LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume L, Issue 12721, 5 February 1906, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Union Steamship Company's steamer Atua has been launches at Clyde. " '■■■■ ■■■:;:■■ Information is desired (.says Thursday night's "Gazette") as to tho whereabouts of the relatives of a deceased seaman named Thomas Tenley West, who is said to have been born in New Zealand, and who was one oJ the cie\v of the Danish ship Aalborjj;, which was wrecked on the coast of Chili on the 9th July, 1905. The New South Wales Labour. Conference now sittting at Sydney, oil Friday last, after a warm discussion on tho land question, resolved that land agents' fees should be regulated and subjected to taxation., and agenta should be made officers of the Court; also that members of Parliament should be debarred from acting as paid agents in Crown-land matters. With respect to a cable that tho Equitable Life Assurance Society of New York accepts no new business in Australasia, the resident sojretary says that the business now on the books of the Society will be maintained, and arrangements will be madfi for the collection of renewal premiums and the settlement of claims and all dealings with policies ac heretofore. ; The Westport Coal Company's, bal-ance-sheet shows the year's profits-to be £49,924. An interim dividend of 3s. 6d: for the half-year ended June; 30 absorbed £14,000, leu ring ,£45,407 to be dealt with. Of this £9107 is to be carried forwardy arid £8000 added to ths- reserve. It has-been decided to declare a ; half-yearly dividend of 3s. 6d. per share, besides a bonus of Ss. 6d.. making:» total of £'28,000 distributed to shareholders for the year. The profit on the coal account for 1905 was £43,746, against £49,949 for the previous year.

\■. ~ . ■-, . : , ■■.-'■ There /was a clean sheet at the-Police Court on Saturday morning. The channel dredged ottt at the Castlecliff wharf by the big dredge is 410 feet long, 100 feet wide, and from 7 tc» 15 feet deep. Captain Edwin wired at mid-day.. on Saturday as follows: Strong winds from between northward after 20 hours from now; glass fall, tides high, sea heavy, indications for rain after that time. Those who are not on the electoral roll, and who wish to vote at the election of the Licensing Committee, to,be held on the 13th of March, should call at the Registrar's offies, A.M.P. Buildings, and get on the supplementary roll, which will close for certain on the 19th of February.

At the next meeting of th'j Palmerston North Borough Council a motion will be proposed that all bieyclus owned or used by persons within the borough's jurisdiction be registered and numbered ; that the registration fee be 2<s. 6d.; and that the numbers be affixed to each bicycle in a position to be determined by the Council or its representative, -i

In dealing with a niiieteenryear-old girl, charged with drunkenness at the Auckland Police Court on Tuesday, T the presiding Magistrate (Mr. C. Ci Kettle) remarked that it'was a scandalous and disgusting thing for a young girl like the: defendant to bo served with liquor. The girl informed the Magistrate that she had been to the Takapuna races, and had.beo;i drinking'at the publicans' booths in company with a number^ of other girls much about her own age. The Sub-inspector of Police added that ther<- was nothing in the law to prevent the girk from being served with liquor, and that it was an every-day- occurrence.

It has been decided to form a Rechabites' Tent in connection with the Wellington District of the Independent Orde of Rechabites, and a preliminary meeting was held on -Thursday last. Another meeting will be held on Tuesday evening next at 8 o'clock at the Baptists' Schoolroom, when further arrangements will be made for the official opening of the Tent. It is; expected that Bio. Hon. F. H. Fraser, M.L.C. '^District Secretary), will perform tht, opening ceremony. Dr. C. B. Innes has consented to act as surgeon, and several prominent temperance workers liave consented to join. AH intending members and all total, abstainers are cordially invited to attend the meeting to. be held on Tuesday evening nextV _

A brave deed was performed by, a halt-caste Maori named Paitai • Kaimoana, at Wairoa. on D^ember 12, th last. The evidence accompanying the application shows that a boy w named Fin. Crarer, five years old, who was playing on the banks of the Wairoa river, with some companions, fell into the water. He was rapidly carried into deep water and soon sank. Kaimoana, who was working some distance away, was informed-of what had occurred by on-a of the boys. _ The place where Crarer sank was pointed out to him, and without divesting himself of his clothing -he sprang into the water, successfully dived for the boy, and swam with him to the shore. Artificial re- : spiration wai applied, and Crarer soon recovered. The secretary of the Royal Humane Society /Captain Linn) has re-, ceived an application for recognition of the brave act. . •...,.

A certain amount of anxiety was felt in town yesterday evening as to how the drenching rain that*"fell all day would affect the Wanganui Volunteer Battalion, who were in camp at Putiki. Inquiries last night elicited the. fact that the; men were having rather a rough time, but were in excellent health, and spirits. - Considerable discomfort was occasioned by the continued collapsing of the tents, owing to the * ground becoming soft with the rain, and releasing the tent pegs. Work in the open was, of course, impossible, and the men were constrained to pass their time under canvas; where, des-i pite the continual drippings/ they^were very snug,;.- Amidst' smokey-:wreathes-: and - risminiscences of camps j ad : been lesi? stormy,, the, tim.e parsed pleasantly enofugh* Cofehel "WaW^" Major 1 Hughes, and Captains''McNatight"; arid' Harper did their; best. to. add* io thecom-,. fort of,.the men,- who will/jirpKablYihaveA, to work hard when the weather clears to make up'for their enfofceii'ldlengss.-1

An interesting review 6F tße "deveTd-p- \ uient of the hemp indnsia-yini'Ne* Ze,i^ land was given ; by the; President of-the... Wellington of Commence ki> ,* meeting of that body on "Friday las|f' In the course of hia reTnark^-Mr. Shirt-• cliffe said: ''Bemp-showsfan. increase-H of over 12 per cent,; in. the quantity ejcr ported, though tihe "greater^ portion of that advantage was i lost in" the lower average price ruling during-the year Since last • September, however, -j't ■ is. gratifying to know, that th:s important; industry has received the benefit of - vhothe j" spurt in prices, arid that" mill< rs are now almost all fully* booked with orders at full rates that'will keep them going for some months to con«.p. Jn th>» Government grading of hemp, T feel bound to say there is still room for improvement. The policy of the c,raders appeal's to have been to raise tht) standard of quality, but unfortunately/ they have carried this to such an extent as to make it almost impossibl<> for millers to work up to it. Consequently large .quantities, of fibre have been put into the F.A.Q. grada tli.it would a year or two ago have easily passed as G.F.A.Q., and commanded a aubetantirlly higher price. An alteration in the. po'nts awarded to the &ev-' eral Grades (more nartic.vlarly Ihe F.A.CJ- grade) could also be made with, I think, advantage to millers and greater fairness to oversea buyers." The speaker expressed theopinum that the Government should also frive serious and immediate attention to lifting, the restrictit'h placed unon tlie ox- : porting of condemned hemp, M'hicJi fibre would often command a fail* pri<:e>. at Home.

. . The memlbers' list of the Feilding A. and P. Association has now readied the total of 648. ~,-...•..

The following quotations of the price of potatoes in London during last November will be interesting to consumers 'here-r-Tiiade.: quiet. - Maincrops 65s to 755, Royal Kidneys 60s to 655, British Queens 60s to 655/ Blacklands 55s to 60a, Up-to-dates 60s to 70s, Queens 60s to 60s per ton.

It tfas ista/ted in town yesterday that private -information had been received to the effect that Nelson had been visited by a severe gale and a serious flood, occasioning coneiderab'e damage. Up to a late hour last night we had received no confkanatdon of this report from the .Press Association. .. -..■ - -

Tha following ultimatum was received by <tlhe chairman of the MJaudeviile and Rangiorsa Road Board, Canterbury— "Dear Sir,—The - bird-nesting boys of Woodend refuse to gather any. more eggs unless the moir&yjis highered to 6d,peadozen for "heads iand 3d p-er'dozen "for! eggs." From boys of Woodend."

We are asked to remind all thinting of joining the Technical School' classes, to enrol during "this week/ as work commences at once. Those intending availing themselves of the irgo classes should attend to-day, the day students during the afternoon, and evening students at 7 o'clock this evening

It has been observed that one of the modb picturesque eights in the" North Island—(Mount Egmont—-has been omitted from the Government posters, and the local Chamber of Commerce have decided to write to tihe Tourist Department -asking - that reproductions 'ol Mount Egmont be included in their pictorial posters.

The overseer of the Momohaki experimental farm, Waverley, ■ reports: " The rainfall here for the past month was 3.98 inches. Rain fell on 11 days during tho month, the maximum, 1.60 inches, on tihe sth and the. minimum, .03 inches, on tihe 30th. The rainfall fcr the corresponding month last year was 2.17 inches,"

The Timaru " Herald" states that a very useful invention was shown in Messrs Priest and Holdgate's yard on Tdiuirsday last. It was an appliance of galvanised iron,. devised to catch the finst couple of gallons of dirty water off a roof and tip dt clear of the collecting: tank. The invention should <be very useful to farmers who depend upon the rain for their water supply. " •

February's meeting of the W.C.T.U. was. fairly well attended. After reading the 12th chapter of Romans * and the delivery of , a short prayer, ~ the minutes of the previous meeting were' TeacVarid confirmed. A letter of resig-' Dation was read from the lately-ap-pointed secretary, Miss Newton, who has left for Chfistchurch. • M:ss McLeod, proposed by Mrs. Elyth, and seconded by Mrs. Beaven, was unanimous-" ly elected in her stead. A short address was then given by Miss L. Broad, and after arranging that she would give another address next Friday afternoon, commencing at 3 o'clock, tha meeting closed with the Benediction.

'"'Among .the largest sheep owners in the colony »are runholdera in the Hawke's Bay and Poverty Bay districts. In this connection the following figures arejcompiled from the annual sheep returns :.,, T. S. Williams, Tuparoa,/ 89,----907 sheep, R. Campbell and Sons, Waitaki/and Wallace counties, -85,000; Archdeacon Williams, Hawke's Bay, 79,772; Dalgety/and Co., Wairoa, Vincent and Selwyn counties, 74,210; New Zealand and Australian Land Company,' Waimate, 62,953; G. P. Donnelley Hawke's Bay, 60.010; R. D. D. McLean, Hawke's Bay, 56,000 :.G. and P* Hun-; ter, Porongahiia, 48.000; J. D. Or-: mand,; Hawke's Bay; 52,109. Mr. Williams is the largest" sheej) owner in the colony.

Anonymous letters axe not always agreeable, but one received by Mr Cock, of (New Plymouth, on Tuesday, must be so classed. It bore flue Auckland postmark, and contained a £5 note; the covering letffcer (reading thus: "Dear Mr Cock^He^emth £5, . which please ae•«*P*. as your,«own. You do.not know, how I 'came by it some' years ago,' and probably never will, as" it- involves the' hcnour^ not mad, but! r i9r^ptenaibfpn see .John. .3-16.: .Yours, ! etc., A FHeridl flfo.not seek to find.the ' sbtidet, as youwouild b4 no wiser. God's spirit Still'trorks^for (righteousness. Thai 1 js ihow you -cam^-by 'your own." ; Mir Cock- .desires.tp express his appreciation of the spirit w-hich has prompted "A Friend" to mate this redrem. He only regrets that the' 'amount was not £500 instead of £5. ' . ,-. ~..-..\ •.- ..-. ..-■■

; Now that:;the Christmas holidays are ever once ; mere, most of our local "teachens of singing, the pianoforte, organ, arid miisrc" generally have resumed teac-lrng, as-rvvill be. seen from announcements'in olir advertising column-s' during the last week or two. The latost. addition to the ranks of teachers of voice prcduction is Madame Emily Briggs, recently from London—a Jady who holds certificates of the highest class from the Royal Academy of.lVJu«ic, the Royal College of Music,' the Guild-1 hall School ..of Music, and other noted musical institutions. Besides being a first-class teacher of singing as verified by the splendid, indeed flattering, testimonials sha holds, Madame Briggs is. also an accomplished performer upon the mandolin and guitar, besides which nhe is a certificated teacher of the beautiful, classical, and just- now very fashionable instruments just - named &he had the good fortune of being taught these instruments by the best Italian master and teacher of same in London; whilst for singing, her master and teacher waij Signer Nava, one of the very b">3t teachers of vocalisation in f/ondon.' -Much -more as regards Madame Emily Briggs's accomplishments as a musician, vocalist, and performer upon the mandolin might'be stated; also as a co-mpetent teacher of singing and the instruments here nam■ed,- but the abov©. will, no-doubt, suffice Madame Briggs may be seen at her address, No. 12G, Victoria Avenue, so "that intending and prospective pupils should lose no time in making the necessary arrangements for taking lessons. Madame Brings enters upon her duties as teacher of singing at the Girls' College this week.

Yesterday was the sixty-sixth anniversary of tihe signing of the Treaty of Wiaitangi. -

Settlers are requested to note that Messrs. Jackson and Co.'s next Waverley sale will be held on Saturday. 10th, instead of Friday, 9th, as previously advertised.

Mr (Norman (Menzies, of Melbourne, ■has been advised by cable (from Mr Musgirove that the "Sweet -Nell of Old Da-U'ry" Company had a most successful opening at San Francisco, and that the critics were enthusiastic

A relic of tihe past, unearthed during the demolition of tihe old premises alongside the Post Office Hotel, Wellington, was picked up in Grey Street. It is a receipted (account sent out by the Lion Foundry to the Salvage Company which was'engaged dn raising the old steamer Tara'naki which was sunk in the Sounds. The date on the penny receipt stamp is 1869, and tihe receipt is signed by the late- G. M. Sne'lson, the first Mayor of Palmerston Nox'tih.

Saturday's Hunterville "Express" reports that the lining of the Mataroa •tunnel, on the Trunk line, was completed iasfb Thursday, and it is expected that all will be ready for the locomotive to get through in a fortnight from now. The official opening of the section will probably not take place till the end of MJarch, but probably arrangements wall be "made to rail goods from Tadhape before the line is available for general traffic.

According te the Chrdstehurch '-'Press," Constable Whelan, who has charge of the police station at Paeroa, received a rather dbartling communication on Thursday, beaa-'ing the name of a storekeeper whom the constable has been trying to evict for non-payment of irentj the owner of"tflie store premises teivjng obtaned from the Court an order for possession. The 'writer of the letter informed the ooiasJbable that if he attempted to touch tihe writer's goods ho would "shoot dead, regardless of consequences." The letter concluded with "God Save the King,"

Mr C. H. Basoand, the newly-appoint-ed Organising Agent of the 1.0.0. T., tv^ho jis en route to Auckland, is at present in town, and will be glad to meet all members of the Order at the Good Templairs' Hall tlhds evening. We understand that, whilst Mr Bascand's duties will necessarily be somewhat of a public character, they will be more especially directed towards the building up and cTganisiing of the various Templar (Lodges so that they may be better adapted for work-in connectdcin with the rescuing of the victims of stirong drink, ilhd for the ultimate success of the NoLicense movement.

It is rumoured (saye fhe " Press") that a prominent friendly society official is missing from Ohirisitchuiroh, and is supposed to have gone to America. He left the oity on January 4, ostensibly for a holiday, but never returned. His wife r and family are still (residing in Ohrietchurch. Ait present nothing is known as to the state of the accounts of the society with jv^hich he (has been connected, but an linvestigation is now being made, and th« i*esults will t>e reported to the society in due ooairse. So far as can be gathered, there is no intention on th« pacrfc of the gentdenian irefera ved to to return to Ohrilstchiwch again.

Miss Lucy Broad, ti^vellmg delegate of the Women's Christian Temperance Union, 'occupied tlhe pulpit at Trinity Wesley an Oh urcih yesterday morning, and in the • evening, at the Bap<bi!st Ohuixsh, gave an adda*ess on " The King's •Highway and His Eoad Makers." On Thursday evening Miss Broad will deliver a. popular^ illustrated lecture, dealing anore ■pai'ttdcularly, ,we understand, "■with, hea* recent travels in Madagaecafr on a bicycle. At Trinity Church yester_ day Miss Broad mentioned that in her journeyings since April last she hud covered tin all no less (than 30,000 miks.