patrick's School, Masterton:— Shorthand (theory certificate, Sir Isaac Pitman), 98 per cent requ : red to pass Gordon McArley, Sybil Frost, Edna Clune. Book-keeping (intermediate division), Stott and Hoare's Business College, Sydney, 65 per cent required to pass:—Sybil Frost 94, Gordon McArley 92, Edna Clune 91. All the Sixth Standard pupils were successful in obtaining their proficiency certificates. The following are the names in order of merit:—Eva Wickens, Tom O'Leary, Madge Thurston, Mary Costello, James Gallagher.

The West Taratahi school picn'c was held on Friday in the grounds kindly lent by Mr R. Madden. A good day's fun for all was the order of the day. Mr W. Spooner was put in charge of the various races and competitions, and soon had things going in clockwork order. After present ng the various prizes at the conclusion of the sports, Mr W. Spooner, on behalf of the Committee, thanked ithe ladies for the way they had looked after the refreshments, the tableß i providing a treat seldom witnessed. He also thanked Mrs Connell for getting the various prize books, and Mi R. Madden for the use of his grounds. Sub-section (2) of Section 49 of' the Legislature Act, 1910, provides:—(a) The Returning Officer shall if. informal (I.) Any ballot paper that does not bear the official mark il there is reasonable cause to believe that it was not issued by any Deputy Returning Officer, and (II.) Anj ballot paper wheron anything not authorised by this Act is written oi marked by which the voter can be identified, and (III.) Any ballot paper that does not clearly indicate the candidate for whom the elector desired to vote: Provided that no ballot paper shall be rejected merely on the ground of some informality in the manner in which it has been dealt with by the elector, if it is otherwise regular, and if in the opinion of the Returning Officer the intention of the afeetoff to voting ig daariy tadtcateiL

A London cable states that the steamer Iceland has sailed for Auckland. A report was in circulation in Maa* terton on Saturday that Sir J&me4 Allen had been defeated in the oott* test for Bruce. Mo official information had been received up to last night to warrant such a report. At Mr Massey's Thamei meeting the large audience burst into unrestricted; blizzards of laughter, and the Prime Minister, endeavouring t« make himself heard in. a lull, said: "I appreciate your hiltarity, but I can't make out what you're laugh* ng at." He"' turned round , and found out. Mr Rhodes, M.P., wan ipparently wrapped in slumber, hi 3 head nodding on his breast. The Pin©* .nicr laughed, too, and afterward* of course, the incident Was discussed. The Chairman of the Ohinemuri County Council explained that Mr Rhodes was by no means asleep, but .vas "resting his eyes." The family which can "sport" a. turkey as Christmas fare can certainly say that they are celebrating "r»rardless," Bays, the Chri„tchurch Sun. It is almost impossible to obtain these Vrds in the ordinary way, and tbeiti only at an extraordinary high price. Indeed, all classes of table poultry ire extremely scarce, and prices show an advance of about 40 per cent over last season's. The reason for the scarcity is that providores of vessels have secured large quantities of poultry, and the special festivities since the spring also have made inroads into the supply. One large dealer states that usually he has about 600 turkeys for the Christmas season. So far, he has, none on hand. They oertainly would not retail at less tha& 30s apiece.

Bunch keyS lost. Furnished house, six rooms, Napier, advertised to let. Furnished apartments required bf named couple for six week*. Mr. E. H. Richard, Greytown, ha* urnished cottage to let at Ferry. Boy to learn the printing trade equired by Masterton Printing Coy. Good gig horse for sale or exchange or small one. Brake, 2\ tons, suitable for conveymce of wool or wood, for sale. Mr. H. Long, butcher, invites iflflpe<J» ion of his special Xmas Fair oa Tugslay night. Mr. H. A. Jones, architect, invites enders for the erection of a residence! n reinforced concrete. The Masterton Municipal Band has jeen engaged to provide the music at he Tauherenikau Races on' Ist and Jnd prox. The* Wairarapa Farmers' Co-op. \ssociation Garage have for sale a ,econd-hand 5-seater Hupmobile in .food order and well shod. Eight head of Polled Angus cattle n-e straying on Mr. N. H. McLachlan 'a property at Mt. Bruce. Owner may -ake possession on paying expenses* Mr. A. T. Dickason will hold a~ ;pecial Christmas sale of poultry at-i-.45 p.m. to-day. Mr. Dickason also* iraws special attention to his display jf toys and fancy goods. - A great writer has said: * 4 The< young manhood of a nation is its, greatest but least'.organised asset."' the Y.M.C.A. camp for boys has » leimite plan for training boys to think .ight, act right, and play right Boy# .v lio can do this are going to be the eaders of a nation. Christmas Day .he camp begins, and funds axe urgently needed to carry on this great vvork. <