LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 155, 5 March 1915, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Traffic on the Main Trunk line continues at full pressure. , The fat stock' timber a*id coal trade appears tb be particularly busy, and several special goods trains leave Taihape each day for the South.

A Hawke's Bay Maori who allegedly sold one block of land three times to different-individuals, receiving a better price on each deal, is now -said to b< wondering what will be the outcome of his enterprise., ■■..•;

The New Zealand Tobacco Company is making arrangements for the establishment of a tobacco manufactory in Hastings to deal with the products.

the 102 acres under culture at Cljfto since 1913. |

Three months ago the golden cock the symbol of France, on the top cf Rouen Cathedral, was taken down {< be regilded. It has just been replaced and to mark the occasion, pieces of French. Belgian .and English money were placed inside the body of the bird.

What arc commonly "known at Home' as "the- Bed- Caps" made' their'first appearance hi the .streets of Wellington on Saturday morning. The 'term applied to the Military 'Police, j who will be employe.! in Wellington .from now to the end of the Avar. They derive their name from the red caps they wea r —the ordinary Territorial cap. with the crown made of red material. Their duties are to patrol the city and they' have authority over all' troopers on leave.

"YotV write about the women foil; working for the soldiers making comforts, etc. Can anyone tell us what is done with these things? This regiment sees absolutely nothing of them: in fact, this Main Expeditionary Force, as far j.s I know, has received nothing except ordinary food and work galore."^ —Vide Allan Maxwell's letters to his sister.

Values of exports show a substantial increase for the month of January last, as compared with the corresponding period of 1914. The Government Statistician gives the total as £3,002,091, as' compared with .£2,869,81(5 for January, 1914. Wool is the chief item, viz., £1,4(56,791, and dairy produce follows with a total value of £670,394, and meat next, with a value of £518,411,

The .station wps the scene of bustle and excitement at 7 o'clock this morn* ir.g, when a special train of eight carriages left for Castlec-l lff beach. The train conveyed about 200 adults and 350 children from lYjhape and the exodus would undoubtedly have been much greater if local climatic conditions had been of a more promising nature. Those who essayed the trip were in buoyant spirits, 'its, just prior to the departure of the train V/anganui reported good weather, wi,th prospects of a day of sunshine. The return train \'s' due to arrive at Tainape at 5.15 pan, '' ' ;

"It is hard to go out' of the flour business," says the Prime Miii'i yer. "Requests are still coming to us for supplies of flour from the quantity we purchased at the time of the shortage, but It is not necessary for us to con.tinue to, supply flour, now that ship? merits of.wheat have, arrived, and pew wheat from our. own haryest,, and eonsequently. new , flour, . are, ..available, ■W» Imw n flew tons of flour still on

The Taihape, Technical School is to re-open on Monday evening. Various classes are in course of formation and students are urged to enrol in time to start from the first lessons. A schedule of subjects to be taught and a timetable has been printed and circulated, but anyone requiring further information should, without hesitation, apply at once to Mr. Macßae, the Director.

\ Addressing the jury in a libel action lat the Christchurch Supreme Court, Mr. Justice Denniston stated that there was a great tendency at the present time on the part of people libelled in a newspaper to immediately sec what they could get out of the paper by asking for punitive damages. Peo pie, however, were not entitled in a libel action to come to Court for the purpose of making money out of it. A strong case must be established before punitive damages were awarded.

The minds of drunken men work in strange ways. On Saturday morning a fireman on the railway wharf, while under the influence of liquor, loudly expressed his determination to drown himself. To do this he seemed to think it necessary to divest himself of his clothes, and accordingly he proceeded to undress. A friend, also a fireman, tried to prevent him, and ir the struggle both fell into the harbour. They were rescued by onlookers and taken aboard their vessel.

Big profits are being made off land just now, and as an instance a fiveacre paddock on the estate of the late Ema Heini, Rangiotu, near Palmerst'on, is recorded. Of four stacks c? oaten sheafs two have already been cut and sixteen tons of chaff obtained. The remaining stacks are larger, and will probably yield considerably more than the first two. With chaff in the vicinity of £(1 30/- per ton the profil made from these five acres . will be about £230.

The days of the bullock team arH waggon are numbered but not over, a' was. .instanced this morning, when >- fea,m. of twelve splendid bullocks trav ersed the streets of Taihape. Th> pioneering settlers considered th bul lock team part and parcel of the our rent transit equipment. Later, the foi mation of tracks enabled pack-horse to traverse the hinterland, and, v, heroads were put down there came an at ?onipanying volume of vehicular trar fie. Still later, the übiquitous motorcar made itSiappearance, nad now inosr of our highways have been conquered by. petrol. Little wonder that the bullock team which drew up at Mr. A. P. Fox's carriage > works this morning was the focus on which all eyes rested. It was noted, too, that the generally accepted belief that a bullock-driver, tr successfully work his charges, must emit a voluminous flow of unporlia meritary language, was shattered, at the driver this morning voiced commands, which were readily responded to, without anything intervening in the nature of a curse or swear-word. The older inhabitants, on viewing the scene, were prompted : to tell again some of the experiences of the pioneering days; which are almost past comprehension.' ' The team under notice cam-.* from forty miles "out-back" in the Csection of Maongaohane station anor the trip to town was a necessity to enable the waggon to have new tyre? fitted, an operation which Mr. Fox performed in his usual expeditious anC workmanlike manner.