Portland Guardian (Vic. : 1876 - 1953), Friday 5 January 1912, page 2


First Issue, August 20, 1842. -o With which is incorporated -0 at Portland Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday Evening. FRIDAY, JANUARY 5, 1912. THE BAND.--We are informed that the members of the Portland Public Band will render a select programme at the band rotunda on Monday night, and will appear also in the rotunda on Wednesday afternoon. As a number of the Casterton bandsmen are expected by the special excursion on that day, they have been invited to bring their instrumronts with them, and a pleasant few hours may be expected from the united band. NEW MAGISTRATE. - Our Melbourne correspondent wires us today, that Mr, G. Carter, of Condah, has been appointed a Justice of the Peace. The appointment should be a popular one. REMINISCENT. -Elsewhere a Hey-wood correspondent records the death of one of Heywood's oldest residents, in the person of Mrs. Alday. Deceased was the wife of the late of Mr Paul Alday, who was one of the earliest carters engaged at the commencement of the wattle bark industry in this district by Mr Thos. Keiller. Mr Alday was credited with bringing one of the first, if not actually the first, load of bund-led wattle bark to Portland. The load was only a small one drawn by three horses, but quite large enough considering the state of the road from Portland to Condah at that time, and the cartage was, if memory serves us correctly, 30s per ton. An export trade was soon found, and stripping, carting, chop-ping with tomahawks, and in some cases the larger axe, found em-ployment for hundreds of men and

boys. This lasted for a number of years, but modern machinery re-duced the demand for labor, and the supply of the raw material hav-ing been greatly reduced, there was consequently a reduction in the in-dustry, but still the cultivation of the wattle is not altogether neglec-ted, as hundreds of tons are still brought to Portland, reduced by grinding and forwarded to Mel-bourne. It is expected with the advent of the Mount Gambier to Portland railway that a great im-petus will be given to this industry, which has been very seriously re-tarded through the long haulage by bullock and horse teams to Portland or Heywood. THE SECOND TEST MATCII.England won the second test match by eight wickets. The batting of Hobbs (126) not out, and Gunn 43. was remarkable for its delightful and skilful placing. Australia and England had prior to this match each won 35 test games. England now leads by one. MR. ALFRED T. DICKENS.-The many friends of Mr. Alfred Tennyson Dickens. son of the famous novelist- Charles Dickens, and for some years a resident of Hamilton in business as a stock and station agent, as a member of the firm of Bree, Dickens, and Co., of Hamilton, will learn with deep regret of his death in America, news of which was received from New York on Tuesday by cable. Mr Dickens was in his 66th year. WARATAH LIFE BUOY.--The customs official at Auckland, who inspected the life-buoy washed ashore at Waiuku, declares that the inscription "Waratah" is plainly to be seen with two flags on the reverse. TIHE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN POLITICAL SITUATION.-Nothing has transpired during the holidays to indicate how the Parliamentary crisis is to be solved. Both Houses were to meet yesterday, and an announcement was thenlto be made. The general expectation is that the outcome will be a dissolution.. Outside Parliamentary circles preparations are being made for the expected struggle. THE REV. WM. TAIT,. of the Presbyterian Church, conducts services on Sunday,morning and evening at the local church, and at 3 o'clock at Walook. The subject for the evening service is "Wanted-A Verdict." CANON CARMICHAEL'S fixtures for Sunday at S. Stephen's Church are morning at 11, Holy Communion at midday; children's service at 3 o'clock, and usual evening at 7. THE SERVICES at the Methodist Church on Sunday will be-Rev. J. T. Pithouse morning at 11. Rev J. Adams, Mount Richmond 11 a.m., Bridgewater 3 p.m., and Portland at 7 p.m. The evening subject will be "The opening year," followed by the, annual Covenant Service and Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. MR. TUDOR, referring to Sydney's proposal for a five-day week, said that while beneficial to workers, if the eight-hour principle were strictly observed, he feared the extra hour daily in some trades would be injurious to workers' health. RECEIVED.-The "Border Watch" almanac and directory of the SouthEast for 1912 is to hand, and appears even a better and more useful work than the excellent numbers which have preceeded this one. The book is excellently well got up, and contains a vast. quantity of useful information and excellent views. BAPTISM OF CHINESE.-The administration of the sacrament of' baptism to adults in a rare thing in the Mount Gambier Presbyterian Church, because it is seldom that adults present themselves to be baptized. On last Sunday forenoon, however, the ordinance was administered in the church to two adults, and the ceremony was invested with more than ordinary interest from the fact that the two adults were Chinese. The Rev. G. M. Baird was officiating Minister, and the candidates were baptized under the names of Charles Hong and George Toy. They are both residents in Mount Gambier, and in business here. They are not quite conversant with the English language, and the adult baptismal service is not couched in the simplest language, but it happened that Mr Gee, Wah, of Adelaide, formerly a missionary among the Chinese in the City, who understands English well and speaks it fluently, was at Mount Gambior, and he was present ini the church and interpreted to the candidatep those parts of the service that were addressed directly to them. After they were baptized the minister and elders in attendance gave the Chinese the right hand of fellowslip.-~"Border Watch."iJOHNSON-MCVEA JOHNSON-MCVEA FIGIr. - After all the contest between Jack Johnson and Sam McVea for the heavy weight championship of the world will not take place in Sydney. Mr H. D. McIntosh, to whom the two boxers are under contrqet in connection with this contet, and arranged for it to be decided at the Stadiuin,. Rushcutter's lay, bMt .it seems that'he has received a very tempting offer to fix 'Paris as the scene of the fight, and has decided to acept the European ofler. Therefore, the great fight will take place 1 in Paris on the night of:the Grand Prix. Langford andl M.Vea are to fight a return match iniSydney on January 26, if McVea h rec'overed from the injury to his hd. If he is not then well the nieting will take place as-soon as ieBhas become fit.: . . . . i SDR. SEANASY will vls! Portland on Wedinesdayafternooiand Thurs. t day all day,Decembeer2qtlu and 21ti '

Two SPECIAL TRAIN Excursions will arrive in Portland on Wednesday next. One is from Casterton and the other from Coleraine. JOHNSON, the Coon King, has been prevailed upon to come to Australia again, says "Atticus" in the "Leader." He is called-to box 20 three-minute rounds which,counting in the minute intervals, means one hour and nineteen minutes work,and for this he is to receive a modest remuneration a trifle of £7000, roughly speaking £180 per minute for the time spent in active operations. I am assuming that the fight will go the limit; possibly, however, it may stop at an early stage, and bring "Massa" Johnson's fee up to £1000 a minute. No wonder the successful boxer can indulge a taste for flash motor cars and big diamonds. "I can't say I feel called upon to blush when I'moffered 30,000 dollars for a little mill," Johnson told a London interviewer. "I've got somethin' the crowd wants, and the man that's got something the crowd wants kin always price himself away up high." This gives us to understand how Johnson detests the idea of a .drub-. bing-it would make him feel cheap. MR. J. R. PHILIP, Ascot Heath, Dartmoor, elsewhere intimates he requires wattle bark strippers at once. PLUCKY RESCUE.-A plucky rescue of a baby in the Clarence River, N.S.W., was effected on Wednesday by two boys. A sudden gust of wind started the child's perambulator, and it ran over the wharf, falling a distance of about 10ft. into 30ft. of water, with the baby in it. Two small boys, Sydney Henderson, aged 10 years, and Clarence Eather, aged 11 years, were fishing on the wharf at the time. Henderson jumped in with his clothes on, and caught the baby, which had floated out of the perambulator, and was sinking. He held the child up. Meantime Eather jumped in, and, by the combined exertions of the boys, the baby was saved. The distracted mother was on the wharf, witnessing the whole proceedings. PORTLAND MARKETS.--Mr J. L. Wyatt gives particulars of some of the stock to be offered for sale on the 11th Jan. STRANGE SPIDER. -A spider of unusual appearance was caught by Mr E. B. McCarton at Ballarat. The body is yellowish in colour, and about an inch in length. On the back is a faithful representation of a human face, the appearance being really startling. On the abdomen is what may be described as a raised shield, on which is a smaller black shield, bearing two white marks. DENTISTRY.-Messrs Miller Bros., dentists, will visit Portland on Jan. 31, and Heywood, on Feb-. ruary 1. Mr. James Hanlon's b m Lady Tattle ran second in the Coleraine Trial Stakes on Monday. last. Customs returns in the Common- -wealth for December show an increase of £52,974. The postal revenue declined £9534. The line from Maroona to Gheringhap has been completed between Cressy and Derrihallum, and produce is being conveyed over it. Progress is being made with the line from Noradjuha to Toolondo. Captain Wilkinson, formerly master of the Hymettus, takes charge of the steamer Casino on Monday next. The salary of the new skipper is in excess of that previously received by Captain Wilkinson. 'Brookes, the Australian champion lawn tennis player, defeated the American champion. McLoughlin, in the singles for the Davis Cup lawn tenms championship of the world at Christchurch, N.Z. on Wed-. nesday. Dr. Ham, at a meeting of the Board of Public Health, said that mismanagement of cemeteries had been going on for years, and he had asked for a report dealing with the government of all cemeteries in the state.