NEWS OF THE DAY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVI, Issue 193, 19 August 1904, Page 2

NEWS OF THE DAY.

In future tin.' hot saltwater baths "ill be availu'blc only on Wednesdays unvl Saturdays. "The I'ootpatjis right tluougih the town iire a disgrace', go ohi'ic you will," said Cr. t.'lilT last night.

'llie Mayor has been informed bs' Dr. Valinline that Air Campbell, the Government architect, will be hero on Tuesday next to d.-cide on the site for the consumptive annexe in tne local hospit a l grounds. Mr Stuart - Menteath, Consular Agent in Wellington for France, has been advised that title French Government has adopted a system of grafting ami stamping vanilla, which lias hitherto been found to be of variable quality. The ladies' coniinitk-e at the Star social was comprised oi llesdames Dockritl, (Japel, li. 31. Smith, D. O'Brien, Bennett, It. Jury, Joseph Kyan, O'lJi-iscu-li, Bacon, F. Kieh■ards, and Misses Capel (2J, liumi.iir.e,-; (2;, and is'icholls.

Opponeu L.s to liiblie-reaiding in schools and to the use of a Jiililical text-book are organising a representative deputation to wait upon the Premier to urge liim not to include such a text book in the curriculum of State schools. The Premier has premised to receive the deputation immediately after uis return from the South.

Tlie July number of 'the king contains an excellent advertisement for the colony, in the form of letterpress and photographs dealing] largely with the aitructiiond of -New Zealand iroiu the tourists' standpoint. No less than fourteen pages are given up to matters i-elating .to llie colony's lA'touty spats, its luminal wonders, and its tourist department.

|At the Police Court yesterday j morning, boiore Messrs Cock and Uili, Justice, J. m. Douglas was .sentenced to three inouths' imprisr onnuntfor habitual drunkenness, and a young man named Earley, clmrgvd with having used bad language .»hi Ist drunk at ihe Kecreation J rounds on Wednesday, was iinod £2 at.d costs for the obscene language, ajwi dismissed a charge jf drunkenness.

Tiie protest of tlie Humanitarian , League agajijust Hogging in tlie Navy aas Leen echoed in tlie House of | Common,-*, wheiv Mr MacNeill has asked the Secretary to t-he Admiralty a question as to 'the size and weight of the canes ustd for corporal punishment. In u priulxd reply, Mr Pretyman says that- the canes are about three feet in length, half an iui.h in thick'riess, and two ounces in weight. Oliicial patterns are kept at the dockyards, the oilicials purchasing them locally*

Bridge was strongly denounced by Dean Lefroy at Norwich Cathedral. He eaid he desired to raise his voice against the social and financial peril associated with the game. It was all too popular in London circles. He w a s told that men and women would commence playing immediately alter dinner, and in their excitement ladies, after losing all their money, would part with their diamonds, unless some rich man cleared off their liabilities. 'JJk* Doa,U declared all Uiis to bo a great social and moral danger. Kndium hat* not disconcerted scientific men by upsetting their olverished convictions. This statement, suyh the Yorkshire Post, was made at Uipon by Sir Oliver Lodgi-, who maintained further that nutiuin luu,i confirnud w.nat mathematical physicists had hoj>ed foi' and had in a m a imer conceived and prmiicud. It consolidated and strengthened and enlarged and in some respects moditied their ideu.B concern-tag matter and the material universe generally, and it fitted in with the scheme of things as they were begi-ci&viji'gi to conceive it. Kadium fired bits oft" itself and Sir Oliver estimated that if one atom of radium out of every 10,UU0 ii red itself once a year it would be more than sullieiint to account for the phenomena which wiw.

No meet tag of the Hutt Borough Council passes without satirical i\tlerence to tlw quality of gas Kuppli•nl by Petono to its sister borough. There has, however, btx'n no more cruel blow than that given tlie other night, remarks the Evening Post. An eye-we,ary Jie\Vb'p,al>er man producod a piece of candle from his pocket, lit it, and used candle light to supplement tilie gaslight for the rest of the jvening. r lhe 'l'own Clerk, who hud experienced some difficulty in roaiding the minutes, "wished the pivss ftUiid a candle to spare," and the Mayor promptly moved, "That the foreman at once purchase n pound of candles to shed further light on the meeting." This was carried, ordered to be recorded on the minutes, the ca'ti41es were duly purchased, and one was used to shod its ligjht during the rest of the evening. Apparently stimulated by competition the gas greatly improved while the candles were being pi-ocured.

In a circular issued by the committee of the Lay Movement iu favour of Sunday worship and rest, in England, it -is contended that the amount of labour caused by the rapid increase and development of Sunday entertainments, sports, amusements, H ud unnecessary travelling is seriously impairing the character of Sunday, and us removing from large classes of servants and subordinates all possibility of attending divini service, or of obtaining reasonable rest and recreation. At the Church of St. Edmund the Martyr, Lom--1 bard-street, the Primate delivered a special sermon in connection with the movement, He said Eijglish people had been entrusted with a I priceless heritage an the English ! Sunday. It was a gift above all others that would meet our moral needs and keep simple and faithful our daily lives. We should beware less thoughtlessly we should allow th' heritage to be in any way marred.

The decking of the Brougbamstre.et culvert over the JJangaotuku stream broke through again at the western '{n:l yesterday, and iiroug-ham-stivet is closed for wheel traffic between King and Ik-von Streets. The matter was brought up at the borough works committee last night, and the advisableness of removing the wooden deck and putting in a new culvert was discussed. The Mayor said that most, of tb<' timber was puriri, and was in splendid .'on'dition, though it hqd b« : tn first used in the old tow w brklyy over liity years ago. Cr. Hrowu.' -thought ; the culvert should be enlarged, as high floods put thie stiv.t i-n danger from water backing up. Mr Cock was incri'dulousL " Not in your lifetime, or mine," he remarked. "Yes, it was," the thp complaining coun- ! rilhti' re.ioiiUHl, and Cr. Collis backed him up, drawing attention to the fact that in tlhe. May flood the water bucked up above tho top of the [culvert and threatoiKd the streets, dooding out his studio. This was doubtless caused by accumulation of debris'. The Mayor grew reminiscent. The obstruction was a piece of an oid vessel the "Choice," wrecked in the early <lays at the mouth of the lluatoki stream, and tho wreckage was carried to the junction of that with the Majngaotuku. That piece of thu hill was there in 1808, he knew, •Ijefoi'e the present stone wall was erected. " Well, in that case it was there -before 1872, because T cflmo hero then, and the wall has certainly not beui built since then." The engineer was authorised to undertake the necessary repairs.

A stait huy been ultuli' with the con d ruction oi the reservoir for t, ■ new water supply system.

T' nders ore invited in this issue to- mo stock-in-trade in the grocery uess lately earned on b.v Air .1. ji'vin, Devon Street West.

The opening' of the Hewarcwa rifla range nt Waiwakaiho, which was to have been held yesterday, had to bo postponed on account of the bud weather.

In connection witih a series of minor burglaries at Hastings, a gang of four lads, ranging from 15 to Itf years, and i-espectafiiy connected,were arrested and appeared before tlie court oil Wednesday. They wero remanded till Tuesday next. Poultry fanciers ami others should remember the aalo by Mr Newton King at the mart to-morrow afternoon on account of Mr Geo. JUuilton, wheat the whole of Mr Boultou's purebred poultry, intruding a Urge mi nl.ier of prize-winners wiil oe sold to, tne highest bidders. The la to Victorian Director of Education, reporting oil his visit to New Zealand, says in regard to the New Zealand system o4 oducation I..at it ft) worth considering. Ho makes a number of neeomiiieindatimis or improving accommodation and conditions of tte teachers and scholars.

The Wellington Stipendiary Magistrate oil Wednesday declared void the election of Mr Joseph Alackay as representative of the Education Boards o-n the Victoria College Council, on the ground tihat the regulations as to the conduct of election had not been compiled with. A fresh election will ibo necessary.

The borough engineer reports tihat wlun the metalling from the I lovonstreet railway crossing to llobsonstreet is aompleted, ihe will commence at tlie anmo crossing and work westward, subject, of course, to the pipes Irom tho Criterion Hotel being laid in the meantime. The total metalling completed in the presmnt eontract was 61 chains, at a cost, of Is .'ld per yard. r l ho borough engineer reported last night that good progress i» being made with thie waterworks contract, the contractor preparing to llnish the lining, a net' taking up the invert and straightening up the walls and 1 roof of the unlined portion. There will be 67(3 feet of additional lining reituiied to secure toad ground. Work at the pipe-head will now bo pushed on without delay.

What appears to have I>een a deliberate attempt to set lire to McCoUum and Co,' 3 sa.w flturi pLaning mills, iu, Crawford-street, Bunodin, was fruKtratud -by prompt discovery. As a young man named Mclmlyro was ajjproacjhing the place he saw a man run away uml bolt round by the back of thto building-. On reaching the door hj« saw that a tire was burning, and at once gave the alarm. Tlie 'brigade arrived in time to be able to put out the fire with a hand pump. An examination showed that & light ihad l>een appliid under tho door, thereby communicating with a large lieap of shavings. The flames were just spreading through the building when the door was burst open. The place was gut f :ed twelve months ago, and since then two lires have been suppix?ssed. New Plymouth on Wednesday experienced, in a somewhat moditied degree, tho Imrdships now endured hy the -beleaguered Port Arthur garrison. Tho sudden incursion of thousands of people from outside districts severely taxed hotels find restaurants, which did an enormous trade. ISvorythiaig in tho way of edi')les was practically cleared o ut v and had the visitors remained in force another day it is possible a resort might !«ave been necessary to horseflesh for sustenance. Not only in the eating-houses, however, was the necessity of the public pointeilly sliown. Wlwn Captain Edwin had accidentally pressed wroing hut« t(,n iind turnud th<? sprijtkler over the /.one of influence marked in his liydrographical cltart "Taranaki," there was a susfdonrawl undeniablecall for and mackintoshes, and -the, dry-goods stores were soon Never before was seen such a procession of dripping "gamps" and glistening "macs ))ut _atill t:ho crowd went good-na-turedly along on its way. It was out for tl v o day, and was going to "tho match." Tho n an who circumvents the borough 111 ,ineer must .get up fairly early in the moniiingi. All tho parta for Uic filters have arrived, and bwn carted to the reservoir site, he reported to tho borough works committee last night. He had thoroughly examined ono side only with tiho contractors' representative. Tho other sides could not bo viewed, as the parts could not he turned over. Mr Gibbon understood Ijlw whole of the inachinw haul been in Wellington and passed as finished, but he could not allow tj'.pm to be erected without some material alterations. Some of the faces of joints' had not been properly plained, and he faces Ui/jimsiolves in places wore les.i than UirecM>i'gilvthß 0 f an imoh wide instoajd of bdngi t'hreiMjuniters of an inch or Many of the castings were bad, blowholes, etc.,belng made up with "bugigerum," „ sample of which copiposdtion he submiittod. The material was : stiwed all ovei* the paddock, and a large quantity hod not l)t>on jviint- «!, tar varnished, or protected in any way, consoqiuently oxidation was now on apace. 'Jlie engineer further mentioned that the pipes were faulty, aiKl ho had stopped their being conveyed to the site, pending instructions from Mr Mestayer, tho consnlt'ing eingineor. Major Taylor, tlie negro cyclist, evidently fprgot during his lengthy itay in Australia the disabrlitjcs to which hie colour siTbjectd him when on his native soil, writes- the American correspondent of a Melbourne paper. The other day he landed in Francisco from the mail steam31', and had not bee?ii five minutes ishoix.' before he was podntedly rouinded that in America a very strict and undcvialing liiKe divides the negro from tilw white man- As he left the wharf he clinfJcd into an hotel 'bus. He was at once invited Ito step down. Tho Same result waited his entry into a second 'bus.. The hotel runner in each case informed Taylor t>hut even if he wore driven up town the hotel would have no room for him. A sergeant of police gave tlie cyclist the names of several hotels where coloured people are received. "Not my kind .of hotels," haughtily replied Taylor. Not only did tiho better class of hotels refuse to receive Taylor and his wife, but at none of the restaurants where he would care to eat would the waiters take his order. Disgustedly he left for the Eastern States by the overland train the same evejningi. It is not at all likely that he was treated with any greater consideration in the Eastern cities than in .Saiii Francisco. Tho newspapers gave the [lncident- all tho piqUaincy Vivid wo|i>ld lend it, by picturing Taylor as a so.'ial lion in Australia. He was, so they said, extensively entertained, and was the guest of people who stand high in Australia's social life.