LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 8038, 10 January 1905, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Dr. Fell, the ex-Otago three-quarter, and one of Edinburgh University's .finest scoring backs, is on a six months' visit to New Zealand. >

A slight earth tremor was experienced in Masterton at 4 a.m., to-day.

There is a movement in favour of a Saturday half-holiday in the Wairarapa townships.

Mr T. M. AVilford, M.R.R., passed through Masterton on his motor, yesterday, en route to Wellington from Auckland.

Owing to the scarcity of houses in and around Taihape, many men, and in some cases families, are living intents. The weather lately has been much against this style of accommodation.

Mr A. W. Hogg, M.H.R., has accepted an invitation to be present at the meeting of Miki Miki settlers to be held in the Schoolroom, on Monday evening next.

The Hawke's Bay A. and P. Association has agreed to contribute £25 a year towards the salary of a travelling'instructor on agricultural technical education for Hawke's Bay.

Mr C. E. Todd, who, for some years past, has represented the Dresden Piano Co. in the Lower Valley, has been promoted to take charge of the firm's branch in Masterton.

The imports into Wellington during the year ended 30th September, 1904, were valued at £3,930,417, an increase of £223,217 over the imports in the preceding twelve months.

In Wellington political circles there is a feeling that the last session of the present Parliament will be a short one, and that the general election will be fixed for the last week in November.

C. J. Bumup who was out here with Lord Hawke's New Zealand cricket team, known to his friends as " Pinkie*" is reported to have forsaken English playing fields. He has settled in Mexico as a doctor.

When searching a man locked up in Londonderry for drunkenness, a policeman found a large brown rat nestling under the prisoner's shirt. The rat is his constant companion, and when going to a gaol on a previous occasion he sent it to a friend—in the work-house.

Suitors for the hands of the fair maidens of Lower Auetria are subjected to a curious ordeal. 'Before he is accepted a young man has to stand open-mouthed near a hive of wild bees. If the bees are not attracted by hist breath he is accepted as not being a drinker,

Mr James S. Cross, well known in shipping circles, died in the Hospital on on Sunday night. The deceased was the son of the late Captain Cross, who owned various steamers trading out of Nelson and he was himself a steamboat owner for some years.

His Excellency the Governor has completed arrangements for the renting of Elmwood, the residen * of Mr R. H. Rhodes, at a Christchurch Vice-Regal residence. Lady Plunket will leave Auckland for Christchurch on January 22nd or 24th, and Lord Plunket will follow on January 26th, going through to Invercargill, "to lay the foundation stone of a new town hall, and stopping at Oaiuaru on his way back to Christchurch to unveil a memorial to fallen troopers.

Mr H. Evans, of the Fernridge, last year purchased a ridging drill for sowing turnips, putting in six acres. Off this six acres he fattened 350 sheep and topped the market with his hoggets. This year he has put in nine acres with the ridging drill, and has an exceptionally good crop. He expresses the opinion that ten acres of ridged turnips, properly worked is equal to twenty acres of flat sown turnips. This of course applies to land that has to be continually worked to keep clean.

On pages 2 and 3 will be found some detailed information regarding rural prospects in North Wairarapa, giving particulars, as far as obtainable, from the several districts. The general position may be summed up that the farming community is having, on the whole, a very good time, which a large per centage of them freely admit —in fact, they make no secret of the fact that they are doing better than for years past. On this pleasing state of affairs the district is to congratulated. It may be mentioned that special pains have been taken in the compilation of the article to easure the information being as accurate and reliable as possible.

Some of the niiik suppliers and other farmers on the upper reaches of the Mangatainoka Valley have suffered this year considerably through the washing away of their frontages by floods. Again and again at great trouble and expense they have erected groins, only to be carried away by the avalanches that sweep along the gorge with terrific force. Added to this the river in many places is unfordable and where there are crossings they are constantly changing and becoming dangerous. In some instances the dairy farmer has his milk cans stuck up occasionally for the best part of a week. Capsizes in the river and narrow escapes from drowning are becoming too plentiful to be pleasant, and a3 some of the families that our liberal land laws have planted on the soil threaten to sell their cows and make a clearance the Public Works Department has been invited to send up an experienced officer to examine the river and confer with them.

When the Langdale settlement was formed a few years ago, a number of small village sections, each consisting of five acres, were set apart at the southeast corner, with the view of providing sites for blaclistniths, carpenters, and other tradesmen desirous of settling in the locality. For these, up to the present, there has been no demand. A suggestion has since bejn made that the sections should be re-arranged, and grouped together, so as to form ten-acre sections, instead of five. The land has been temporarily leased to the adjacent occupiers; but, should there be applicants for ten-acre sections, prepared to take up their residence on the land, the Crown, by giving notice of resumption, will be able to meet their wishes. The existing leases expire during the present and following year, and, if the sections are required for independent settlement purposes, twelve months' notice of resumption has to be given. From what we can learn, Lungdale is becoming so prosperous, that there will soon ; ' be an eager demand for these little plots.

SUFFERING THE TORTURES OF ECZEMA is the condition of thousands who live in ignorance of the fact that warm baths with Cutieura Soap, to cleanse the skin of crusts and. scales, and soften the thickened { cuticle, and gentle anointings with Cutieura Ointment, the great skin cure, to allay itching, irritation, and inflamma tion, and soothe and heal, and mild doses of Cutieura .Resolvent Pills, to cool and cleanse the blood, will afford instant relief and point to a speedy, permanent and economical cure when all else fails.

The Tβ Wharau and Gladstone Rifle Clubs compete for the Challenge Shield on the 21et insfc.'

It is reported that in Canterbury the fruit crop will be practically a failure this season..

Two Greytown hairdressers are to be prosecuted for keeping open after legal hours.

The irrepressible Mr R. E. Hornblow announces himself a candidate for Eangitikei at the next general election.

It is stated that the estate of the late Mr N. Grace will be administered by the Public Trustee, Mr Grace having left no will.

The new term of Miss Swainson's Fitzherbert Terrace boarding and day school for girls commences on Tuesday, January 31st.

Residents of Greytown have decided to follow Masterton's lead in assisting their hospital by holding a fiot&l fete there at an early date.

Claims for enrolment on the voters' list of the Masterton Trust Lands Trust must be lodged at the office of the Trust on or before the 31st January.

A choice and unique calendar for 1905 comes to us through Messrs Lowes and lorns, Ltd., the Masterton agents of the Equitable Life Assurance Society.

A meeting of the Sports Committee of the Masterton Rifle Cadets will be held after parade next Monday to arrange a a programme of events to be run off shortly.-

The tender of the Wairarapa Daily Times office for printing the official catalogue, as well as the general printing, has been accepted by the Masterton A. and P. Association.

The Wairarapa Brick and Tile Co., has been instructed by. tbe contractors, Messrs Coradine and Wbittaker, to make the bricks for the new Presbyterian Church, at Masterton.

Harvesting is now becoming fairly general on the Taratahi plains, and if tbe present weather lasts the bulk of the crops there should be in the stooks in the course of a few days.

A Taihape paper states that" the chief witness in the Collinson murder case has been in Taihape for some time, and last Wednesday night had to be taken charge of by the police, as he feared molestation.

Complaints are being made of the conduct of an individual who is visiting different houses in Masterton, almost demanding money to procure liquor. This has been going on for some time, and should be put a stop to.

Mails for Australia, Tasmania, Ceylon, India, China, Japan, and Straits Settlements, also United Kingdom, and Continent of Europe, per " Moeraki," will close at Masterton, on Saturday, the 14th inst., at 6.15 a.m.

The ordinary parade of the Masterton Rifle Cadets was held last evening, when there was a fair muster. The corps were put through various exercises by Lieut. Nicol (Rifle Cadets) and Sergeant Morton (Rifle Volunteers).

, Mr E. W. Dorset, of Carterton has forwarded to the Secretary of the Masterton A. and P. Association a gold medal for the most points in Lincolns and a silver medal for the most points in the farmers' classes. The medals are both very neat in design.

Mails for Australia, Tasmania, Ceylon, India, China, Japan, and Straits Settlement, also Continent of Europe and the United Kingdom, per " Victoria " from Auckland, will close at Masterton, on Saturday, the 14th inst., at 5.30 a.m.

The Floral Fete Committee wish it to be made generally known that the services of any persons willing to act on the General Committe will be gladly accepted. Those willing to give any assistance in this way are requested to hand in their names to the Secretary, Mr C. Gr. Downes.

Just before the steamer "Moresby left Santa Cruz, in continuation of her voyage to Sydney recently, it was reported that the natives there had been quarrelling about a pig. In the fight three natives were killed. It was stated that a fight occurred some weeks previously among the natives, when five lost their lives. This fight, too, was all about a Pig-

A Melbourne firm of grocers were charged, the other day, with selling condensed milk which had abstracted from it 90 per cent, of its original fatty solids. The Inspector to the Public Health Board said the milk would be admirable for the purpose of baby farmers. He had never come across a worse sample of condensed milk. Defendant firm were lined £5 and costs.

A submarine manned entirely by lieutenants and sub-lieutenants of H.M.S. Thames, recently crossed from Spithead to Cowes, and returned—a distance of 24 miles—under water. The feat shows that the young officers have become so well acquainted with these boats as to be able to manage one themselves and particularly to navigate it across such difficult waters as the Solent, with their currents and rocks.

The eager spectators who crowded too closely round the wood chopping competitors at a holiday sports gathering in the Marlborough district the other day were considerably startled when one of the men accidentally let the axe slip from his hand. In its flight it actually grazed the throat of an onlookeiy who had a narrow escape, for the keen blade inflicted a wound two and a half inches long—fortunately a shallow one.

A burglar, in trying to escape from tfee cellar of a pork butcher's sho.p in the Rue Rubeyal, Paris, stood on a barrel, when the end gave way, and he sank up to his neck in lard. A comical scene was presented when the police entered to arrest him. None of the constables cared about spoiling their uniforms by coming into contact with the greasecovered burglar. Eventually two of the policemen removed their tunics and handcuffed the man before releasing him from the barrel. « An advertiser wishes to purchase a four or five-roomed house. Mr W. Donaldson, house and land agent, Parry-street, inserts a new list of properties now in his hands for sale. Tenders are invited for the ereotion of a. cottage at Parkville for Mr E. Jackson. Plans and specifications may be seen at the Daily Times office. I The McOormick knotter embodies in the fullest degree the qualities which are necessary to secure uniform regularity in binding —namely, accuracy, simplicity and durability.—Advt. : Cherry Tooth Paste for cleansing and preserving the teeth and gums. Try it. Oar own make. Is, Is 6d. H. T. Wood, Chemist and Pharmacist (by exam.), Master ton. —Advt.

Tho excavations for the new Presby- «■ terian Church have been commenced. ' A meeting of the Ladies' Committee of the Hospital Floral FSte is to be held in Mr J. B. Keith's, office, tomorrow evening, at 7 o'clock.

Mr C. A. Pownall has been retained for the defence of John Savage, junr., Charged with attempted arson, at Mastercon, on Thursday last. A dairymaid has been arrested at Cologne for bathing herself daily in the *, milk before it was sold, because she read — . that milk baths were good for the com- , T plexion.

Two informations, against a'Masterton bankrupt, for breaches of the "Bankruptcy Act," will be heard in the local Court, before Mr W. P. James, S.M., on Friday next.

The tarring and sanding work recently authorised by the Maaterton School Committee has been commenced at the ■ District High School. The asphalting of the floor of the. boys' shelter shed will also be commenced' shortly. * ;!■*"• The repute of Cambridge, Waikato, as a consumptive resort is so great that a local boardinghouse keeper has to announce that no infectious cases are taken —intended " guests " will have to be passed by the Health Officers. Mr W. F. Sinclair, of Gisborne, who went Home in connection with a patent to prevent horses stampeding, is due back in the colony about the 23rd inst. The officers of the War Office to whom the patent was submitted have recommended its adoption.

The following team has been chosen to represent the Star " A " against the Eketahuna Cricket Club, on the Masterton School ground, on Thursday next: — Woodger, Egan, Mason, L. Richards, D'Arcy, Allen, Sellar, Edwards, Steward, Kingdon, Cook. Emerg.: Nicholson, Minett.

A clerk in the employ of an insurance company in Auckland recently departed very suddenly by the San Francisco boat. After he had left it was found that there were defalcations totalling a very tidy sum. The company, whose headquarters are in Dunedin, communicated with the police, but is understood that the defaulter is not likely to be brought back.

The burning of a small outhouse at the rear of Mr S. J. Russell's residence, in Chapel street, caused a vigorous alarm to be sounded on the Masterton firebells, shortly before three o'clock, this morning. The Fire Brigade turned out promptly, but the shed was almost demolished before they arrived on the scene, and their services were, not required.

Owing to the inconvenience caused by people crowding on steamers to see friends off, the Union Company is introducing, from the beginning of the year, a regulation prohibiting all except passengers and one friend going on board boats leaving Wellington and Lyttelton. The friend will require to have a gang, way pass, and use it not later than a quarter of an hour before sailing time.

From 1851 to 1903 the value of wool exported from Australia was £740,398,000, and the significance of these figures is still more strongly emphasised when a comparison is made with the gold yields. The gold exported from New South Wales in the same period was valued at £36,000,000, but the export of wool amounted to over £800,000,000, morethan eight times the value of any industry which in itself has been a prime factor in Australian prosperity.

An adjourned meeting of creditors in the estate of Patrick Carr, bankrupt, was held in the Masterton Courthouse yesterday. The D.O.A. (Air W. B. Chennells) presided and the creditors present were Messrs M. Caselberg; J. Graham and W. Cameron. After the examination of bankrupt had been concluded by Mr B. J. Dolan, the following resolution, passed at a meeting held on December 12th, 1904 was confirmed : " That the debtor's offer of 10s in the £be accepted." This resolution has still to be confirmed by order of the District Court.

A drunken man in charge of a perambulator is not a sight often witnessed, yet such was to be seen on a recent night in Dannevirke. The mother had taken the baby to a dance, and the husband appeared on the scene full of New Year ale and demanded that the child be taken home. As this was not done, he set off on his own accord and capsized the poor infant on to the road several times. The police were then informed and the man was arrested and the baby taken back to its mother at the dance. Next morning the man was convicted and discharged and a prohibition order issued against him.

The late President Kruger being buried beside his wife at Pretoria on December 16th—Dingaan's Day—recalls the troublous eatly days of the people. In 1887 the Zulus, who were in possession of Natal, attempted to wipe out the Boer emisrants who had entered the country. At Weenen (weeping) a large body were massacred; in other places parties escaped only after desperate fights behind their laagered waggons. Puevenge came soon, however ; aud at Blood Biver the emigrants defeated Dingaan, the Zulu chief, with great slaughter. Dingaan's Day has been the Boer national holiday ever since.

The Gladstone Sports Committee are making strenuous efforts to popularise their annual sports, to be held on Anniversary Day, the 23rd inst. Mr John Strang has placed his picturesque

bagh and grounds at the Committee's

, disposal for that day, and visitors will ifc find an ideal picnic place. Numerous interesting and exciting events —both athletic and equestrian—will form a continual course of competition. Brakes leave Masterton at 9 a.m., returning in the evening. " The route is a pleasant drive, an 3 the outing, given fine weather, will be a* undoubtedly enjoyable one.

The site of the City of Wellington was,

_. in 1839 (according to a paper written by " the late Major Heaphy, V.C., and published in the " Transactions of the New Zealand Institute "), covered at the Tβ Aro end with high fern and tupakihi, save about the upper part of Willis-street and PolhilPs Gully, where there were high pine trees, partly felled for native cultivations. Wellington terrace was timbered chiefly with high manuka, some of the trees 40ft high. Thoradon Flat, about Mulgrave and Pipitea-streets, was fern-covered, but with high trees towards the Tinakori-road. The Native cultivations were along what is now Hawkestone-slreet, Tinakori-road, and

. the base of Tinakori hill, the sides and summit of which were densely timbered, the rata, with its crimson flowers, being conspicuous.

Of sixty-eight samples of sausages examined by the Government analyst at' Melbourne, not one was unadiUatered. The " pork " sausages wore quite innocent of pork.

The potato disease, which has played havoc with the potato crop in the Auckland district, has, it is feared, broken out in Southern Taranaki. A Plains' settler, who is conversant with the blignt, having spent some time in the Auckland district lately, states that the insect responsible for the disease has alighted on several Mania potato patches, which, as a result thereof, are withering away after the same way as the crops in the northern province affected by the blight. He is sending samples of the diseased plants and tubers to the authorities.