LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XLIX, Issue 12566, 1 August 1905, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Tho New Plymouth Hospital comes in for a legacy of £500 by the death oi Mrs. W. T. Small. During last month one bankruptcy took place in Wanganui, as against three during July last year. A meeting of the Wanganui Chamber of Commerce will be held this arternoon at 3.30 p.m. Tenders are invited for the erection of a post office at Now Plymouth. Particulars may bo seen in our advertising columns. An important clearing sale of dairy stock will be held by Abraham and Williams, Limited, at Mr. T. G. I'JRiton',farm. Ruahine, on Thursday. Captain Edwin telegraphed at 11.30 yesterday :—Moderate to strong northerly winds after 20 hours from now, glass fall, tildes high, sea considerable. Tho Waihi returns for four weeks amounts to £55,470 from 23,237 tons oi ore, making a total to date of £4,150,----795. The valuable silver cup presented by tho hotelkeepers of Wanganui as a points prize at the recent poultry show, and won by Mr. G. R. Hutchinson, of Auckland, is on view in the window of W. Richings, outfitter a"n< mercer, Ridgway street. Tho rainfall at Aramoho for July wai 1.23 inches. Rain fell on fourteen days, tho greatest fall in 24 hours was 0.27 inches on the 25th. There were nine frosty mornings. The rainfall for July last year was 3.23 inches. The wet month this year was June, with 9.71 inches. A meeting was held at the Grey Statue, Queen street, Auckland, on Saturday night. Several hundred were present, and carried resolutions urging tht) Government and City Council to push on public works, and provide for tho unemployed. Mr. Way, who presided, said that last week a labourer t billet was applied for by 120 men. A fire at Orepuki yesterday morning destroyed premises occupied by Mrs McFarlane (draper), Shields (saddler)j Tiello (butcher), and an empty shop. The first-named building was owned by Mr. A. Drain, and was insured in the Alliance for £500. The other ehopf wero owned by Mr. K. D'Arcy, am were insured for £210. The fire startec in Mr. Shields' (who was absent on n shooting expedition) place. Messrs. John Hayes, inspecting engi nter of the Mines Department, Green inspector of mines in Otago, Contts, inspector of mines in the North K Island and Fox, engineer of the Locomotivt Department in Wellington, sat yestei* day as a board to inquire into the affairs of the Seddonvilie State colliery. The Board sits at Seddonvilie to-morrow. The inquiry is open to the Press. A Paluatua wire says that at <a meeting at Pongaroa on Saturday a motion was unanimously passed to ask the Go vernment to make a grant of £3500 to metal the Makuri-Pongaroa road, which is almost impassable now from Mangatiti to Pongaroa. In the event of the Government declining, tho Akiteo Council will be asked to raise a loan, and the Government then asked for a pound for pound subsidy. A committee was appointed to canvass for signatures to a petition. Wo are indebted to Mr. C. E. Hyltoh, Registrar of Births, Deaths, and Marriges, for the following vital -statistics for the month of July:—Births— Town and suburbs 32, country 7, total 39, an increase of four on the corresponding month of last year. Deaths— Hospital 2, town and suburbs 5, country 3, total 10; the total.for July of 1904 being" 14. Marriages—Church of England 6, Presbyterian 7, Registrar 3, Primitive Methodist 1, Roman Catholic 1, and Wesleyan 1; total, 19. The increase over the total for July of last year was 12. The number of marriages during this month is about the highest on record for Wanganui. An interesting figure at the Maori tangi. at Pori'rua settlement on Saturday was an old deeply-tattooel native manned Foutama, a member of the Ngatiraikawa tribe, whose home is at Oh&u, on the Wellington-Manawatu line. Poutama is the last of the tattooed men of the native race in Wellington province. His face is thickly '"moko'd" in the deep-cut patterns of half a century ago. Amongst tho *atJve women of most native districts ift this island face-tattooing is still kept up, and a blue-chiselled chin is looked on as a "tohu-rangatira," a chiefly adornment and a token of patriotic: racial pride.