LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXX, Issue 12053, 21 December 1906, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The killing of the paradise duck has been prohibited for a year from April 25th next year. Messrs J. E. Joynt and E. Trege&r have been appointed governors of the New Zealand Institute. To date there were thirty-two bankruptcies recorded since January Ist, 1906, in Wellington and suburbs. Last year but twenty-nine persons filed their schedules. An old lady who has just died at Wisback at the age of 84 wrote her own obituary notice on the day before her death, and also made a list of all the friends to whom she wished the memorial cards to be sent. At Hasting last week a settler was fined 10s and 15s costs for eendinz cowb to an auction sale without having them properly milked beforehand. The Bench said the practice of not milking cows before a sale was a general one, but buyers wore not deceived by it. It has been definitely decided to hold the monster Fordell garden party sports on Thursday, January 17th., commencing at 11 a.m. All particulars of amusements will appear in posters early. A preliminary programme is published in another column. At a meeting of the Gear Meat Company, held at Wellington last night, a dividend of 4 per cent, for the half-year, with a bonus of 2 per cent., was declared. The chairman said the result of the Chicago disclosures had been, so far as Great Britain, is concerned, the complete cessation of the demand for tinned goods of any kind. A new use for Oamaru stone has been discovered by a Petone resident, who (according to the Chronicle) has imported about 10 tons of the stone in large blocks, with the object of cutting up and using it in the construction of house chimneys instead of the ordinary brick, on the score of cheapness. An American philatelist offera £2000 for a copy of the Annapolis postmaster stamp on the original envelope, similar to the one in the collection of the Earl of Crawford, said to be the only existing specimen of its kind, and looked upon as the greatest rarity in philately. Should the copy be forthcoming, the Annapolis stamp would become the highest priced m the world. The petition in favour of substituting Saturday for Wednesday for the half-holi-day for grocery establishments met with further approval at Dunedin on Tuesday, a number of employers in city and suburbs appending their signatures to it. It has been decided not to present the petition to the City Council to-night, but to hold it over until the meeting of delegates from local bodies, to be held in January/ to nx the weekly half-holiday. — Times. Tfie extraordinary spectacle of a bullock walking, cat-like, backward and forward over a gable roof, was witnessed at Taylorville last evening. A bullock, an animal of about 18 months' growth, waa bein" rounded up in Messrs. Nixon, Baddeley and Forlong's yards, after yesterday's sale, when it sprang from the top of a cutting on to the roof of Gordon's stables, a fair jump. Having got thus far, the bovine paraded back ana forward along the roof, crossing- the gable several times, and it was a considerable time before it could be induced to return to terra firma. There is no foundation for the statement that Mr Justice Edwards' health ha* for some time past been unsatisfactory, and that he is taking leave of absence on that account. His Honor is in excellent health, and he is taking leave of absence solely because he has been ten and a half years upon the Bench, and is more than entitled to a holiday. During the past year his Honor hAs done a very full share of the work of the Supreme Court and of the Court of Appeal, in addition to undertaking the duties of the Meikle Commission. # A resident of Ohakune, about 30 miles north of Taihape, says the exertions of the Auckland firms for the business of that quarter are rapidly growing stronger. The northern city is making huge effort* to capture the trade and i* meeting with every success. In this connection Wellington and Wairarapa are out of it. Auckland goods are already dribbling into the district and sold at a cheaper rate than from olsowhere, and once the line is through tho Wanganui river traffic will bo completely knocked out. Freights will be cheaper from the north, and the Aucklandera are not slow to recognise this, and are already sowing the seeds of what will be a rich harvest in time to come.

For Xmas gifts of a useful kind go to McGnier and Co.'s where hundreds of useful articles may he> had at remarkably low prices. For full particulars see special ad. Tertisement and windows, — Advt,

' Influenza is painfully prevalent throughout the Woslport district at the present time. A dramatised version of the Thaw-White' tragedy ha« already licen put on the stage in New York. A line of 40 Romney rams left for Dunedin last night in tho steamer Storm. They were shipped l>v Dalgety and Co, to the order of their Dunedin branch. The boys at Burnham are now busy building a pipe organ for the church at Burnham, under the instruction of Mr Sandford, technical teacher. Captain Walker, representative in Australia of the Marconi Company, returned to Wellington from Christchurch on Wednesday morning. The Marconi, apparatus has been installed at the Exhibition. Judge William T. Lynch, of the Municipal Court of Brooklyn, New York, lias died from the effect of dieting. He succeeded in reducing hie weight from 17st 121 b a year ago to 7et 21b. Professor Klaatsch, of Heidelberg. wh.> has been travelling on the north coast of Australia, says the aboriginies of the northern half of the continent are much more numerous than is generally supposed, and their number might be estimated as between 100,000 and 150,000. Two first-offending inebriates were fined the usual 5s at the Police Court this morning. A charge against a lad named James J. Green of carnally knowing a girl under the age of 16 years was heard with closed doors, the Magistrate clearing the Court room of all except those connected with the case. The Taupo correspondent of the Auckland Herald states that the Waipikirangi Geyser, at the Spa, which has been dormant for some time past, suddenly burst into activity on" Saturday, and is now giving magnificent displays, sending a. huge volume of water from 150 ft to 200 ft high at intervals during the day. It is a source of great attraction to tourists. "The 'sweated industries' exhibit, which the High Commissioner's Department, London, has collected for the Christchiuch Exhibition, will be sent out to the colony by the Gothic," writes a London correspondent. "The collection will give a good idea of the great variety of articles manufactured in that country by the sweated labour of women and children, and will provide an interesting contrast to the exhibits manufactured in the colony at ratea of pay fixed by the State. The collection might well be labelled 'From Darkest England.' It comes from such depths of poverty and misery as only those who know can realise." • Quite a change was reported in the weather over the colony this morning. The north portion of this island, instead of reporting blue skies, was overcast and gloomy, while in the South Island, which yesterday reported gloomy weather, the skies were blue. The glass showed a substantial rise in the South Island, and ranged from 30.10 at Auckland to 30.00 at Wanganui, 30.12 at Wellington, 30.13 at Christchurch, 29.87 at Dunedin, and 29.90 at Invercargill. The local temperature reading was 6-tdegs., Wellington. 61, Christchurch 66, and Auckland 70. A former resident of Wallace, had an anxious experience about a fortnight ago (says the Otautau Standard). Travelling from C-anterbi\ry, his portmanteau miscarried. Inquiries through tho Bail-way Department led to its recovery several days after the arrival of the owner at bis destination. A friend, present at the time of its recovery, noting the look of pleasure on the owner's face, remarked. "You look very considerably rolie\ r ed." "Well, yes I am," was the reply. "You see I have a roll of .£SOO in notes in this bag, and I was a trifle anxious about it, and it is a relief to have it turn up." The New Zealand Institute of Architects ie holding its annual roiile-renee in Wellington at the proseut time. There are present the following delegates: — Messrs Petrie (Dunediu), Ballantyne (Christchurph), Wilson (Invercargill), Atkins (Waiiganui), N-Uusch (Napier), Watt (Auckland), and Penty and Clcrc (Wellington), with Mr W. Crichton, of Wellington, as secretary. The delegates were enter-tained-at noon on Wednesday, by a lecture on "The Timbers of West Australia," by Mr G. A. Julius, B.Sc., M.E.. special representative of the West Australian Government at the New Zealand Exhibition, and in the afternoon were taken out to Bellevue Gardens by motor-tar, where an enjoyable hour or two was spent. When the Gothic leaves London next week (writes the Times' London correspondent on November 9th) she will carry a large party of domestic servants bound for New Zealand. There are between 30 and 40 of them, drawn from various parts of the United Kingdom, about half of the number being sent out under the auspices of the British Women's Emigration Society. The whole party are receiving tho benefit of the reduced fares obtained under the New Zealand Government's immigration scheme — a concession which carries with it the proviso that each assisted immigrant must be approved and passed by the High Commissioner's Department before being allowed to sail. It is to bo hoped that suitable arrangements will be made by the Labour Department for meeting the party on arrival at Wellington and safeguarding the interests of the girla in their search for employment. Considering the perennial scarcity of domestic servants, there should be no difficulty in finding suitable situations. Another incident of a recent neighbours' quarrel which was reported in our columns as having been ventilated in the S.M. Court was heard by Mr R. L. Stanford, S.M., this morning. The cause of the trouble this time was a bull, which showed an aptitude for entering the road through a gap in the defendant's (Mrs M. Jones) fence. There were two charges, both laid by Patrick McGrath, a neighbour of the defendant's, at the back of the Durietown Hill. The first charge, of permitting a bull to wander on a public road on the 7th inst., was dimissed, the S.M. considering that the evidence was not sufficient to show that the owner was aware of the bull's being out. The second charge was that the defendant, being the owner of a bull, did allow it, on the 9th .December, to wander on the public "highway. In this case the evidence was extremely contradictory, and the S.M. fined the defendant £1, with solicitors' fee £1 Is. Court costs 9s 6d, and witness's expenses 6s. In the former ca»e the defendant's solicitor was allowed one guinea, and Court and witnesse*' expenses amounted to 19a.

HIGH-CLASS BICYCLE. The Gentleman's Beeston Humber bicycle has always been classed as a cycle of exceptional quality. There are many specialities in the Humber which are not incorporated in any other cycle. The exquisitely finished and carefully constructed brakes show Beeston Humber standard throughout. The Beeston Humber Roadster ?an be fitted, up to suit the requirements of the rider with any shape handle bar, any gear, any tyree. and can also \r supplied with free wheels, Eadie coaster hubs, two-speed hubs, or any other specialities. Price j623. Easy terms arranged. Second hand bicycles taken in part payment. Inspection cordially invited. Adams Star Cycle Co., Victoria Avenue. Wanganui.