LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3541, 31 July 1920, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Two hundred square miles of standing timber in Northern New Brunswick, Canada, were destroyed by a forest fire.

Mark Twain's former home at Harttfodr, Conn., is to be taken over by the Government of that State Jas a literary shrine .

An Admiralty chart of the Peniland, Firth, which was used by Earl Bcatty during the war .was sold for £.loS at Christie's recently. The proceeds will go to the funds of the War Seal foundation.

According to a Parliamentary return 256.510 gallon» of liquor were sent into no-license districts during the year ending December 31 last. The amount consigned to Wellington suburbs was 9256 gallons, to Wellington South SS3!) gallons, and to Masterton 23,789 gallons. InvercargilJ heads the list with 82,008 gallons.

i The large four-masfed barque Speedouia, stated to be one of the largest British sailers afloat, and now lying in port at Laurenzo Marques, where \ she was towed* in distress some months ago, while bound from Singapore to South. African ports with a cargo of 1 case oil, has.had a claim lodged against • her for £83,000. The case in the courts was expected to last several days. A large party of Maoris from the Ohua arid Kuku district visited Wellington last week to witness another demonstration of the occult powers possessed by Mrs Heuhcu Tukino. It will be remembered (hat Mrs Tukino unearthed some vu'liable meres at the Kuku a few weeks ago, and she was again successful at Wellington in locating sine historic stone implements. Levin Chronicle. A. Christchurch message states: —It has been decided to purchase fof a soldiers' home, decided upon by the Canterbury Patriotic Society, Mr Justice Kerdman.'s residence, Papauri Road.! Papnniu. The purchase price is £SOOO. ■ The Patriotic Fund will pay the price and put the property in order for occupation by soldiers. It will then be put in the hands of trustees, and its I control will be handed over to the TCed Cross Society, The Government will provide medical attendance, nurses, orderlies, and military rations.

Wooods' Great Peppermint Cure For Children's Hacking Cougbs, 1/9, 2/9.

Mrs High, the wife of a labourer of G-dose 'Gcreeafi England, recently gave "birth to a son this being her 21st child. All the children .were born in single births. One son was killed in the war, and nine are still living. *

The first annual ball of the Taihape and District Caledonian Society takes place at the Town Hall on Friday evening next, and is likely to be a pronounced success in every way. The music will be supplied by Crozier's orchestra, from Marton.

LA. ; Sydney cable message* ft'a't* 0 that the women's golf championship of Australia (54 holes, stroke play), was won by Mr s Williams, of Auckland Club, with several strokes to spare. Kirkwood, the open golf champion, has accepted an engagement to give a number of exhibition games in New Zealand. He leaves in September.

A useful piece of information was given the meeting of the Farmers' Union at Levin. A" delegate stated that the majority of farmers overlooked allowing,-for depreciation of their fences in making up their income tax returns. Thi s was quite a legitimate ground for making a depreciation allowance, and last year had" saved .him £46. " '

It is understood (says a Grcymouth wire) that the, Great Western Timber Company, which was formed to exploit a large bush area in the Okarito district, has applied for protection of the area it is intended to operate. It is -also understood that the Crown opposes the application on the grounds that the company has not complied -dth certain sections of the Mininer Act.

"There are several cows in Eketahuna now who have got no character and no principles,'' was a remark passed at the last Chamber of Commerce meeting (says the local Express) when cow nuisance on the roads and entry into private property came up. "A cow visited my yard' the o|her night and ate a whole sack of potatoes. I was' hoping she woufd die as? a resuW. but the brute is still thriving."

Mr E. E. Godward, of Invercargill, who has recently Jaf tjcr "_ a lengthy stay in America, does not believe that the United States wilTTSom large as aiTcxp'orting country for some time. The wages, paid to workers are too high, he tbld..a Southland Times representative. Drivers of coal trucks earn £ls per week, and little Jewish girls unable to speak a word of English can .earn from £ls to £2O a week at a sewing machine.

In reply to a statement in a Wellington paper that "it is now nearly uine months since the Government scheme for the .erection of workers' dwellings was approved by Parliament, and to-day not a single house in the Dominion constructed under the scheme is fCady for occupation.'' The housing branch of the Labour Department has stated: "That whilst it must be admitted that the work has been slow the position is that since last September, when tenders were called for the erection of. the dwellings, 13 houses have been completed, while considerable progress has been made in most towns with the dwellings now under construction."

In an editorial article on the increased postal rates, the Palmerston Standard says: The Government is making a serious mistake in increasing the cost of inland newspaper postage, which as we have already pointed out, is largely a tax upon country people alone. There would have been more .justification, especially at a time lik;e this, when there is sirdi aTshortage in newsprint, for raising the rate by imposing a limit upon (the weight of papers passing through the post at the old Id rate. The bulkier papers might reasonably be called upon to pay an additional rate .as they have to do if posted to p'aces overseas. We trust the postal authorities will note the point.

J A peculiar case came before Mr J. ! S. Evans in ■• the Wellington Magis- ; trate's Court, when a young man, MauI rice Tangney, was charged with so be- ; having as to annoy the public in Cuba and Manners Street, Courtenay Place and Roxburgh Street. The facts were stated to be that when the defendant was In cam], he attended many functions in the city and a certain'family who took a leading part in the entertainment of the solders often invited him with other soldiers to the house. Since then, Tangly bad persisted in visiting ythe house, notwithstanding that he had repeatedly been requested to keep away from the place. The case was brought under the by-laws. After hearing the principal witnesses for the prosecution the Magistrate said that he could not see how a conviction could be entered, for all the man appeared to have done was to walk" "behind two ladies in Manners Street and the other streets named or to walk abreast of them on fho opposite side of the street. The information was dismissed.-

With SHAELAND'S Baking Powder in tho dough, goo'd results arccertain. That's why busy housewives always ase SHARI,AND'B. 8

According to the vote allocated in the "Estimates, the cost of the visit of the members of Parliament to Samoa and the Pacific Islands was £8760.

The Horowherma-representative football team arrived in Taihape by the express last evening, and are to play the Taihape rep. team to-day.

Mr H. Liston, representing the Louis Alsace Vaudeville, is in town arranging for the appearance of his company here on "Wednesday next afc the Town Hall. The company has been re-constructed since its last visit to Taihape and includes a number of new artists.

An extraordinary accident occurred to a party of people who were motoring between St.. Asaph and Bodelwyddan, in Wales. Two horses were en- ! countered on the roadside, and as j the cai> passed them one of the animals 'reared and jumped into the car. One of the occupants was injured, and had to be medically attended, but the horse escaped with a few scratches^

The lot of the picture showman is net a happy one, the big salaries paid to artists, the high cost of advertising matter, especially pictorials, has led to enormous increase in 'running a theatre. A conference of showmen will probably be held in the near future to discuss the raising of picture prices and making a universal charge for admission throughout the Dominion. It is not likely that the war tax will be ever removed these hard times.

The Conference which is dealing with the mining dispute Tesumed yesterday, Mr Hally the absence of the Prime Minister. Some slight hitch occurred during the proceedings owing to a misunderstanding as to when the Conference was to have resumed. It* appeared that in consequence of this several of the employers 'ferepresentatives had returned to their homes. Eventually the Conference decided to resume its sittings to-morrow morning, when Mr Halley will again preside. •

The Magistrate's Court at Feilding on Thursday was occupied for several hours hearing charges of criminal assault preferred againSfl Cecil Brock "Wales, in respect of two little girls, one aged ten and the other fourteen years. The evidence showed that in the- case of the younger child the accused had by his acts transmitted to her venereal disease, from which he is suffering. In a~ written statement put in the accused substantially admitted having committed the acts and said he was suffering from ill health and insomnia. He pleaded guilty and was remanded for sentence.

According to remarks made by the Hon. Geddis, of Kapler, in the Legislative Council on Thursday, practically every department of the Public Service has its own bookmaker. There were, he said, men on the pay roll cf the State in the Railway Department,. Telephone Department, and most other Departments who were recognised book makers for their fellow workers. The same thing, he felt safe in saying, applied to nearly all factories in the country, while he could also say that his remarks applied to the Police-De-partment. In one town he could mer>tioh a sergeant of police who conducted' prosecutions, was hand in glove with the gambling part of the community - '