LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXIV, Issue 17729, 1 December 1919, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The Queen Alexandra Land will not hold their usual practice this evening.

A final review of the accounts inconnection with the Trentham "Art Union shows the net result of the fund to November 8 as £37,259/9/8.

At the Palmerston North Catholic Bazaar interest centred round the prize packet competition in which Mr Goring Johston's Nursing Sister was first prize. Mr P. A. MaeHardy presided. J. K. Strang, of Masterton (ticket No. 5463), was the -"/inner.

Speaking at Marton on Thursday night Mr Brady, official Labour candidate for Rangitikei, made no reservations about the attitude he adopts in connection with Paddy Webb. He said: "I am in favour of the removal of franchise restrictions on Paddy Webb. If people were willing to send him to Parliament that was their business."

His Excellency the GovernorGeneral will pay a visit to the West Coast Sounds, and is expected to arrive in Invercargill next Friday. His Excellency Trill proceed to Queenstown on Saturday, spend the weekend there, and leave for Dunedin on Monday. On the morning of Tuesday, 9th inst., His Excellency will go on to ClMstchurch and remain there for some time.

The committee reecntly set up by the ratepaypers of Marton Junction to deal with the matter of amalgamation with Marton Borough will confer with the Mayor and councillors of Marton this evening en the subject. It is understood that the amalgamation proposal has the almost unanimous endorsement of the residents of Marton Junction, and the conference to-night is simply to adjust boundary and other matters concerning which there is some slight difference of opinion. On Saturday afternoon last, at the residence of Mr L. Honeyeombe, jo Alexander Street, the members of the local branch of the Ingestre Street Baptist Women's Missionary Prayer Union held a garden party. Rev. Stanley Jenkin, in his threefold capacity of president of the New Zealand Baptist union, secretary'of the New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society, and minister ot the local Baptist Church, declared the gathering open, and in his remarks welcomed the , visitors and expressed T.iie uuitsd pleasure of those present at seeing among their number the Hon. Gilbert Carson, an ex-president of the Society. The weather cleaied beautiful, the grounds and surroundings wero prettily arranged, and at stalls erect&i here ant I there good business was done 5y sales of sweets, cakes and produce. A bevy of ladies dispensed afternoon iea, others indulging in games on the lawns. To add to the attractiveness of the gathering, musical items wero submitted from the spacious room adjoining, and a number of children an-1 several young ladies were attired in Indian and native costume.

Among the many pictures which have attracted considerable interest in the collection on view in the Sarjeant Gallery are two by a clever Wanganui artist, no.v deceased—Mr Herbert Habbage. These pictures are entitled "Sunlight on the Sea" and "Bateaux dcs Pommcs. Paris" (apple barges on the Seine. It may be remembered that in 1909 Mr Balil>ap;e, who had been studying at Home for the previous eiglvo years, exhibited over 200 pictures and sketches, which the critics pronounced a* "all clever and original in treatment and.excellent in technique." Of his picture "Apple Barges on the Seine," one of the'two exhibited here, tjie Wellington ci'itios could not speak' too highly. It was this picture that won Mr Babb«ge tliat blue ribbon of the artiss world, a place in the Royal Academy. The promjsing artist died a soldier —a member of the Duke of Cornwall's Light Inlantry, leaving his parents in Wanganui—old and highly respected residents of the district—to mourn the loss of a greatly-loved son. "Bateaux dcs Pommes" is the property of the citizens, having been presented to the Serjeant Art, Gallery and the other picture, "Sunlight on the Sea,'Ms the property of the Patriotic Association, to whom it was presented by Mr Babbage, senr for the benefit of sick and wounded soliliers,

One day last week the Borough Electrical Department received a call on the telephone from the manager of a local business firm, who complained that the electric elevator had stopped, and bad for some time previously been running erratically. On examination, it was found that the main fuse had "blown," but on this being replaced the elevator still continued its erratic behaviour. On further investigation it was discovered that a rat of an inquiring turn of mind, doubtless with a desire to find out what made the wheels go round, had crawled into the controller on the elevator. His inquisitiveness cost him dearly, as on coming in contact with the "juice" he was promptly despatched to the happy hunting grounds reserved for all good rats. Unfortunately, though absent in the spirit, he was only too present in the body, and set up a temporary "short," which accounted in full for the erratic running of the lift. On the mechanic reporting the cause of the trouble to his superior, the latter thoughtfully murmured, "Ump;"*no wonder it was running er-rat-i-cally."