LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Waipa Post, Volume VI, Issue 277, 2 January 1914, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Mr and Miss Fear, who are going to foreign mission work, will conduct service in the Methodist Church next Sunday evening. Tenders are invited by the Waipa County Council for carting metal to various localities and for the erection of a bridge over the Mangapiko River. In another column appears a notice to the effect that the official opening of the Te Awamutu Polo Club takes place at the “ Green Hill ” polo grounds on Wednesday, January 7th. Mr J. Rusden Salt, advertising manager in Auckland for 'Messrs Gordon and Gotch Propriety Ltd., accompanied by Mrs Salt, spent Christmas holidays as the guests of Mr and Mrs McCarthy, at the Alexandra Hotel, Pirongia. The Wairarapa Egg Circle has accepted a contract with a Wellington firm for the supply of 3000 dozen preserved eggs, delivery to be made shortly. During the past three and a half years

the circle has distributed over £7OOO amongst its members. An accident was narrowly averted at the Kihikihi races on New Year’s Day. Just prior to the running of the Maiden Handicap as the horses were engaged in their preliminaries, a man endeavoured to go across the track. The result was that he was knocked down by one of the horses, Lady Betty, but fortunately the man escaped with a bruised leg. Mr T. E. Sedgwick, who was instrumental in bringing many Home city-bred boys to New Zealand to work on farms, and who has recently brought a contingent of boys out from England for the West Australian and Victorian Governments, has arrived in the Dominion, it is understood that Mr Sedgwick may make arrangements to bring a further lot of boys out to New Zealand.

Strong opposition to the syndicalistic tactics displayed in the New Zealand strike was expressed at a meeting of the Independent Workers’ Industrial Council, held on December 18th at Melbourne and the following resolution was passed (says the Argus): —“That this Council of Victorian Unionists, representing the syndicalistic and Socialistic Trades Hall Council, sends its heartiest greetings to the Arbitptionist Unionists of New Zealand who have been fighting such a plucky fight against the syndicalistic and revolutionary unionists for the right to work and the right to organise; and, further, we view with pleasure the determined attitude against this extreme section being taken by several Labour politicians and union leaders in the Dominion.”

The Mayor of Hamilton (Mr A. E. Manning) has decided not to seek re-election at the expiration of his present term of office. On Tuesday evening a horse attached to a vehicle,while standing outside Mr J. Middlebrook’s shop, took fright and bolted along j Sloane Street. In an attempt to turn the corner into Park Road, j the vehicle was capsized. The horse managed to free itself, but not before the trap was considerably damaged, and part of the harness broken. The horse continued its career along the Kihikihi road for about two miles, when it was caught. The horse and trap were the property of Mr C. Potts. The reins had been fastened by means of a Clapham patent, but were broken, thus enabling the horse to get away. The Earl of Onslow played a conspicuous part as fireman at a fire which broke out at West Clandon Church, near Guildford, recently. The fire originated in the belfry, and the wooden spire was completely burnt away, and five out of the six bells it contained were melted. The flames were materially checked by the efforts of the private brigade from Clandon Park, Lord Onslow’s residence, before the arrival of the Guildford Fire Brigade. An ample supply of water was obtained from a reservoir in the grounds of Clandon Park, and the estate hands worked under the direction of Lord Onslow, who was wearing a light sports coat, a muffler and cap, and who remained till the flames were subdued. The last number of the New Zealand'Tablet has the following: “ We have excellent authority for saying that it is practically certain that the Hon. J. A. Millar will resign his seat in the near future, and that there will be a by-election in Dunedin West in February or March. It is understood that there will be at least four candidates —a straight-out Government candidate who is a resident in the electorate, a wellknown Labour leader who will stand in the Opposition interest, a United Labour party representative prominent—in church and prohibition circles, and a classconscious Socialist. We urge all Catholic voters in the electorate to see that their names are on the roll, as the writ for a new election, in the case of a vacancy arising from resignation, has to be issued immediately after the speaker receives notice of the vacancy. In the coming byelection there will be no second ballot, so that first past the post wins.”

Judgment was delivered by Mr E. Rawson, S.IVL, at Hamilton regarding a case heard at Te Kuiti in which Herman Lux, of the Commercial Hotel, was charged with a breach of section 273 of the Licensing Act by soliciting orders for liquor at Te Kuiti, an area proclaimed prohibited by the Governor, under section 273 of the Licensing Act/ The soliciting consisted of .exhibiting a board on the railway platform, containing the following advertisement “ Lux for liquor.—All Lux parcels catch the train — never known to miss.—Write or wire.—Herman Lux, Commercial Hotel, Te Awamutu.” The defence contended that to constitute soliciting there must be an act of personal appeal, and secondly that the proclamation was ultra vires, as the railway station was not native land. The Magistrate held that personal appeal . was not necessary, and with regard to the second argument, he pointed out that the King Country Licensing Act 1909, extended the proclamation to cover areas which were not native land. As proceedings were merely brought by way of a test case, His Worship recorded a conviction and imposed a nominal fine of is and costs 7s.

A remarkable engineering feat is on the point of accomplishment, when the water is sent through a 17ft tube from the Ashokan Reservoir, in the Catskill Mountains, New York State, to supply New York City, 127 miles away. The Catskill aqueduct, as the. enterprise is known, has been declared by many to be an exploit far exceeding the much-talked-of Panama Cana/, because, whereas the latter meant digging dirt and dredging channels, the building of the aqueduct necessitated piercing mountains, undermining rivers, traversing deep and broad valleys, and tunnelling through the bowels 'of New York City from end to end. When' the water first enters the 127-mile tube it will take three days to reach the city. The aqueduct will have a flow of 500,000,000 gallons per day, and has a reserve capacity of 900,000,000 gallons, to be used in case of fire. The Ashokan reservoir, where most of the water is stored, is built in the heart of the Catskills. It has an area of 8180 acres, and a capacity of 132,000,000,000 gallons. It has cost £3,600,000, and will tap 900 square miles of territory. To create this reservoir seven villages were razed and 2000 people were moved, eleven miles of railroad were torn up; sixty-four miles of road were discontinued, forty miles of new highway were laid, and ten new bridges were built. The tunnel through the rock under New York City is thirty-four miles long, and is said to be the longest in the world. The whole undertaking has cost £35,400,000, and 17,240 labourers have been working on | the gigantic system for seven j years. |

Just over £4O was taken at the entrance gates to the Kihikihi races yesterday.

The members of the Town Band played a number of selections in the main street on New Year’s Eve.

In completing contracts of 1913, we are informed that the final certificates have been given for four local contracts by the architect, Mr R. P. de Ridder, who has acted as his own clerk of works also, without any “ extras ” upon contract amount. This includes the large mart for Mrs Luks, the final certificate for which was given on December 23rd. The Pirongia Undenominational Christian Endeavour Society held its annual picnic on the banks of the Waipa River near the old bridge Pirongia, yesterday There was a good attendance of members of the Society and friends, and a very happy time was spent. A feature of the gathering was the welcoming of Mr Alf. Fear, one of the former members, who is spending a holiday in the district. Representing the Te Awamutu Bbwling Club, a team consisting of Messrs Wallace (skip), Laurie, Christian, and Mclnnes are taking part in the tournament being held at Te Aroha. Yesterday morning the Te Awamutu team beat the Te Aroha A team, fin the afternoon the local players lost to the Wairongomaii and West End teams. To-day they are drawn to plav the teams from Thames and Te Kuiti.

The streets of Opotiki were illuminated bv electricity for the first time on Christmas Eve, when power uas switched on to some thirty lamps of 50 c.p., occupying prominent positions in the principal thoroughfares of the borough. The incident not only marks the successful completion of the electric light installation, but also provides the means for dissipating the gloom of the streets which is held by visitors to be a standing reproach against Opotiki. Yet another picture theatre has been opened in the suburbs of Auckland, the West End picture theatre having been opened just on the eve of Christmas. The new theatre has a seating capacity for 1000 persons, the arrangement throughout being on the most modern principle. Special appliances for the screening of the pictures have been installed, and orchestral music is provided. This theatre forms a valuable addition to Ponsonby’s buildings, and the programmes well up to the standard of the city moving picture enterprises. New Zealand bids fair to become the dairymaid of the Empire (remarks an English paper). She is now actually supplying butter and cheese to Canada, where the population has outstripped the home supply. Consequently, for the first time in sixty years, Canada will send no butter to England. So we shall give our orders for greater quantites to New Zealand who already sends us about 35,000,000 lbs. ofjjbutter, with tons of cheese, which brings up the yearly bill to about £3,000,000 sterling. In addition, New Zealand also exports butter and cheese to South Africa, India, Fiji, and the South Sea Islands, though the dairying industry began to be developed only.twenty years ago or thereabout.