LOCAL AND GENERAL

Taihape Daily Times, 8 January 1919, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

A farmer in the Mastcrton district lost £2OO worth of bay through bad weather in the holidays.

An Australian report says that 55 transports will arrive in. Australia between January and April.

How the mighty have fallen- Iron Crosses are now being sold in Germany for five pfennigs (about a halfpenny) each.

It is reported in a cable message published in Australia that viseouncies will shortly be conferred, on Sir Douglas Haig and Admiral Sir David Beatty. Transport No. 203, with a returning draft of 840 of all ranks, is expected to reach Auckland on Thursday, but the time of the arrival cannot yet be determined. In keeping with the experience of other New Zealand cities, the vital statistics for Palmerstcn discloso the fact that those persons who died through influenza or other causes directly traceable to the scourge, were nearly all between the ages of 25 and 40 years. The wealthy American was paying his bill at a big London hotel not exactly an inexpensive hotel. He looked at the items --tbey seemed fairy talcs—and at the total—it came out of the Arabian Nights. The American said gravely: "Say; you are wrong. I have more money than this.'*

Writing to a Now Plymouth friend, Sir William Mackenzie says: "It is not usually known that a German attempt was made to invade England. The only knowledge «vni<sh the general public had of the attempt was derived from observing for dfcys the bodies of a number of dead Germans, which were" washed ashore at Scarborough/' Two surprises awaited the first American contingent that landed in France. Ono was the long wait before admission to the "shooting gallery," and the other the absence of pie. A United States "casualty," reading the war news to a pal the other day in a London canteen, announced phonetically that the French had captured Somme-Py. "Lucky beggars," cried the listener; "there wasn't a smell of it down our alley."

Initial entries for the Taihape sioek sale, which will be held on Wednesday, January 15th, appear in our advertising columns.

A cablegram from Washington states that in 1918 influenza was answerable for the deaths -of 111,000 deaths in 4G large in the "United States

The Mapourika was unable to sail from Wellington for Nelson at the usual time on Monday, owing to shortage of firemen. The Maori is short of te,n men in the stokehold. The men are asking for £2 a day on the ferry run.

A cable message states that Count von Hertling, the ex-Imperial Chancellor of Germany, died at Runpolding, Bavaria. He had been ill six days. During his political career he. was a strong supporter of the ultra-actiOn'ary Junkers of the Conservative Party. He was 73 years of age.

Notice is given in our advertising columns that the Taibape Borough Council will make an additional charge of 10 per cent, on all rates due and unpaid after the 14th February, 1919. Legal proceedings will also be taken without further notice for the recovery of all rates remaining unpaid after that date.

A return of the Dominion's war loans to date has been prepared by the Hon. A. M .Myers, Acting-Minister of Finance. The return shows a total of £64,000,000. Of this, £1,110,000 has been raised at per cent., £4,750,000 at 4 per cent, £38,000,000 at 4| per cent, and £19,500,000 at 5 per cent. The amount raised in London is £22,500,000, and £41,500,000 has been raised in New Zealand. From April 1 to December 19. 1918, a little over £19,000,000 was loaned by the people of the Dominion for war purposes, and for other purposes £1,500,000 was subscribed.

The best published record for navigation beneath ice stands to the credit of the American submarines. Fifteen years ago Chesapeake Bay was frozen over, a rare phenomenon. So a course was sat from a few miles off Yorktown Virgi'niaVirginia, to the mouth of the Rappahannock River, where an icebreaker cleared a space, and twenty submarines were bidden get in and get under. Steering by chart atod compass, the majority of the vessels did the voyage of nearly thirty miles, but some lost their bearings and had to return to open water. They could not do that in the Arctic,

Cablegrams received from the British Department of Overseas Trade sate that restrictions on manufacture of imports and exports have already been largely relaxed in the United' Kingdom, and there are good prospects for the export trade, as far as tonnage permits. Orders placed during the war have now good prospect of execution, and arrangements for liew business may be made. Permit? to manufacture and priority certificates are no longer required, and British manufacturers are open to receive and fill orders in many lines that have been closd during the war.

Eefcrring yesterday to the question of the vocational and technical education of soldiers before their discharge, Sir James Allen. (Minister for Defence) stated that a certain amount, of this work had been going on in New Zealand for some time past, but it was now to be considerably extended. Mr Montgomery, from the Base Records Office, had been visiting Auckland and Rotorua, and had made some recommendations for reorganising and extending the work there. He was now at Hanmer, and would visit other parts of the Dominion to reorganise and develop the work.

The Transvaal Provincial Council has decided to again impose a tax on houses and bachelors. According to the Johannesburg correspondent of "South Africa," the council will raise the laregst proportion of its revenue from this course, apart from the tax on gold-mining profits. In the case of dwelling-houses, taxation was on the basis of the number of rooms irrespective of the rent paid, except where sub-letting was done; while in the case of flats and tenements the basis was rent paid irrespective of the number of rooms. It remains to be seen how the operation of the reimposed tax is to be arranged for the fturc. This reactionary legislation will bo a serious offset against the advantages accruing from the recent ordinance permitting the local rating of land values. *