LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXII, Issue 104, 21 June 1900, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

The brief stories of London life, published under tho title of "Home Industries and Home Heroism," aro continued on our fourth j page. j To-day is the shortest day of the year. Trains will leave for the Breakwater today, connecting with steamer mentioned below, as follow: —6 a.m., Gairloch (irom North); 9.30 p.m., Gairloch (for North). The Bowling Club will take advantage of the fine weather at present prevailing to open the green for friendly games this afternoon. A reminder is given of the City Band's annual " social" to be held in the Theatre Royal this evening. For the convenience of residents on the Car/ington Road, a postal pillar-box has been placed near Mr. W. Cottier's residence. Mr. W. J. Shaw reports the sale, on behalf of absentee owners, of sections 87 and 88, to Mr. Henry Moverley, and also of sections 801 and 81, to two local investors—all at satisfactory prices. The purchasers intend to build without delay. Mr. Shaw informs us that empty cottages are unobtainable. The only case for hearing at the District Court on Wednesday, before His Honour Judge Kettle, was that of W. W. Middloton v. John Seaver. The claim was £6O 2s 3d, amount of a promissory note, and judgment was given by consent for the plaintiff for the lull amount claimed, and costs £6 13s. Mr. Quilliam (instructed by Mr. Samuel) appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr. Roy (instructed by Mr. Barton) for the defendant.

The Rey. Mr. Olphert, who it will bo remembered met with a serious accident some two weefcs ago by being thrown from his horse while riding home from town, and which resulted in both arms being hurt and his face much cut about, not to mention minor bruises about the body, is progressing fairly well, and is expected to be about again in the course of a few days. Mr. Olphert's many friends will wish him a speedy and complete recovery from the effeets of his painful experience. The following circular, with reference to the observance of Arbor Day, has been addressed to the Press of the colony by the Pepartmant of Agriculture:—" The Government regrets to note that, notwithstanding the rapid denudation of our forests, the spirited interest evinced for the first few years after Arbor Day was instituted has not been maintained. This is greatly to be deplored. I have to inform you that Wednesday, 18th July next, has been proclaimed a holiday throughout the colony for the observance of Arbor Day, and am directed to [request that you will be good enough to | bring before the residents of your district | the great benefits to be derived from planting I reserves and waste-places with trees suitable to the positions selected. The advantages and the wealth to be derived from plantations systematically made and worked are so. well known that I need not trouble you with them here. The Government desires te see Arbor Day become recognised as an effective aid to the reforesting of suitable areas."

According to an official statement, Japanese emigrants abroad at present ars distributed as follows :—ln Hawaii, 40,000 j in Australia, 4,000; in Canada, 4,000; and in Peru, 1,000. Besides these there are, of course, a large number of Japanese emigranjis in China and Korea. There are twelve emigration establishments in Japan, aud two more in course of formation. ' '• Lord Roberts, unlike Sir Donald Stewart, has no belief in the thirteen superstition, yet he notices occurrences of thirteen at table. He has related how, one New Year's Day, tlnrtesn eat down tg dinner. Bleveri years afterwards they were all alive, tbfiugh most of them had been through' -the' SJuway', and eight of them hs4 keen sgyipfy wounded.

A Laffan telegram from New York, says' tjhat Mr, Edison's laboratory poems again ■ to have beep the cradle of an important • discovery. A piece c£ iron Un in thickness, , and 6in length (width not stated) has been I melted in a crucible by a secret process, the invention of a German named Dreyfus. 1 Oyer the fused metal was spread powdered aluminium, which thereupon ignite-1, and evolyed a heat of C. Such a heat is declared tp be unprecedented, and the discovery will, it is predicted, re.v'olufionjse 1 the present methods of welding mclals, ' Lord Roberts's despatch will (writes '■' The Clubman" in the Hhtcli) grieve Lije men serving in Natal, for they, ofticers and privates alike, have grown very fond of their grim, impassive commander, who took his reverses with such fortitude, and* who during the last fortnight of perpetual lighting before Ladysniitli was relieved, when the army of. .succour kept hammering away at the weak in'> in the Jlocr chain of .defence), lived among his men almost like one of selves eating the same scanty ration-, ey-! posed like them in the open to tlui scorch.itig sun and the deluge of the thiiiului'stoi'm. i I have met during the past week many of the officers who have been sent home' wounded from Sir Redvers's command, and ! some of the men, and they all talk of th?ir ' leader in terms of praise and attachment stronger than those generally' 'used by. soldiers of their generals. j New Zealand's athletes at the front In cricket, football or the hunt; ' He shines in any sport or game, ' His prowess h>s 3. world wide fame. j Hut training has its usual )!ls As over heat that causes chills j t ' Then don't "'clay, but health secure, ! '■ By taking Woods' (frsat Feppermiut Q ar?l j

War, though necessary and just, sometimes, is still as Sherman, the hero of " The Marca Through Georgia," defined it, "hell in the concrete." One of the saddest of the ■ad episodes in the war was told ma the other day by an Australian respecting poor B « Harous, *f the New Bouth Wales Lancers. Ben was the darling of the Lancers, but ii now, alas 1 lying on the veldt in a South Afriean grate. Ha went Home with the Lancer* for a year's training at Aldewhol, and succeeded in bearing off all the prises in the Empire for swordsmanship, riding, lemon outting, and all the usual athletic exercises for cavalrymen, beating thepiolt ef Indian and English officers at the game, and becoming the idol of London whenever the New South Wales Lancers appeared on the streets. While at Home he married, and naturally was not one of those who Tolunteered for South Africa, but returned to Sydney with his wife. On returning a number of loud-voiced swashbuckler*, who took care to stay at home aad attend to their own business oaref ully, teok upon themselves to jeer and gibe at the fellow* with wives and families who came back fro» London feeling that they owed a doty to them first, and insults became so hot that, among others, Harcus went off in the Second Contingent, leaving the Utile girl, his wife, in Paramatta, a stranger in a strange land. The news of his death was kept out of the cables (for reasons which are now understood), and the news was broken in a letter from the colonel, so that the wife should not hear of it till after the baby was born. Poor little girll She was sad enough tho other day when the banqueting to the returned heroes went on, and had her cup filled to the brim with " the pomp and circumstance of glorious war."—Mercutio in N.Z. Herald.

▲ writer in Slaokwood gives expression to the feeling of uneasiness caused by the ceaseless extension of Russia in tho East, which he regards as a serious menace to Europe. The article is a review of recent books, dealing chiefly with the Russian navy. BirGeoree Clarke, in " Russia's Sea Power, Past and Present," shows that the rise and development of that navy has been largely due to British officers, and he uses this fact as an argument in support of his plea for a better understanding between the two countries. The reviewer points out that though such an understanding is an excellent idea in the abstract it seems useless to come to an agreement with a Power that, as past experience shows, will only keep its word just as long as it suits. Such an agreement would be one-sided, as England would hold herself bound, and Russia would not. The recent increase in the | Russian navy is regarded by British naval officers as, mainly, a threat to Britain's seaborne oommerce. Russia's mercantile marine is quite insignificant, and it is therefore argued that her fleet of fast and powerful battleships and cruisers is intended to attack the ocean commerce of some rival i Power, especially Great Britain, When the last mail left Ceylon, preparations were in active progress for the reception of a batch of Boer prisoners expected to arrive, their number being variously estimated at from two to six thousand. From the Ceylon Observer we learn that the site selected for the prisoner's camp was at Happy Valley, near Diyatalawa Railway Station, in the hill country. Being some four thousand feet above sea level, the camp should be thoroughly healthy. On May 9, a largo number of workmen commenced to map out the sites for the buildings which have to be erected. Between fifty and sixty houses, or barracks, each about 120 feet long, are to be built. When all are complete there will be accommodation for five or six thousand persons. The buildings are to be of corrugated iron. The water supply utilised by the old reformatory will be insufficient for the needs of the camp. It is therefore proposed to take over a paddy field which lies in a valley about 300 yards east of the camp. A large bund will be raised at the far end of the field to conserve the water of the stream which supplies the field' Then this water will be pumped up about 200 feet to the level of the camp. The planters and other European residents of Ceylon are represented as being considerably exercised in mind over the proposal to plant down so many Boers in their midst, which they consider to be a menace to the peace of the island. To understand the objections offered, it must be remembered that there are probably no more than six thousand white people in Ceylon, and these being widely scattered, they would have difficulty in taking concerted action i£ the prisoners were to form a successful plot for escape.. It is expected, however, that a British regiment will be sent from India to take charge of the prisoners when they arrive in Ceylon, so that there should 'be no danger of a rising of tho Boers. During the last 200 years England has spent over 1200 million of money in war, which still means a payment of over 20 millions a year in interest on wars. But future naval wars will be far more expensive. It is estimated that a naval action between 30 modern battleships would oost something like a million sterling an hour; and that a naval war between England, France and Russia would cost a sum of money t equal to the market value of every inch of English soil.

You can depend on ridding your children of worms with Wade's Worm Figs, the wonderful Worm Worriers. Price In.—Advt THB OpIHION OF BVERT ENGLJSHMAN is that liberty of speech and action is the birthright of every free man. " Britons never shall be slaves " is one of the most popular of our national songs, and, as a matter of fact, it is impossible for slavery to exist under the protecting shadow of tho British flag. In the same manner, men cannot remain bound by the tyrannic shackles of disease, if they will place themselves under the healing influence of Holloway's Pills and Ointment. Theip'supeess jn all parts of the world is now a familiar story, and 1 it is only necejsary to say here, there is no known disorder that cannot be speedily cured or relieved by them. —AdYt, Wage's Worm Figs, the wonderful Worm Worriers, never fail for,adults or shildren Price Is.—Advt l "He carried a Penang lawyer, Your Honour,'' continued the witness. " A what 1" thundered His Honour, who thought the witness was tampering with the dignity of Hje Court, .'.' Please explain yourself." " I mean a big stick, Ypur Hpnour," gasped the witness. " And how oan a big sttc'k be a Penang lawyer?" queried His Honour. " Because the natives of Penang settle their d:*DUtes with them," rejoined the witness. Sykes' Cura Cough is waging battle worse iftian a ?<* na fi£ lawyer with coughs, colds, eic. All Chemists and SfOj;ekeeprs.—Advt.