LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7710, 12 January 1905, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

It is staled that American capitalists have purchased 000,000,000 ft of British Columbian standing timber, to be us<-d in the construction of the Panama Cj&liil, The Health Officer of Dunedin last week stated that a case of diphtheria in the town had been traced almost with certainty to infection carried by a Christmas card sent from Invercargill, where the disease was prevailing, A young man named Leonard Sutherland caught hold of a wire fence at Tinwald last Sunday, during n thun- | derstorm, and received a severe electric shock. His hands were considerably burnt. As an evidence of the rapid rise in the value of mining slock on the Rand, the North Otago Times mentions that a former Oaiunru resident •who is now in Johannesburg had added to the value of his mining .scrip the sum of £I2OO ill a fort- : night. A copy of a pamphlet entitled "Chamberlain Appeals Into Caesar" is to hand from the author, Mr A. 11. Maude, of Oainaru, who writes in the hope of placing some of the many complex issues in tho controversy more clearly before the public , view. 'Hie old three-decker, Duke of Wellington, which is being broken up at Portsmouth, was the biggest man-of-war In the world in her time, though her tonnage was only 6071. She was of wood, and represented the produce of 76 acres of .forest oak, reckoned ait 4Q oaks, 100 years

The late train out to-night (at |i0.80) Willi run right through to lilawera.

Forty thousand calves have been inoculated for blackleg in the Taranaki district since December Ist last.

The sou the™ portion of the inward 'Frisco mail is being brought down from Onehunga this morning by tho Takapuna. A tramp in Victoria was fined £25, or four mouths, for the careless use of a flic, thus causing the destruction of a siuantil.v of grass.

It is understood that all the Government ollices. with the exception of the Post and Telegraph Departments, will close at noon to-day. A movement is on foot at Taihapo to form a prospecting association, to work in the Kunhine ranges. It is stated that there are indications of good loose .gold and quart/, in small creeks at the foot of the ranges.

A foot was found on the Nim'lvMile Beach on Friday night, twi. miles south of the Rnngitata Hiver. The foot has ten identified as bclanging to Jolin Mills, one of the party of three who were drowned at sea off Tiinaru on Anniversary Day. The gear which was taken from Tanner's ark, abandoned a fortnight ago off Cheviot, by the crew of the schooner Falcon, has been lodged with the Collector of Customs nt Lyttelton. It includes a compass, a lamp, an oar, and a copy of the New Zealand Pilot. At tho Magistrate's Court, Wanganui, upon the application of the De-puty-Registrar, the pension certificates of old age pensioners Quinn, Cunningham;, and Hemen were cancelled upon the grounds of drunkenness, and ai similar application in respect of another pensioner was adjourned 1 ,. The department is evidently alivo to the protection of the oligiblc portion of the population l . Sir Joseph Ward and party visited the Royal Marionettes at the Exhibition yesterday afternoon. Sir Joseph expressed himself as highly pleased with the show, and complimented the proprietors upon the ingenuity with which the figures were worked. Sir Joseph said that everyone should visit an exhibition that called, .for such mechanical skill and ingenuity. The Rev. Mr Bcn- ■ nctt, tho Maoris, and the comniitI tee also attended the showi, and were greatly pleased.

The peculiar habits of a rat attracted a good deal of attention in Willis-sitrcct on Sunday afternoon, says the New Zealand Times. The animal was inside the window front of a bicycle shop, and for several hours engaged itself in catching flies as they buzzed on the panes of glass. As it caught each fly it deliberately pulled the wings 'oil, and then ate the small living body. Apparently the rat was quite unconcerned at the number of curious eyes watching its methods. There would appear to lie some, competition—or talk of it—in the strong man business in New Plymouth just now. It is stated that one, Known as "Hercules," considers he can outdo Lex McLean, of Antonio's Circus, or that the latter is not willing to meet him. To this McLean replies with a challenge covered by an olTer of £.">o, to any professional or amateur who can perform one single feat of strength that he does, or £lO to anyone who c«n lift as much with two hands as he does with one.

Mr E. M. Smith, M.H.R., on Wednesday introduced a deputation to Sir Joseph Ward, which desired to bring under the Minister's notice the question of getting a railway station for Fitzroy. Messrs Griffiths, Pikett, and Jackson placed before him the Fitzroy views, and Mr Whitaker voided the Smart Road objections to the proposal. In replying), the Minister for Railways said simiiku' requests came from aH parts of the colony and he had invariably refused them. As the residents failed to agree among themselves it was impossible to remove the station to Fiitzroy. The distance between Fitzroy and Smart Road was not sufficient to warrant erecting .another station. Where the stations were ello.se together there was no chance of maintaining any spend on the line. He (hen referred to the proposed experiments wjth motor and promised that one should be made on that route. Wiilh these carriages, he said, snort journeys could lie made without interfering with the speed, and tl*?,y could be stopped even where no star tion existed.

Mr A. Standish waited on Sir Joseph Ward on Wednesday with reference to the metalKng of the road to the mountain-house on the north side. He said Mr Murray, district road engineer, estimated the cost a t £2OOO for metalling, or £1(500 for gravelling. A small portion had been done with scoria metal which was settling vary nicely,. He urged the necessity of getting' the work put in hand quickly, as unless this was .done tho proposed building «t the house could not be done next year. If the metalling was done the accommodation house would be only three hours' drivo from New Plymouth and two and a half hour 3' from Inglewood, The road would not only be of benefit to the tourists, but also to residents who wanted metal. Sir Joseph, in reply, said he was personally in sympathy in the direction of hawog roan's and houses at Mount Egmont, for it would add to the railway mill. The Government decided to erect the accommodation house because it was a national work ■and because a syndicate should not establish a system here which they were trying to prevent in other parts of tho colony.

The other day it was announced that Lord Mountstephen, of Canada had given to the King's Hospital hund £200,000 worth of Argentine bonds, yielding £II,OOO per annum Jhe significance attaching to this handsome gift will be seen from the following paragraph taken from a recent London newspaper :—ln connection with King Edward's Hospital I'und tor London, the Prince of Wales announced last March that an anonymous donor had offered an amount which would produce an income of £IOOO per annum, , m condition that by December 31st next a further .sum, which would produce an income of £9IOO, j s collected The object „f thy gift i s , 0 ~a ise tilo permanent income of the fund to £50,000 a year, with a view to enabling it ultimately to make a distribution of £15(1,000 annually. The importance of this offer to the public is obvious. The committee was enabled in ]»OM to distribute £IOO- - by 'drawing £18,750 from capital, and has only felt justified in allotting £BO,OOO this year— a .sum inadequate for the pressing needs of the hospitals. His lioyal Highness the President earnestly trusts that this of placing the fund in such la favourable position will not lie losH. through lack of adequate response from the public, for if gained it will be n f great advantage to the sick poor of the metropolis.

Tin; fair sex. in distress, lias got many a worthy man into trouble, nivil the. Wry Rev. Dean Fitdiett, of All .Saints', Dunedin, found out to his cost tile other night that the role of knight errant lias its attendant dangers. It seems Hint one of liis parishioners, a Miss Mngigiit, who lives within a stone's throw of tlie parsonage, was visited by a nocturnal prowler, who has been causing North End residents some alarm lately. The rullian, who remains unidentified was seen by Miss liaggitt through a window, lie wandered round the garden, apparently trying to lind out if anyone was at home. Eventually he went round to the -back door, and, evidently encouraged bv the fact that there was no light to be seen, tried to clTect an entrance. The lady promptly slipped out by the front door, and ran to invoke the aid of the dean. When she returned to her home with her escort the intruder (who was either the worse for lhjtior, or pretended to be so) was at another door of the house, but, on being ordered off the premises, lie proceeded towards the gate. After Koing lt short distance, however, he suddenly and unexpectedly turned round, ami, snatching a stick from the lady's hand, he struck the dean a severe blow „n the side of the face w-ith it. The blow just missed Dean Fitchett's eye, broke his spectacles, and inflicted a painful and severe bruise close to the eye and near the temple. After this cowardly act the rullian decamped as fust" as he could. A number of other householders at the North End complain of visits from the same individual, who, it is hoped, will, in the course of his nocturnal wanderings, pay aj ~i to some residence where he will he met with -,uth a letcption as will teaj,h him to adopt some lt 3 s nsk\method of eroplojinjj hu> spaie e\enl

I A five-ioom"ed rraJi'dence nt Wellington!, insured -for' £450 in Iho South British, and owned and occupied by Mrs Drake, was badly damagwl by lire on Tuesday night in the atoonco pi the occupier

| At the Invcrcargill Police Court Fanny Hall was lined £lO for supplying di-inE to Eliza Hurley, a prohibited person, and the latter was fined £5 on each of two informations, in default two months' imprisonment.

I !osi iocliny (lie pass.'ngvrs who iir- ' rived at Wellington by the lonic last I week, tin- Labour Department ofliri- I, |als state that tlieyhave had per- i haps fewer applications for work i Ifrom them than from any other ship. Jin fact, some who sent testimonials | from Home in advance have so far appeared at the .Labour Department. Some of the immigrants, the New Zealand Times states, were snapped up before they left the ship. Talent is often found amid rpieer surroundings. A waiter at the Gretna Hotel, Tnihape, prepared n haml-paintcd menu card for New] | Year's dinner. On one side of the | bill-of-fare was a figure representa- ' .live of Commerce, looking down at jthc Cherub, 1905. On the other ' .was a prostrate Dragon of War ] (1904) with a fatal sword-thrust in his breast. In a corner was a ! dove conveying the message, "A ! Happy New lYear," I Variety, they say, is charming, | and the attractions at the exhibi-i tion continue to be both varied and ' charming. For instance, Antonio's I Great Circus has been performing! twice diaily for fourteen days to .thousands of delighted spectators. The trained monkeys, birds and dogs have gone through their wonderful evolutions,. That marvellous dog Bruno has been skipping, jumping, turning somersaults, and j performing all sorts of curious an- i tics. Signor, Antonio has been throwing np and catching a» mnlti- I tude of bulls as though he had three pairs of hands, spinning butter j tubs and plates balanced from his | mouth, and swallowing enough swords to choke a crocodile. The j strong man, with muscles like coils i of rope, has been lifting and sustain- I ing lewt. and 2cwt. bar bells on his hands and feet with men sitting | thereon. To-night a competition for , all-comers is arranged for the' weight-lifting championship of the | North Island ami a gold medal. At , this several well-known athletes will take part, and Lex McLean will act as judge. All this and a great deal more is 'to ire seen this evening in the exhibition concert room, and a wonderful display it certainly will be. To-day the stall-holders at the exhibition and the waiters for the dining-room are asked to appear in carnival costume, on the occasion of the Premier's visit.* It you do your own washing tbon here is good news for you. Try & tin of "WashSne " ; it will help you and please you. See list of storekeepers who stock it.* Builders may now order the highest quality Auckland hydraulic lime and cement from the New Zealand Express Company, Ltd., agents for John Wilson and Co.. Ltd. S Mr Barraciouglv— November J, 1895. r Barraclough— Sir,—Being a great sufferer front Sciatica and Lumbago I obtained BAKHACLOCCIH'S IUIELMATIC LlQUlD—taken internally—and after about two mouths' treatment n cure was completed. This is eighteen months ago. and I am still well. I malic this statement that isufferers may know that this is „, permanent cure.—l am, vours gratefullv, W. F. SMAKT, Tea' Agent. lIOLLOWAY'S OINTMENT AND PILLS. Reliable Remedies. In wounds, bruises, sprains, glandular swellings, enlarged veins, neuralgic pains and rheumatism, the application of this soothing,ointment to the affectparts not only gives the greatest ease, but likewise cures the complaint. The pills greatly assist in banishing the tendency to rheumat- , ism and similar painful disorders, whilst the Ointment cures the local ailment. The Pills remove the constitutional disturbance and regulate every impaired'function of every organ throughout the human body. The cure is. neither temporary or superficial, .but permanent and complete, and the disease rarely recurs; so perfect the purification performed by" these searching yet harmless preparations. The most delicate may take Holloway's Pills with perfect confidence.*