Local and General.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3369, 8 November 1911, Page 4

Local and General.

The tender Tun tea was refloated from the .slip yesterday afternoon without serious difficulty, and will be ready to tender the steamer from south this morning at the usual hour. A first offending inebriate was convicted and fined 5s with costs 2s, in default 24 hours’ imprisonment, before Mr Vincent Pyke in the Police Conrt yesterday. The final meeting of the committee of the Pose Show and Spring Carnival was held- last evening, when a targe amount of routine business was disposed of. A special feature of the show will, be a series of,tableaux taken from the well-known fairy legend “The Sleeping Beauty,” and arranged by Miss Rees, M.A. The committee has arranged to hire out vases to exhibitors at the rate of sixpence per dozen, and this will obviate any inconvenience that might- have arisen in this eonmxv tioiiv. The committee desire that class stewards and other workers shall attend at the Garrison Hall this evening. Upstairs in Dunlop’s Buildings, Lowe Street, is to, be found the roomiest and best ventilated Billiard Saloon in Gisborne. The rooms, which were until recently occupied by the Poverty Bay Farmers’ Club, have been acquired by Messrs Smith and Robinson, who. have converted them into a saloon, where lovers of billiards wall be able to spend many a- pleasant hour.*

The triennial election for members of the Cook County Council and th e M aikobu County Council will be held today. In the Cook County the contested" ridings are: Gisborne, Whataupoko, Paikarae, and Ann, and in the \>ailcoliu County elections will have to be he'd in connection with the Mangatu, Kana'kanaia, Motu, and Karaka seat*. An election is not necessary xn connection with the Waiapu County Council, as the nominations do not exceed the number of seat* apportioned to the various ridings.

“As for being teetotal—-well, I hard--lv know what to say, further than to remark that teetotallers are usually very poor advertisements of their theory of life. Try and think of a lifelong teetotaller who looks anything of a man. You may, to be sure, know seven’ But I personally have never had the good fortune to meet them. Hie teetotallers I have met have invariably been weeny-looking, crabby, skirnpedun miserable, dead-and-a.ive persons. It’s a pity that the temperance people don’t take a leaf cut of the book of the hair-restorer people,. I mean, its a pity they don’t hire a few fine-looking moderate drinking men for exhibition purposes.” —“A Tramp’s Phibsophy, •by Bart Kennedy.

His Majesty’s Theatre lias been encaged for Tuesday, November 14th, by the* Gisborne Orchestral Society for the grand complimentary concert it is tendewing to its subscribers. It may aprtear to be an unusual course for a local society to give a free concert to its subscribers, but it must be explained that the society had the misfortune in the early part of the year to sustain a severe loss through the club fire, and was subsequently late in preparing for this season’s work, as several instruments music, etc., had to he ordered from Home. Notwithstanding this, the Society has had a very excellent programme of music under rehearsal for some time past, which includes a sole* - tion from “Rienzi,” quartette Jrom ‘ ‘Rigpletto, ’ ’ “Madam Butterfly,' “L’Extase,” German’s “Coronation March,” and Weber’s Piano Concerto op. 79 a the solo part of which will be interpreted by Mrs. E. C. Hamlin. It addition, th e society is negotiating lor the assistance of a leading soloist from the south, and altogether the concert promises to be up to the usual high •standard. The box plan opens at Miller's Corner at 10 o'clock this morning.

At a representative meeting of Gisborne shareholders in Gareefield Ltd., held in the Masonic Hotel yesterday afternoon, it was unanimously decided to adopt and support the scheme for liquidation and reformation of the company. A • committee, consisting of Messrs Parker, Symes, Holden and Clayton, was iet- up to give effect to proposals to finance such shareholders who were not prepared to take up the A debentures, but who were willing to take -up their quota of shares under the proposal- Full information can be obtained by shareholders on application to W. Lissant Clayton’s office. Annlications for debentures and shares must lie received by November l<th. It is anticipated that the electrical power-house buildings will be completed in a couple of weeks. _ The Diesel engines wall probably arrive by the Squall to-morrow. It is hoped to have them erected and running about the New Year Mr Nelson, of the local Lands Office, lias been transferred to the Nelson Lands Office, and will leave for the South this evening. At a breakfast given in England recently, at Birmingham, by the National Temperance League. Dr. Saundbv, the president of the British Medical Association, said that there wore other poisons which had quite as bad an influence as alcohol. A few years ago he scarcely ever met a case of excessive use of tobacco, hut since cigarettes became so popular, men now smoked all day. Tea, coffee, and cocoa taken in excess produced dyspepsia, cardiac trouble and insomnia. Sir James Barr (Liverpool) appealed for toleration for others on the part- of abstainers, and .said tliat he knew of a great temperance a post'e whose life was shortened through eating too much. There is no doubt that a lot of people eat far too much and a few people drink too much. But the moderate man who enjoys his freedom to eat and drink what appeals to him is going to strike out the bottom line on both papers.*** __ A peculiar position arose at the \ .M.C.A. annual meeting last evening. hen the election of directors came up it was pointed out that the rules specified that nominations in writing should be handed in to the secretary two days before the date of the annual meeting, and the election could therefore net Like place. After slight discussion it was decided to waive the rule affecting the matter. The e'ection was then proceeded with.

Members of the Scottish Society arc notified in this issue of their monthly entertainment, which i s taking the form of a hallo ween night and dance. Owing to the large membership onlv members and their families will lie admitted. It is the intention of the Society to hold- a concert on St. Andrew's Algid, November 30th, in His Majesty’s Theatre, when the public will ' be enteitained. to. a first-class programme ot singing, recitations, character sOn< T s, Highland Step, and reels, which will be advertised later. In its issue of the 28th October the "Mairarapa Age,” which has always been favorable to No-License, complains m a leading article about the slvgrog trade and “dropping” which exists m Masterton. The “Age" says: ■"The ( : ast ; h«ard in the Masterton Court vesterdav directs attention to a class of offence which is reputedly carried on until impunity just now. It is stated that there are several establishments in Masterton at which liquor is dispensed wholesale. .. . It i s time, however, some effective measures were taken to bring to book these unscrupupersons who flagrantly defy the law. ’ Two days later a correspondent signing himself “Anti-dropper” wrote: "\o:i state in your issue of to-day that sly-gro,g selling is rife in Masterton. Von must know something. If yen are in possession of such -a keen scent, why do you not supply information to the police and have them prosecuted.” To this letter was appended the following editorial note: “We stated that, the law was being repeatedly defied. The number of half-intoxicated persons who were seen about- the streets last week was 'striking enough evidence. Mere we in possession of evidence of sly-grog we should most assuredly place the police in posession cf the facts. (Ed. ‘Age.’)’' This comment which is not a liquor advertisement, but, the editorial opinion of a, paper /sympathetic to No-license, should convince people who are still hesitating that the only sensible vote is to strike out the bottom line on both ballot- papers.***