Local and General.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XXXXVII, Issue 11934, 2 May 1903, Page 4

Local and General.

( .The meeting of the Harbour Board yesterday afternoon lapsed through the want of a quorum.

A slight earthquake shook was experienced at Broken Mill, New 'South Wales, on Thursday evening.

A Napier wire announces the death of Mr. James Lawrence, a very old settler of the district, aged io years. '

A corporal in a Wellington Voluntees corps, who was recently convicted im the Police Court of killing a sheep by shooting it from a raLway carriage when returning from rifle practice, has been dismissed from the force.

Mr. Duncan MacFarlaJne, Stipendiary Magistrate and warden for the Westland district for many years, has been retired by the Department.. Mr. MacF&rlane has not been m very good health for some time, and it* is understood he has retired on his own application..

An Auckland wire says that the estate of W. C. Mcßroom contains1 a bequest to Dr. Barnardo's Horn© of £200, also an endowment of farm property at Waverley, near Wanganui, to tne nearest pub.ic hospital. The value of the property is/estim"ated at £2500^ and is all save a few be-_ quests to distant relatives at Home. The deceased had no relatives m the colony.

At a committee meeting, of 'the Wanganui Caledonian Society, 4ield on Thursday evening, it was unanimously decided that the society should, thirough its presidents, Mr. R. C. Bruce, send) ai letter of symtpafchy to Lady Macdonald. It> was not deemed advisable to take any further action until such time as it is known whaita is being done in the Old Country. It is very probable, however, that, the New Zealand Association of Caledonian Societies! will take the matter in hand, when something will be done to commemorate tdib good deeds of the late soldier. • ■•

The opening meeting of the second session of the Christ Church Club Debating Society was held! on Thursday evening. There was a good attendance, the subject for discussion being "That in the opinion of this H6use women shouldl have the perogative of proposingl marriage as well as men." The debate was rather interesting, and a.t times very amusing. The Hon. Hl.' Scholfield {Premier) made out a strong caie for the ladies, and was ably supported by his Ministry—Hon. G. Pownall (Uustoms), Hon. A. S. Dymoek (Recreation), and Hon. E. Edwards (Education). The Hon. A. Mounfefort led the Opposition, in defence of man's privilege. Rev. T. B. Maclean, Messrsl. Peat, Cummins, O. Maclean, C. D. Campbell, Williams, and others also spoke., The debate resulted in the defeat of the Ministry by eight votes. The Premier handed in his resignation, and the Governor has asked the Leadter of the Opposition to'form a Ministry for the next sitting of the House on Thhirsday, 14th May, at 8.45 p>.m<, Mr. O. EC Mackay (Speaker) presided.

Breakers ahead! the cold and rain Will soon be with us once again,' Soon Winter's breath, will freeze this air, For coughs aim colds we miusb prepare, Complaints that cause so much distress, Yet everyone wul soon confess That the remedy good and pure Is some— WOODS' GREAT PEPPERMINT CURE.

There have been some big yields of grain on the Highbank 'Settlement, Ashburton county, thia seaskm, one settler having threshedl out 95 bushels of oats, and another 103 bushels to the acre.

The public are reminded that on and after Monday next, May 4, the Castlecliff Railway Company's trains will arrive at and depart from the new station, opposite the Borough Gaa Works.

Mr H. B. Watson and Mr Charles Russell, of Wariganui, are passengers by the 'Frisco steamer Ventura, leavii^ AucKland on the Bth instant, for a round-the-world tour, booking through the agency- of Mr C. F. Millwaxd.

. A. correspondent, writing to one of the Brisbane newspapers, says: ''For nine months last year I was m N,ew Zealand, and although I travelled about a good deal I never came across a beggar or a shoeblack." '.

A reduction in theworking hours is always made welcome by the'worKers oi any firm. We have to congratulate Messrs J. Paul and Co. upon taking the initiative, they having decided to close their establishment ©very Saturday night' (commencing from to-night) at 9 o'clock.

At the S.M. Court yesfcefday morning, before 'Mr C. C. Kettle, two parents were charged, on ttbe information of the Kegistrad of Births, with neglecting to register the births of their children within six months. Both pleaded guilty, and were jeabh fined 5a and costs 7s.

On the bowling green this afternoon the ajeturn match between rinks selected by president and vice-president will be played, weather Bermdtting. Players desiring to take part are reminded that the rinks will be chosen at*2 p.m. sharp. This will probably be the final match of the season. In a letter to Mr. Taylor, M.H.R.,;th« Minister for Public Works states that the auxiliary, buildings under construction at Seaoliff, Sunnyside, and Porirua/will eventually form part of a block, which will admit of improved classification of ininates. On completion of the present contract, further additions will probably be put in- hand. The Trades and Labour Council! on Thursday passed a • absolution protesting against the Government issuing instructions that railway employees are not to be allowed to exercise their rights in general politics. The resolution was th)e resulit of a diiscussion with regard to a man at the Petone workshops who had) wished to stand at the municipal elections.

Regarding the reports of other engineers on electrical power schemes, the Hon. HallJones has been in communication with Mr. Hancock, engineer of the Bay County California power scheme, who is- unable to 'leave America for two months, but is writiing to the Minister, and" no doubt will indicate the terms on> which he is prepared to visit the colony. Other offers received by the Minister are being held over tail the receipt of Mr. Hancock? s letter.

According to the "Autocar," the motor is looming very large in the publio^service at the ptfesent time. Corporations are." testing motor fire-engines. Cricket clubs are having motors fitted to their rollers and! mowers. The good people of Antwerp are having theft street scavenging done by automobiles, and in Lincolnshire the motor hearse has been already well patronised. In this latter capacity the motor caw is spoken of highly, and it is admitted to be a> cheaper and more expeditious method of conveying the departed to their, last resfciDg place tihjan the horse-drawn vehicle, and in some districts it is preferable to the railway.

/ A candidlate foi" election on thie- Wesfc"port Borough Council advertised as follows: "Ladies and Gentlemen,—Actuated solely by a sense of public duty, to which I think everyone should respond when he thinks he can be useful' in the public interests, I am moved to tender my services for a seat in the Borough Council. I, liave no interest whatever to serve. I should represent all, interests; no axe to grind, not even a penknife; but possibly a pair of scissors to cut down useless expenditure." ■■!,'.

Under the heading, "What Luck in New Zealand, by One'Who Has Sought It,1' a three-column article apears in "T.P.'s" weekly of March 20th, describing the experiences of a "new chum" who went out to New .Zealand, landed in Wellington, and took a "bluet" on a farm in the Feilding district, his mode of life being Related in some .detail. He remarks. "I miusb speak

on the folly ok the idea held by all 'new chums'—namely, that if only they are willing and have sufficient strength they can at all events do farm work all right. This is a.great mistake, for of all professions oo earth farming requires the most skilful workmen, who must not only be able to do any of all of the work of a, farm, but also the new requirements which are always turning/up. A man must have experience before he can become even a passable ploughman, shearer, milker,' carter, or axeman, and <ifc is reaily a fact —cold, but true—that till the new hand) gets such experience he does not earn his keep. Let anyone who things th-s statement exaggerated try any one of the occupations named 'fop.a.'few minutes only, and he will soon ' see that these, apparently^ simple tasks require more concrete knowledge than he had ever conceived' of."

A cable message published in our columns a few_ days ago stated that Williaia Brown, the coachman's son who married the ex-Countess Russell at tihe Portsmouth Registry Office in December, hiad been arrested for making a false statement, representing himself as * Prince Stuart de Modena, son of the Emperor of Austria. lij may be explained) in connection with this case that in 1890 Earl Russell married Mabel Edith, daughter of Sir CUau<le E. Scott, and in 1891 she sued him unsuccessfully im the Divorce Court, a subsequent second trial proving- equally abortive. But in 1900.he formed, or had' formed, an acquaintance with a married woman named ".Marion or Moilie Somerville (nee Cooke), and in America they eacb obtained a divorce fromi their respective wife and husband, and then went through the form of marriage with each other according to the laws of the State of Nevada. On returning to England) they were presently divorced from their oldier ties by the more binding process of British law, tho Earl agreeing to pay £1500 damages to Mr. SomerviSe. In July of 1901 he was arraigned before the House _of Lords for bigamy and sentenced to three months' imprisonment, which term he underwent, and was remarried soon .ajter liberation. The Lord Chancellor, who presided as Lord Steward of the Court of Peers, whale clear that ■some punishment had necessarily to be inflicted, made the following remark, "I think he <Earl Russell) was undoubtedly suffering from almost intolerable provocation, the circumstances 'of hia domestic life being such -as might lead him to do almost anything to get rid! of the person who had poisoned his who:e atmosphere in which lie lived." His first 'wife, Mabel. Countless Russell, after obtaining a divorce from Earl Russell, married a man who called himself "Prince Enthrobald Stuart de Modena." The. title ■wad subsequently found to be bogus, andi fie husbaudi fled! to New York.

During the present season one mill lias threshed 80,000 bushels around! the Amberlev and Omihi district.

The Commissioner'of Crown Lands (Mr. Jolin Stirauchon). has an announcement m this issue relative to an important sale of Crown lands. > _■■■

The services to-mori-ow; morning and evening in the Primitive Methodist Church will be conducted by the Rev. J. Cocker. In the morning a young people's service will be held.

Mr. E. T. Norris, who was for some time connected with the Technical School, and has been recently engaged at the Masterton High School, has accepted a position at, the Collegiate School.

Mr. WV J. Butter," .president of the Aotea Maori Council, Whanganui, advertises a sale of leases of about 58,580 acres of Maori land1, to be offered under the provisions of "The Maori Lands Administration Act, 1900," and the regulations made thereunder. Full particulars are set out in our advertising columns.

' A numerously-signed,'petition- was in circulation ia Wanganui on Thursday, praying the Minister to extend # tseletthonio communication to Pohonui and! Koeka in the Rangitikei district. These: settlements are thirty-miles from the near-' est telegraph station, and it is* asserted h that two deaths occurred there last winter which might not Wave occurred had it been possible to quickly oommunicate with. a doctor. •

■ A meeting of the creneral committee of the newly-constituted Parliamentary Union and Debating. Society was held- last evening, when the rules drafted by the sub-committee, were considered and!, with certain amendments, approved. A general meeting of the society to formally confirm the rules,- etc., andi arrange for thfe opening :of the season, is to be held! on Tuesday evening next.

A meeting of those in favour of making a public presentation to his Worship the Mayor of Marton (Mr. McDonald), called by Dr. Skerman, the Mayor-eltect, was held on Thursday evening,'when it was decided to have lists at the Banks and one with! Mr. A. H. Knigge. After Mr. Tenheut had been appointed' secretary and treasurer, tHie meeting adjjourhed for a fortnight.

A very succulent weed, known as com spurr, or yarr, which grows about 1 foot in height, is at present infesting many fields in thig district (reports the "Wairarapa Leader")- In Europe it is grown as a special herb, but in England and! New Zealand is has been found* dangerous and injurious to pastures, and, in ■ adidition, it tends. to materially reduce thte yields of cereals. '

A meet-ing of the Management Committee of the Rugby Union was hel'd last evening, when several matters %vere dealt with. A reeommendlatrion fromi the annual meeting of delegates was received asking mat the disqualification of C.r Seeling be removed. It was resolved thato the recoittmendatiooa oe received. It was later on decided, after considerable discussion, to remove the disqu'aliificatflop,' subject to ratification by the New Zealand) Union. It was resolved thlat entries tor cup contests close on the 9th instant, and that cup matches commence on tihe 16th instant. It was • also decided' to appoint one selector of the representative teams. We understand that a general meeting of delegates will shortly be held to consider a motion, notiice of which has been given by the Rev. R. M. Marshall ,with regard to imposing a penalty 00 teams forfeiting matches in cup contests. :

The therapeutics of the cake-walk afford an aspect of that exercise which has not been generally constiidlered;. The London "Morning Advertiser" correspondent mi Berlin states that Dr. Samuel J. Metzer has just tried the following experiment. He asked a girl to skip as long as she could. To her waistb were attached bottles containing soup full of microbes. The girl skipped as long as she could!, and then the sbup waa taken from tHe bottles and analysed. It contained only a few living microbes; in gome bottles there was not a single living microbe. After this experiment the doctor is convinced that continual vibration exercisesT a disastrous effect on the health of microbes. The Cakewalk dance, would! appear to be the very remedy. If it is the least graceful of dances, it may be considered; tihe most efficacious and least costly of ajxtasegtics. A correspondent in Dunedin writes: — The large number of theatrical companies in the colony has more than once been cited as a typical' illustration, of the prosperous state of New Zealand, but) those writers who have been attributing this as one of the best signs of the condition of tne colony have as a rule overlooked one factp-thkt most of the companies have been driven out of the Commonwealth in consequence of the effects of the drought. But while this is no doubt the case to a very large extent, most of "the. companies have done such good! business that they have no reason to regret tbfeir visits to New Zealand. So that, taking1 all things into consideration, there must be a large section of the comimiunity with plenty to spend on their own amusement, notwithstanding the high cost of living at the present time. At all events*, so far as Dune Sin is concerned, the money which has gone into the coffers of companiea visting here within the last 12 monsbhs has been enormous. And that tihere is every indication of it keeping up hag been evidenced heveral times this past week when the Nellie Stewart Company, charging 55., 35., and Is., have had repeatedly to turn people away in dozens.

At t<he present time, when rumours are rife concerning the existence of "rings" for maintaining high prices for the food of the people, says a» writer in London Chronicle, it is interesting to see how such! persons were dealt with in the "good old: times." In 1548 was passed "The Bill of Conspiracies of Victuallers and Craftsmen," and it. enacted: '"'That as of late divers sellers of victuals, not content with moderiate and reasonable gain, have conspired do sell them at unreasonable prices * ... if.

after the Ist of March next, any butchers, brewers, bakers, poulterers or fruiterers conspire, promise or make oaths, they shiall for the fitfst offence forfeit £10, or twenty day a' imprisonment on bread and water"; for the second offence £20, or the pillory; and for t-he third offence £40, and the pillory with the loss of one of his ears." If any such conspiracy was entered1 into, by the Company of Victuallers its corporation was to be dissolved1.

ACIDITY OF THE, STOMACH

Excessive acidity of the stomach coefcents prevents fermentation of food, the food is often digested rapidly, and the tongue as a rule is not coated but has an inflamed appearance. When there is alack of acid, the food) doe not digest readily,, and owing to the dilation of the organ is retained longer than it should be. and undergoes fermentation. The products of fermentation are alcohol, carbonic acid gases, etc.. and these being narcotics put the nerves and muscles of tihe stomach to sleep and produce partial paralysis. Impey'si May Apple clears the bowels and digestive canals of fermenting matter, regulates the flow of the gastric juices, aidb digestion. Impey's May Apjple is sold by all cheimfelts and storekeepers at 2s 6d per bottle.