Local and General.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXIV, Issue 3777, 12 March 1913, Page 4

Local and General.

The necessary additional plant has now been installed to enable the ”Gisborne Times” to. appear m appreciably larger form m the future. The mean speed of the battleship Australia was U knots during a threequarter power trial, says a P.A. cable. Two inebriates occupied the cells at the local Police Station last evening and they will appear before the Bench this morning.

A London meeting of owners and proprietary medicines reaffirmed protests agaiast the vVest Australian Health Act. K the regulation is not withdrawn, the sale of medicines will cease.—P.A. message.

Offiicial intimation was received last evening by Senior-Sergeant Hutton that Detective J. McLeod has been transferred from Christchurch to Gisborne in the place of Detective Mitchell, - who leaves Gisborne this evening.

A resident of Matawai yesterday stated to a “Gisborne Times” reporter that the losses in sheep and ienci ncr incurred through the recent bush fires have been more than compensated for in the lands cleared from bush and logs, and that farmers generally considered the outlook to be an encouraging one. Says a cable from . London: The Tuberculosis Commission, in its final report, recommends drastic measures to prevent meat and milk affecting human beings, the isolation of highly infectious cases, better housing, special separate treatment for children and the appointment of an advisory council to assist the Got c-rn-ment. According to a P.A. message from Christchurch, Dr. Yalmtme and Dr Truby King; attended a conference of the Societies for the Health of Women and Children this morning. There were twenty delegates present. Ihe morning was spent in discussion on the overlapping of kindred societies and the need for co-operation, and it was decided to promote a periodical conference of these societies. There is a flutter in the Foxton Bowling Club dovecot in respect to Sunday plav on the green (flays the “Manawatu" Evening Standard ). A meeting was held cn Wednesday n.ght to discuss a resolution submitted z > the committee protesting against .the green being .used on the day mentu tied, and preventing alcoholic liquor b - ing taken on the green. The meeting, by a majority of one, threw out the’ resolution, and notice of motu n was given to add to the rules that Sunday play be prohibited, so that th-; vexed question has yet to be definitei-,-settled. At Christchurch yesterday Mr Massey told a deputation, headed by the Mayor, that Cabinet had decided to ask Parliament to vote a sum towards a fund for the maintenance of the wives and families of the Polar

explorers. The sum had not been fixed yet. It was also proposed to make an appropriation for the proper utilisation of scientific information gathered in the South. He sympathised with the deputation’s request for a grant towards a national memorial. The deputation also suggested the legalisation of subscription by local bodies. —P.A. message. The latest military story (says the “Napier Telegraph”) concerns a lieutenant from the Napier district who was recently transferred to Auckland. Though hardly out of his teens, the young man was, on account of the shortage of capable officers to take control, offered the charge of a company of Territorials. The appointment meant considerable promotion, but tk * men in the company were chiefly composed of youths, concerned in horseracing. The lieutenant intimated that “he did not care to mix with that class,” and as a result he had his commission taken from him and was placed back in the ranks. “How many of your children are at home with you?” counsel asked a female witness in the Magistrate’s Court, Christchurch. She hesitated for a minute or two. leading counsel to remark, “Surely that is. not a hard question to answer.” Witness made a replv that caused some Laughter in the Court : “Seeing that I have so many, it does take me some time to answer.” Eventually, she told the solicitor that of her tliirteen children six were still at home. Later on the same witness was asked her age, and the Magistrate suggested that that was hardly a proper question to put to a lady. The witness quickly retorted, “I am not afraid to tell you how old I am.” The Patea Farmers’ Co-operative Association has of late embarked on a new industry, says a correspondent. This is the killing of a considerable number of vealers, which are dressed in their skins and forwarded to Canada. ■ The industry is a new one locally, and is likely to have far-reach-ing effects. It appears that last year experiments were tried with considerable success, and it has now been decided to develop the trade with this particular line. The vealers receive very careful treatment at Patea, and when they arrive in Canada the careases undergo another process, when the hides are taken off nice and clean. The flavor and quality of the meat, it is said, is not impaired in any way. The hides are then sold on a better market than is available here, so that the shipments should prove highly remunerative from the two sources.

The hui at Manutuke was brought to a close yesterday as far as the business of the meeting was concerned, the final act being the handing over by the various tribes and individual Natives of their contributions to the new Church which will cost approximately, £2300. The ceremony was a picturesque one, despite the rain, the contributors with much speech-mak-ing and rhetoric handing in their cash from the centre oS the marae. Several scattered their gold and banknotes about' the marae, whence an obliging official retrieved them. When the contributions were finally roughly totalled up last evening it was found that no less a sum than £3200 odd had been given. This is far more than is actually required for the church, but it is stated that the surplus (about £1000) will be distributed in a wise manner among deserving Natives and particularly among those who expended large amounts from their private pockets to ensure the complete success of the hut.

There have been great crowds go>ng out to the Hui at Te Arai every day—it has been quite a centre of attraction. Melbourne Cash has been the same in town. Everyone likes to &co new goods, and they have received big shipments of millinery, jackets, jerseys, hosiery, dress materials, etc., all now showing and selling freely l *

Members of PuTple Star L.O.L. are reminded of the social evening to be held in the Masonic Hall at 7?45 p.m. this evening. Ladies are invited, and a full attendance is requested.

•“The Red Barrier”, a splendidlyacted Vitagraph romance, will be the outstanding attraction in the new allstar programme which Pathe Pictures will introduce at His Majesty’s Theatre to-night. The Overseas Club will hold a smoke concert in Wootton’s rooms this evening to tender a welcome to the visiting members of the Tokomaru Bay Rifle Glub, and also the members of the local Overseas Rifle Club returning from Trentham.

A total of 7055 passengers was carried on the Gisborne railway section for the month ending February. Of these 1111 were first-class passengers, and 5944 second-class passengers. The total revenue was £2076, as compared with £1572 for the same period of last year.

Is a barmaid who served in a bar in Australia for three months prior to the passing of this country’s Barmaids Act of 1910, eligible' to serve in a bar in "this Dominion under the Act oil last year ? It is stated that a test case will be taken shortly in the Courts to decide the point.—Christchurch “Press.”

Territorial prosecutions have not been great in number of late, but the spell is to be broken on Tuesday, March 18, when no less than eighteen charges will be preferred against offenders under the “Defence Act,” the chief offences being failures to attend parades. Several of the defendants are those who have been previously fined.

The District Coroner yesterday morning decided that it was unnecessary to hold an inquest on the body of Hilda Single, daughter of Mr F. J. Single, who died from the'effects of injuries received from a falling rock at Haiti beach, on Sunday. The funeral will take place to-day, the funeral leaving Mrs Law’s residence at 2.30 p.m. Deep sympathy is felt for Air •nd Mrs Single in their sad loss. At Holy Trinity Schoolroom on Monday evening His Lordship, Bishop Wood of Melanesia addressed a meeting of men, conducted by C.E.M.S., who had issued invitations to the men of the parish to be present. His Lordship was in a happy mood and spoke interestingly to the men on his mission work in- the New Hebrides and the Solomon Islands. Questions asked by a number of those present were interestingly answered, and refresh, ments were" handed round.

The Hon. Mr Fraser, who arrives in Gisborne early this morning, will, as already stated, be accorded a welcome at the Borough Council Chambers at 10.30. The various local bodies will subsequently attend in the way of deputations and recapitulate and enforce the remarks addressed to the Hon. Air Herries. As a result of the visit of Air Herries last week, and of the Alinister for Public Works and Mines this week, it is anticipated that considerable benefit will accrue to Gisborne and the district in general. In a letter to the Auckland “Star” dealing with the question of the Taupo-Totara railway, the member for Grey Lynn (Air John Payne) says:— “If the Government has any loose each to ispend on railways, it should complete the Napier-Gisborne iline, where thousands of pounds, already expended, are lying idle and unremunerative, and where thousands of acres of the best land in the country would be opened up by the completion of this line. £50,000 spent on the Napier end of this line would open up a section of that, which then could be earning revenue.” Gisborneites know that the same amount expended at this end would, however, give far more profitable results.

Commenting on the fact that fiOHlfl of the light horses exhibited. at the Rangitikei Show were lacking in type, character and quality, one or the visiting horse judges deplored the fact that horse-breeding in New Zealand is beng neglected. They heard that the motor was ousting the horse, and. thN was set up as a reason for the fallingoff, but the real reason was that horsebreeding did not pay as well as cattle or sheep-Eaising. The right class of horse, said the judge in auestion, was wanted as much to-day as ever, and in the future it would be wanted still more. Personally, he thought a real good tvpe of hunter or remount horse should* be encouraged as a necessity, and he was sorry to have to say that too manv owners were selling good fillies instead of keeping them to breed from.

The cheerful suggestion made some years by Madame Sarah Grand, that old gentlemen should be taught to ’knit, has found a sympathetic soul in Mr. Gerald Fitzgibbon, of Ealing, who is starting a club for gentlemen tatters (writes an English correspondent). Mr. Fitzgibbon is an indefatigable tatter, and may be seen in the tube train, or taxi with his busy little shuttle dancing about in his hands, spinning yards of very good and very pretty lace. The idea is one to be " commended, from a utilitarian point of view at any rate, and every woman should be delighted to encourage husband or brother in this hobby. Tatted lace is very strong, and gives everlasting wear when done in coarse cotton, and is a most satisfactory border for all that household linen that requires lace. Mr. Fitzgibbon is offered hearty congratulations in his venture, and Phyllis and all her sisters are urging all their malo relatives to join the club.

Before the Empire Trade Commission yesterday (says a P.A. wire), Mr J. G. Wilson, president oa the Farmers’ Union, showed from statistics that many hundreds of farm laWers were required in all parts of the country. Farmers were realising that they must build houses and encourage married men to go into the country, where they could bring up their children properly. He considered the Sedgwick boys’ .scheme had, speaking generally, been a great success. Speaking of land values, he said that dairying nad largely disturbed land values. Very high prices were paid for good dairying land. As much as £ls per cow per year was made on many dairy farms, and he had known instances vwhere £25 per cow was netted. That was with purebred stock. In reply to a question, witness said that a scheme was at present under consideration m New Zealand for the formation of a large co-operative concern, whose business it would be to look after the frozen produce at Home.

Large bodies of Natives will travel north and south by to-day’s steamers from the bui at Manutuke.

To-night there will he a complete change of programme at the Opera House. The leading picture will be a sensational Selig drama entitled “The Forgotten Clue.”

By advertisement in this issue the Hawke’s Bay Education Board invite applications for the position of assistant inspector.

Yesterday morning the. visiting East Coast _ cricketers were shown over the Gisborne Brewery by the courtesy of Mr D. J. Barry, who had the players driven in a four-in-hand from the Coronation Hotel.

Two homing pigeons which had been blown 350 miles out to sea alighted wi the steamer Ruahine while she was Homeward-bound from Welington in November last. The birds were exhausted, and were captured by a winchman, who has cared for them since. One bird had a ring marked “W 1911.N0. 129,” and the other carried a ring bearing the inscription “New Plymouth, 1910, No. 107.” The birds had been worried by seagulls.

The Auckland Exhibition Executive is still making efforts to secure the services of a regimental band from Eugland for the Exhibition season. The following cablegram from the Hon. James Allen, who is now in England, was received by the executive last week:—“Re difficulty about sending a band, am still urging the matter.” The executive is hopeful that as a result of Mr Allen’s efforts a regimental band will add to the musical attraction at the Exhibition.

To-day being an “off day” so far as cricket is concerned,- a number of the visiting East Coast cricketers, who are also members of the Tokomaru Rifle Club, have arranged a shooting match with members of the Gisborne branch of the Overseas’ Club, on the Alakauri range. Their team will consist of W. Oates junr., A. Coombe, G. Oates, J. Oates, B. Taylor, E. R. Deacon and W. Oates, senr. This by no means represents the total strength of the Tokomaru Club, which •possesses some excellent shootists as members, but an interesting contest is bound to result.

A Alaori wandering about the Kaiti wharves last evening found himself suddenly in the water but quickly climbed to the security of some piles at the mouth of the small creek which there enters the harbor. Here the mate of the Amelia Sims discovered him and informed Constables Harrold and Henderson who effected a rescue in a boat and arrested the wet man on a charge of drunkenness. The Alaori was apparently none the worse for his immersion and was soon safely tucked up between the blankets at His Majesty’s reception rooms. Captain H. White-Parsons, of the Whangape, told an Auckland “Star” reporter on Tuesday last that his vessel, which left Newcastle at 7 a.m. on the previous Tuesday, had met with exceptionally strong currents setting to the southward, and had passed through very noticeable tide rips practically throughout the whole of the voyage. The sea was smooth, with light variable winds. The captain added that the tide rips were the strongest he had ever experienced in that locality, and affected the navigation of the vessel. This information, he thought, might be of use to other mariners in those waters.

As the shades of night drew down last evening, the great marae at Manutuke presented a dreary and desolate scene. The flags on the giant flag-pole flapped wetly in the rain; the thick drizzle had long turned the surface of the ground to a slippery mass and in place of the light and airy costumes of a few days ago, the Natives sported oil skins and gum boots. The advent of tea and the switching on of the electric light, however, caused a visible rise in the mercury, and an hour later the_ insistent hanging of a piano in the dining hall and the sound of merry voices raised in song did much to dispel the gloom of the wet ride to town.

The Rev. A. Allen sends us a copy of a “chain” prayer he has received, which bears the following statement at the foot of it: “This prayer was sent to me, and is to be sent .round the world. Copy this and see what happens. It was said in the time of Jesus, al] who wrote this prayer would be freed from calamity, all who pass it by would meet with misfortune. Copy this, and within nine days you will receive a great joy. Sign no name, only date. Don’t break the chain.” Mr. Allen protests, very reasonably, against the circulation of such “unchristian and ignorant trash.” The so-called “chain” prayer is (says the “Timaru Herald”) a superstitious nuisance, and the best thing anyone can do who receives one of these missives is to destroy it. The same “prayer,” it might be added, was recently circulated in Western Australia, and caused considerable correspondence in the newspapers. Tragedy and a noble deed are wrapped up in a miniature flag which has just been presented to the Christchurch Museum (says the “Press”). It is a New Zealand ensign with the Union Jack and the Southern Cross, and it measures only two inches by three. Despite its size it will prove a source of interest for many a year to come. Briefly ,it has been to the South Pole, a dead man kept his promise. When Dr Wilson, one of Captain Scott’s ill-fated Polar party left Lyttelton some two years ago for the Antarctic regions, Miss Anne W. Hardy, of Rakaia, placed in his hands a miniature flag of New Zealand, with the request that if Dr Wilson formed one of the polar party he would take the little flag with him. This Dr Wilson did, and the flag was found on his dead body when discovered. It was brought hack by the relief party and returned to Miss Hardy by Mrs Wilson, the dead explorer’s wife, and by Miss Hardy presented to the Museum.

“It is ill arguing with a hungry man,” says the old proverb; but it is worse playing tricks with a sick one. When the doctor orders Brandy he means real good stuff. Give the patient Martell’s, and both he and his doctor will be satisfied.* Tired and worn out"? Restore your lost energy—Stearns’ Wine of Cod Liver Extract increases your vitality —.makes the dailv tasks a pleasure—feel fresh when through.*