LOCAL AND GENERAL

Taihape Daily Times, 1 February 1919, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL

Mr. J. C. Cooper told a meeting of farmers in Masterton that the American Meat Trust controlled half the meat required by the Allies during the war.

Schools in the Wanganui Education District resume on February 4, after a long vacation, due in the first' place to the influenza epidemic, and then to the usual mid-summer holidays.

St. Margaret’s Parish School will reopen on Tuesday next, February 4th, at 9.15 a.m. Applications for admission of new scholars to tlvj Kindergarten and Primary departments (are to be made to the vicar.

It is evidently anticipated by Southern dealers that potatoes will bo dear later in the year remarks an' Ashburton paper). One Ashburton grower has already disposed of about threequarters of an acre of growing crop at £3O.

The “Auckland Star” says that as the leading proficiency certificates were determined by the inspetors, on the recommendation of the teachers, and as some parents were aggrieved by the results a special examination will be held late in February or early in March for those who failed. '

The Union Steam Ship Company has purchased in Britain two cargo vessels of 8390 and 8800 tons dead weight respectively. They will be named the Waitemata and the Wairuna. It is expected they will leave! the United Kingdom about the end of February for the Pacific Coast to load for New Zealand and Australia.

■Sergeant-Major Forrest, who has been stationed in Taihape for some time, ias instructor to the local defence forces, has received instructions to hold himself in readiness to leave Taihape, and bo prepared to proceed to England on military duty He will probably bo one of the guard to escort the German prisoners sent interned in New Zealand, who are being repatriated to Germany at an early date.

Many operations for appendicitis are unnecessary, says Dr. Yioisaku, Matsuoko, an eminent Japanese medico. One hundred and twenty-six appendixes were dissected been removed by operations, the others were from post-mortems. About one-half of the first group showed that tie patient had been infected with worms. The large number of specimens from a certain Continental clinic showed that nearly half of the operations had been unnecessary —73.7 per cent, of the appendixes were normal. Many of the normal organs contained worms and th*> presence of the worms Is supposed to have produced the pain diagnosed as chronic appendicitis. In such cases medical treatment would have disposed of the parasites without resort to surgery. The mistakes were chiefly irx til*’ cases of women patients.

Colonel Beddington, who has been chosen to visit New Zealand to report on aviation work, has consulted with Mr Massey end Sir Joseph Ward. Col. Beddington sails for New Zealand on February 3. Total exports for the elcven'Tnonths ended November, 1918, were valued at £28,0779,393, as compared with £37,712,975 for the corresponding period of 1917. The exports should be much greater in this year by reason of the greater amount of tonnage available. As a result of some daffodil bulbs getting into the dinner by mistake for onions, an Ashburton family had an unpleasant experience. At the end of the meal all the members were seized with sickness, but luckily no serious effects were experienced. The Patea paper warns tradesmen and the general public to keep a lookout for spurious two-shilling pieces which are in circulation. The coins, which are really pennies, are cunningly altered by silvering so as to resemble florins, and can, easily be mistaken for such. Advice has Been received that the first of ithe '“fit” Expeditiolfary Force men to be demobilised under the ararngement that New Zealand Forces commence to return before the ratification of peace will I'oiave England on February Ist. The probability is that this steamer will be able to take all the Main Bouy men who have not yet returned.

Sir James Allen says a very exhaustive enquiry is being conducted by the Government in regard to the cos! of obtaining coal. In this connection, the question of freights as charged by the various shipping companies was not being overlooked, and shortly interesting'information would bo at hand as to who was defrauding the public, if such were the case, or whether - the public were being defrauded at all.

Attention is calk'd to the Methodist Sunday School Anniversary Services to -be held to-morrow as advertised in another column. A choir of Sunday School 1 scholars ftiigumentod ;.by friends has been training for some considerable time and will render special singing throughout the day. A treat is assured. A very hearty welcome is extended to all. By your attendance you will encourage the workers and receive help yourself.

The despised gum land areas in the north of Auckland, after coming into the hands of experts and being scientifically treated are now stated to produce oil, gum, and timber to the value of £4OOO to £20,000 per acre. These, said the President of the Wliangaxvi Chamber of Commerce, at the annual meeting, are truly stupendous figures for land worth £1 per acre face value, and as there are large areas of gum land in the north, the output,' if markets can he assured, must result in handsome returns. No time was lost by a gentleman o; the name of Schneider in getting into commercial touch with New Zealand. Ko wrote on November 4, a week before the armistice was signed, giving an address in Dresden, and informed a well-known Wellington firm as follows: “I am indebted to an American friend of mine for the address of your esteemed house,” and he requested the representation of the esteemed house for the whole' of Germany and. Austria, adding: “I am an American citizen, well versed in kauri gum, and can promise excellent results.” The letter arrived in Wellington uncensored in any way.

The Government Statistician, in his Abstract for December shows “hot only how the taxation by the General Government has increased from £4 5s 6d per head for 1910 to £ll 3s 9d per head for 1918, but also where the money comes from. Customs duties in 1910 yielded £2,786,490, and in 1918 £3,601,385, or £814,893 more; but land tax in 1910 produced £642,270, while in 1918 it accounted for £1,385,708, But the largest increase is in income tax, —viz., from £316,835 in 1910 to £5.619.561 in 1918. The total receipts from all sources of taxation for 1918 amount to approximately three times greater than the total for 1910. In that year it was £4,180,516, in 1918, £12,340,853.

Lance-Corporal Coppin, of Levin, who w'as ,in charge of the rabbit-rais-ing industry established at the Hornchurch Convalescent Hospital in England, has returned to his home. He states that the breed of rabbits raised there is a very large one, in comparison with the variety that Is found in New 'Zealand. At Hornchurch, nine pounds, live weight, was not unusual, a fact that took some getting over by the average New Zealanders in England. The “Digger** was sceptical about these abnormal rabbits, and was not adverse to a wager on the matter, and in this way"a lot of New Zealand money changed hands. Corporal Coppin says that the largest rabbit reported in England was bred in Leicester and turned the scale at 22£lbs.

B'e judge and jury land give NAZOL a trial. There can he only one verdict —‘Absolutely competent to cure colds, influenza, bronchitis and nasal catarrh ’ 3

| General Pan and tlie French Mission i left Auckland yesterday by the j R.M.S. Niagara. They had a most enthusiastic send-off.

The following vessels will probably ! be within wireless range to-night: 1 Maori. Mararoa, Salvor; for Sunday: Riverina, and Tahiti.

Trespassers on the property in Wcka Street known as “The Springs” arc cautioned, by advertisement, that they will be compelled to satisfactorily explain their contentions to the Stipendiary Magistrate. So much damage has been done, and property stolen that no other course is left open, to the owner.

Mr. A. J. Rooney, R.C.M., notifies that he has opened a studio for the practice of his profession in rooms at the Three Stars Theatre. Prospective pupils may interview Mr. Rooney at his studio daily from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. There are few teachers who have had so’ brilliant a career as an educator in music, therefore pupils may be entrusted to him with utmost confidence.

A city paper tells us that questions are being asked as to when the Government is going to lift the amusement tax, which gets at nearly everybody—certainly at every man, woman and child who pays"at least a shilling to see a show of any kind, even a picture show. Folks seems to think that because the war is over special taxation will cease. The most pertinent question that occurs to'us is: Will the Government ever lift any of the taxes it imposed during the course of the war? We have our doubts.

The West Coast Earn Fair, under the auspices of the Feilding A. and P. Association will be held at Folding on Thursday and Friday next. The entries comprise flock and stud Romney Rams, Lincoln, Southdown, and Shropshire rams add Romney, owes. The rams have been raised by some of the 'hofea breeders of the district, and are of high quality. The Romneys will be sold on Thursday and the: other breeds on Friday. Further particulars will bo found in our advertising columns on page 8.

Information has been received at Wellington to the effect that there have been two advances recently in the value of corn sacks and~binder twine, in which a heavy volume of business has been done. Flour sacks also have advanced from 12s 6d to 14s 6d on-’the spot, and 'Supplies at present are very scarce. This position has been brought about to a large extent by the fact that no information has been deceived of the sailing of the steamer that usually brings the November shipment of these goods.

It was whispered round the 'Auckland wharves on Thursday that there was an Ishmael on board the Niagara. The man does nothing but travel about on the vessel to Vancouver, back again to Sydney, and vice versa. He has been doing this for, some time now, according to the tale round “the waterfront. It is said that the man is an agitator, and his persenee is not required in Sydney, neither will they have him in New Zealand or Vancouver. His prospects do not seem to be very bright, as even the short trip to Vancouver palls after a few days.

An,accident of a serious nature happened bn Thursday afternoon at Adsett’s and Manning’s mill, Owhango. A man named James Broom, was helping to move some logs of timber from a truck, when one slipped and crushed his legs between another log on the ground. It was at once seen that the injury was serious and the injured man was brought into Taumarunui by train and taken to the hospital, where 'an operation was performed and the leg amputated. Late on Friday evening Broom was reported to be in a critical condition.

One of tho leading German settlers on Samoa, a planter, when told the news of the armistice, said: “Bah! you can never beat the Germans! The Kaiser will win, *nd he will boss the world. I dont’ believe your news! 71 And after formally reporting himself, he went away scowling. In another instance a German, on being fold ii news of Germay’s surrender, was seized with an agony of rage, to appease which he was informed that there were a million and a-half of Allied troops already on garrison duty in Berlin, which turned the Hun’s rage into a violent flood of tears, interspersed with “Ach, HimmeUi” and' incomprehensible cries of emotional agony in German.

In one of the small country towns up Poverty Bay way there is a minister of religion whose keen appreciation of sport has earned him the sobriquet of “the Sporting Parson.” This nickname should stick to him for life, judging from an incident which happened in his parish recently. He was preaching an eloquent sermon to his congregation, when two dogs scampered up the aisle in front of the pulpit. The animals were in a moment engaged in deadly combat. The preacher halted in his sermon, and his eyes glistened appreciatively. "I bet the black one wins,” he cried thumping the pulpit. The smiles on the faces of the worshippers could be heard above the din of the conflict.