LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Waikato Times, Volume LVII, Issue 8089, 28 December 1906, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

There will be no sale at the Hamilton anction marts to-morrow, f-ee advertisement ia this paper.

The police yesterday unsucc 'ssMly continued their search for the body of Benj imin Spence, ihe lad who was drown d opposite Mr Karrer'a residence at Claudelands on Wednesday evening. Another effort will be male to-day. Doubtless, as in previous aim lar cases, the body will be found bnwoen Ngaruawabia and Hautly.

The .Maori language, though clo-ely alliid wi'h the phonetic system of spelling (■tiers Dumeroua traps and pitfalls to the uninitiated, aud the attempts of some people to cope with the ditliculties are olten ludicrous. A Te Kuiti re-ident recently received a letter adJiessjd: " Tear|ueaty."

It is stated that the railway to be put through from the Main Trunk line, near Piriaka, to Lake Taupo will be started early in the New Year. Toe new line will open up a line timber-milling bush ami should prove a valuable acquisition, as it will be a link between the thermal regions an I the Wacganui river.

Information that bus come to the Department of Industries and Commerce (says the Wellington Post) mentions that an aritc'.e (ill Mew Zetland's system ot grading produce for export has appeared in one of the Dutch newspapers. Possibly this will help Holland to retain her advantage in securing the beat prijes in the British butter market. The Meikle Commission is to re-assemble on 2nd Jfinuiry, when Mr A. K. Atkinson, counsel for Meikie, will ask leave to call a large number of fresh wituesses. The evidence of Mr W. K. Cameron, who was once maniger ot the New Zealand Land, Mortgage and Investment Company, has been taken in England on commission, and is now en route tj New Zealand.

The action of the Representation Commissioners in cutting Cambridge out of the Waikato electorate and tacking it on to the Bay of Plenty is regarded oy the Cambridge people as little better than disfranchisement, and the resentment that is felt wib likely resolve itself into a strong protest against the alteration, writes our local correspondent. A sharp shock of earthquika lasting three-quarters ot a minute was experienced at Nius Island on Uecembir 17th. No damage was done, owing to the light construction of the houses. The islaud is in a normal state, things being reported by Mr Maxwell, Resident Commissioner (who arrived in Auckland yesterday by the Ysabel) to be quite satisfactory. The copra crop is above the average, and no gales have troubled the residents.

A very important sale is reported to have been made by Mr F. J. Marfell, land agent, of Cambridge, to the Sevanth Day Aaventists, the representatives of whom have secured Mr Peter Reid's tine farm at Pukekura. It is understood that the intention is to establish a health tood manufactory on the property, and thus make Cambridge a distributing oenU'e for cereal foods. The lepreseutatives of the sect were so pleased with the district that they secured an option over a neighbouring farm.

A rather unusual distinction was gained (says the "Otago Daily Times") at the vVaikare school by two sisters for their work during the past year. Alice Kent, in the fourth standard obtained tirst prize in every subject. Her sister, Dorothy, whj last Christmas gained the saui'j disuuoliou in the fourtti standard, this year was awarded tir=t in every subject in the sixtn standard. A hanitome silver watch, presented by the committee to tue child adjudged to have made the grealest progrecs uunng the year, was awarded to Dorothy Kent, who will not be thirteen years ot age uutil uext Maich.

Two ree.mt arrivals from Home, both of the fair =ux, ware among the paieuts tiaed at the Wauganui Court last week, says the Herald, tor tue non-attendance ot their children at school. One of tuese thought it was a pity Wauganui cjuid not afford tu keep a school inspector to go round and visit the parents ot children wuo were absent from school, and see the eauce ot the absence, betore issuing summonses, l'his was dno in the Old t'ouulry. The other lady considered th .t the oolouial idea of bringing olleuuiug parents betore a Magistrate s Couit a bau and considered that they should be summoned before the truant inspector as was done at Home.

Professor Kirk, of Wellington, has forwarded to Mr W. C. Berndge, of iaurauga, (says the bUy of Plenty inues) a sample ut the Italian cured lemons, which with .-peoiinem of cured lemons (gio.vn hy Air C. A. Crabbo and Air A. DieKie) may now be seen in Air J. Copelani's windoiv. I'he Italian lemons were probably pul.od from the true only two months ago, v/uilsl the Tauraugj ones were plucked four months ago. Tne imported article is easily beaten by our local production, which is larger than the Italian, and, what is more, is of much superior 'juality. Here we have ocular proof ot how local lemons compare with Che imported and it certainly looks very mucu like " c»rtiug coals to Newcastle,'' wnen the Coiony imports Italian lemons and yet possesses tens ot tnousauds of acres ot land in the vicinity of iaurangt which, if worked, wib produce a superior article to tuat which is obtainable elsewhere.

At lnvercargiil recently a shopkeeper was convicted and lined £3 and ordered to pay costs tor " tailing to close his shop at one o'clock for the remainder of the day.'"' It was shown that defuudant'o 6on was back at work rutin? up defendant's ledger on the half-holi-day in ijuostiou, and while so engaged admitted a customer, to whom he etlected a sale. The door at the time of tue customer's admittance was loosed, and thu magistrate ruled that although it is pesbible for a shopkeeper's assistants to be employed in the shop after hoars, and )et tor the shop to be closed, yet it a locked door is unlocked and remains unlocked whilst a customer is admitted, and a sale effected, the shop is not closed "at the of one o'clock in the afternoon for the reuiaiL.j''r of the day," as by the Act of PA)I. Th? w^ o r * cl that defendant was not aware that Ins son was on the premisos dil not relievo deteudant from liability, and although the ion was Committing acts not oniy prohibited by statute, but by defendant, the latter was, nevertheless, liable. This was the tirst case of the kind heard in the colony. " It will, (says the Oatnaru Mail) "come as a surprise to mest of our readers to learn thit the license! houses which exist within the area which has just been added to the Oamaru electorate will autjmatically close at the end of the term ot their licenses, aad that o:ily a three-tilths maj)rity throughout the newly-constituted electorate could restore .hum I'h s w the result if the i housing Act wlr.oh whs passed in l'JOl. It i= , naturally ea ugh, viewed ss unfair that electoral annexation should extinguish licences oxistiug in the portion annexed, as though it had boon brought about by the decree of a licensing udl ; j but u \v.li tix the ingtnuity ot tue Legu- j lature t' overcome the difficulty, To! exempt flampd.u aud t'a.motston from thedr.iuthy consequences of their involuntary inc rporation with the Oamaru electorate wuu' 1 eutail unu.-uil sagacity. As the law stun Is, the hotoL at . those pl*OH must close their bars at the end of the term of their bcense«, aud it I will not l>" possible t- re-open them, except ; hy the v.-rdiol of a thre-fiftln mhjoiity of the whole electorate. We hope that the , p- p!o of llauipeuu aud Palmers ton will view the position as a blossing sent unawares.' -

The Minister for Labour (Hon. J. A. Millar), speaking in Wellington last week, said hii was of opinion the reason some of the workmen's homes hud not been rapilly taken up was that tne olass of bouses pro-vid-d Wis rather wore expensive than was necessary tor those they were intended to benefit, namely, those with s»laries of Uot mere than Xlsh' pr year. For the first lot of h uses erected at I'etone he had only one applicant, and with Jt&9,UUU, to be sp-ut in providing other houses, lie could see theie was going to be truuble. lie therefore raised the .jualifioation to salaries of not more than .£2OO per annum, so as to be sure of getting tenants. At Ellerslie every house was taken up ; at Petone 12 ; out of 2") j at Christchurcb 'JO applicant:: for 11 hoiius. lie held that the htuses should vary in size from four, live or six or liiuie jrouuis, because it was not good : pby.-,iually or socially that a man with S eight or uiue children should have to live in a live-roomed house. (Applause.) A newly ma.ried ujuple might prefer a house with four rooms. The next Lllerslie homes would be built on those lines, and the money would be Fpjnt less JU outside ornamentation and more on inside comforts. ] (Applause.) He hoped to be able to | let such house-i at from <ii fid per week j to \s (id. lie believed ono day's wage was | enough for any wniking man to pay in ! reiit who had a family to roar. Mr. Millar refer' I to the vote of jE2i.i,i!oo tor mlvanc ;s ; to woikeiS iu s..eh :: proportion that a man . paying jCoU for a sect; n o< >.id Lorrow „';,uo to build a house ou u , or oue paying XloO cud b now £;)u0, and at interest of only I ij per cent, if pr mptly paid. Such terms oould be nowhere outside of u.j i Government.

With regard to the improved railway service between Te Kuiti and Hamilton, the Vigilance Committee his been informed by tbo chief tniffio manager, Wellington, that the matter will have consideration, and a reply will be forwarded at an early date. When the Corinthic was within a day or two of Capetown, on her last voyage out to New Zaaland, a battle royal between -ea-monsters was seen. A school of whales were being attacked by thrashers, and the sight of the anguished monsters, tortured by tbeir persistent enemiei, throwing their vast bodies out of the water, and falling iigain amid a whirl of lashed-up foam was one not easily forgotten by the passengsrs who lined the bulwarks of the ste»mer. The spectacle sv*a reminiscent of the Bto y Fn.uk T. liullen tells ah, nt the set battles that denizens of the deep engage in on occ-nions—it was an insight into the life of the inariun world of which man on y catches occasional glimpse. So hot was the tight that the great creatures took no lmed of the steamer, which parsed within fifty yards of the scene of elaughter. Several suap.-hots were taten of the novel inciient.

Souiet king of a sensation was created in Dannevirke (according to the Advocate) by the arrest and prosecution of a well-known business man, R. L. Mayne. Suspicious looking bigs and bottles of kerosene having been found behind an unoccupied shop, the police kept a watch. At abjut two o'clock last Thursday morning a man whs seen to carry the " plant" into a lilapidated room at the back of the building. He also took in some light wood, and built it up ag»inst the wall of the room. As the result of these and other mysterious doings he was arrested. The removal of a set of false whiskers disclosed his identity, lie was charged at the local Police Cjurt with having been found by night disguised with intent to commit a crime; with having had possession of a revolver with in tent to commit a crime; and with having attempted to set fire to the shop. The oase was remanded for eight days. In order that the observing powers of the children under their care may be brought out and cuitivatsd, some schoolmasters find it desirable to take their scholars to task abjut the common things they see in the streets or in their homes. The Anderson Bay School is a cise in point (says the Duntiin Star) Kecently the headmaster examined bis pupils in this manner. In the estimation of different scholars the height of the electrio tramway poles vanei from loft to 330 ft, and the gauge between the rails from 3ft to 7ft 6 ; n. Then general knowledge was tested, and the names of .Government oliijials asked for. Some ingenious answers were recordtl. One lad in reply to the query: " Who is the Piernier of (ireat Britain ?" wrote "The Duke of Wales," and another " The late J. G. Ward," "Edward VII," was said to be the Governor of New Zealand, " D.D." was supposed to repres jnt '■ Duuedin Drainage." The pupils were unanimous in the opinion as to whose was the best pie shop in town. One young hopeful, with a somewhat distorted idea ot rank, gave the mayorai chair of Dunedin to " Sir Joseph Braithwaite."

Mr H. G. Wells, the well-known novelist and writer on sociologio*l subj.cts, has sent the following letter to Dr. Richard Arthur in response to a suggestion that he should visit Australia with the object of desohbiug iu resources and institutions. Mr Wells' recent work, " The Future in America," his bteu one of the most noticd books in the English press : -" ¥our very tempting invitation reaches mo just is lam starting for a short holiday 111 Italy. At the first blush the idea ot making a picture of the Australian situation is extraordinarily "attractive to me. it is, however, quite out of the question tor the next 12 mouths, and if I do it at all 1 thiak 1 should, after Australia, go to Canton, Japan and San Francisco, in order to get the effect of the tituuion complete. It unani, in fact, that 1 should have to make the acceptance of your hospitable suggestion p.»rt of a year's journey at least, and that is a great break in tne middle years of a man's literary cireer I'he queotiou of race coullicc and culture eoiitiict has risen upon me to a great importance —you will see that I have deait very frankly with the colour question in America—and it is quite possiDie that 1 may ultimately make it my suoj : ct and g.ve a mrge portiun of my life to it. Until 1 dtoide to uo that 1 thins 1 snould hesitate to take so long a voyage as you suggeit. And you know I'm open minJed. I shall say exactly what 1 tnins, and tell ex*ctij what 1 think, and tell exaotly what I see and feel. 1 may bless where you want me to curse, and curse where you want me to bless."