LOCAL AND GENERAL

Taihape Daily Times, 30 December 1918, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

There will be no publication of the Taihape Daily Times on Wednesday (New Year's Day).

Five members of the Marton Borough Council have sent a letter to Mayor F. C Wilson, asking- him to resign.

A soldier, writing from France to a friend in Hastings, says: "By the way, staff officers of the Air Service who remain in England and who do not fly, are known as 'Kiwis,* for the obvious reason." (They don't

A horse was purchased at the Tauherenikau horse sale for £2 10s. The animal refused to proceed one way or the other. The purchaser tried all sorts of persuasive language without result. Eventually he exclaimed: "Eight turn, you son of a gun!" There was an immediate response. He sold the well-trained animal later for £lO.

It is a long time since a spring and summer of such severity as this, year's have been experienced locally, (says the "Southland Times"). Considerimg the time of the year, the cold is very severe, a condition, which cannot be wondered at, when right down almost to the foot of the Takitimos land of other mountains in the same range, the snow is lying thickly.

The deaths from influenza during the recent epidemic at Taumarunui have been stated to be 51 Europeans and 50 Maoris. A small purse containing money, lost on Saturday night between the Post Office and Sherwin's corner, is i advertised for, and reward offered. j Large batches of returning wounded soldiers are due to arrive in the Dominion in the very near future. They are being conveyed in three transports, the ports of destination being Auckland. Wellington and Duncdin respectively. Smoke and flame to a height of at least 200 ft., was seen belching forth from a rift on the south side of White Island on Thursday afternoon. The lactivity continued until 2.15 Friday afternoon, when the eastern area also became affected, violent outbursts predominating. ; In the near future hospital ships, as such, will be a thing of the past as far as New Zealand is concerned. The Defence Department will still control the vessels, but .they will be known as ambulance carriers, This rcclassifiation provides for the "red cross" being removed from the sides of the ships, and, in iaddition to the carrying of troops, they will also be allowed to carry certain classes of cargo. Sir William Frascr says that the ' signing of the armistice has not yet given any additional hands for public works, and he is still 3000 short of the normal need. He anticipates that few men released from the camps will be available for public works, as probably they will nearly all be absorbed in city and farming work. The Minister docs not expect any appreciable increase in the supply of labour before the end of April or the beginning of May,

A starling in the Mauku district selected an extraordinary spot for a nest the other day, with disastrous results. An old tin which had originally contained Stockholm tar and to the bottom and sides of which a little tar still edhered, appeared to her an advisable place to lay her eggs in. The warmth of the bird's body melted the tar and she became firmly (attached jto 'her nest, being prily with difficulty extricated without injury. She had laid an egg but an attempt to retrieve it only resulted in breaking it.