LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7732, 7 February 1905, Page 2

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

I The Hawkcs Buy Herald reports that Napier is mentioned us a- posbuble place for tilie re-hearing of the I jStoldon l v. Taylor slander cane, i Messrs Bewley and Gninths report havjing sold Mr William Jemison's 150 acre farm, at Oakura, to Mr W. 11). Webster at £8 10s per acre. ,

The Chili nnra n of the Taranaki ICounty Council has given notice to 'mow at the March meeting that the ICouncil take into consideration the question of representation. Stored in the Tourist Department building at Wellington, which narrowly escaped' destruction by fire when live D.I.C. was consumed, were curios to the value of £3OOO. A number of dairy farmers around Palmerston North are dipping their calves with sheep dip. It has been found that the dip, besides destroying all vermin, makes the skin clear and shiny, and gives the calves a better chance to thrive.

I We (the Poverty Hay Herald) have heard of some very heavy yields of grass seed thus season. Mr James [Jones threshed from hie twenty-acre paddock at lvuhanui, near Waerenga-a-hika, 250 sacks of seed, or equal to about 65 bushels per acre.

The announcement made recently thai Mr J. W. A. Marchunt is to be retired from the position of Survey-or-General caused considerable surprise, probably to no one more than himself, who is in the pi hue of life, and a man of recognised ability. It is understood that Mr Murchnnt will, on his retirement, become entitled to a pension of £SOO a year. Last month the New Zealand Dairy Association, Auckland, paid £15,000 to its suppliers. The output of butter and cheese from the Auckland district this season will be about 1500 tons. The association will require about £IIOOO worth of butterboxes 'this year.

j In China, owing to religious scruples, all the telegraph wires are buried under the ground. The natives object to the shadow of a telegraph polo falling on the burial placo of their ancestors, and as graves were everywhere to be found the Government eventually decided to bury the wires with the ancestors—underground. The health officer n't Dnnedin is taking action with a view of ensuring that the meat delivery carts of thu various butchers shall be rendered dust-proof. Another suggestion is that the meat in the carts nhould be wrapped in cloth. The master butchers will shortly be met by the inspector, who will explain the officer's requirements. Kels are very numerous in the rivers in the South Taranaki this year, and some large specimens have been secured. An Otakeho resident landed a "boomer" a few nights ago which turned the scale at l(S17)s. A much larger one was taken from the Kaupokonui river last week by a Maori. This one was over 26lbs in weight, with a giith measurement of 18 inches.

I John Christian Kurlson, a Norwegian, 48 years of age, was struck 'dead by Ifghtning while sitting on a chair in Hip open air at, Heidelberg (Victoria) on January 11. The chair smashed to pieceU, and the deceased's hair was singed off and his boots 'burned. Another man who was slitting near Karlson escaped unhurt', but sustained a severe shock. | The Federal Postmaster-General is • inquiring into-the practicability of introducing in Melbourne and Sydney | the "Telautograph," an ingenious recording instrument, which may be used in connection with an ordinary telephone circuit. By this apparatus one's handwriting is produced in fac simile at the distant end, and thus two business men may at once record in writing the bargain which they have made over the telephone. Milking on shares is not ajl " beer and skittles " for employers, says the Waimate Witness. A local farmer has just discovered that the shares' man he has \>ith him hus been in the habit eft keeping the cows in the yard attacked to the shed overnight to save the troullj of rounding them up first thing in the morning. They—the employe;' and shares' man —have now parted company. We often hear of people giving £l5O per J- acre and even a great deal more, for land in the suburbs of New Plymouth. Surely if suburban | land is worth that,, there should be a good attendance of buyers and spectators present at Mrs 11. Horrock's sale next Tuesday, when the whole of her beautiful property in j Wooleombe Terrace will be offered to |auct|ion, in areas to suit buyers, at prices that must tempt llieiii, as the I reserves aro very low indeed.

The Dunedin correspondent of the IChristphurt-h Press -telegraphs :—The latest and best X-rays apparatus has jboen imported for use in this city. jit certainly is superior to anything |of the kind we have s'.-en here'liefore ,—superior in power and in the definition of its proVspntations to the eye, and the photographs taken from it for surgical purposes are uo,t only mnrj.vels of clearness, but were secured afiter very short exposures. One, of the tat photographs, showing a break in the wrist, was obtained from 45 sec exposure.

Considerable amusement is said to have been caused in St. Potersburg 6y a slip of the Emperor Nicholas in accepting the offers of several companies of Siberian militia. The petition read : "We humbly J ny nt ■Jfour Majesty's feet our desire to be permitted to fight and die for the Fatherland." The Emperor, acccpt|ing„ wrote on the margin of the petition in his own hand: "I thank jyou sincerely, and hope that your Wishes may bo fully realised."

| There is at present on a vi.sit to a youngster of ten years of age who .is said to be the strongest boy on earth. His. name is Michael Urbani, and in his stockinged feet he stands not much more than three and a-half feet high-. A German by birth, he is a positive marveT. Without witnessing the feats, the majority of which he has learned within the last four and twenty months, it is almost impossible to credit their feasibility.

New Zealand's population increns|ed by 25,028 during 1(101. Exclusive of Maoris', the population on 31st December last is estimated at 8;-i2j.505, of whom 439,674 were males. The births registered during the y,«ir numbered 22,7(i2. and the deaths 8089, giving a n excess of 14,'573 births. The arrivals ii t the col|ony from abroad during the ypar nuiulwrod 32,632, and the departures 22,2,7. It is estimated that there were 2829 Chinese in the collonv on 31st December last, of whom ' only 35 were females.

A terrible rpvengp taken by a deceived husband living a), Niewiedxiow, on the Hussu-Prussian frontier was recently reported from Myslowltz. The man, whose name is Yasknlski, had discovered tlie inlide-lity ol his wile. He possessed -himself of a dynamite, cartridge, fastened it to the leg of a sofa in his room and attached it to a long fuse reaching to the door of his house outside. Instcad of going to his work as he told Ins wife, hp waited about till her paramour untecpd the house, and When both were seated on the sofa | lks set light to the fuse. The deal), of the guilty pair was instantaneous. [ At Die recent IhoiouigMircd. stock sales held at Napier a charge of Is admission was made. This resulted m the collection of £ll, which will be divided amongst the district hospitals, with Hie addition, of course, of the Government subsidy,

hi answer to a correspondent's enquiry as to who the Official Assignee's report on the liquidation of til" Colonial Bank, aS ordered by tin. Biipremi! Court, has nut let be.'i made, the Otugo Daily Times has the lollowijrg :—'• We have ,-(ferred ihe above letter to the Official Assignee, who informs us that owing to the ( intricate questions and the mass of jfigures involve,! ho had to ask the ■ Government for the services of an expert accountant to investigate matters. The desired assistance was granted, and a valuable skilled offoyf was appointed and furnished |Wilh aili tiie necessary pnpoiw. He jhad liardly got well on with his | work', however, when it became necessary to appoint him to an important position in. the Civil Service that had become vacant, and the Official' Assignee had to hand the investigation ow>r to another accountant, who has' found U''necessary' to apply for certain information 'tq tlie headquarters of th? Dajjk of ' New Zealand. The required 'information was only avaMaible in I-nvercargil], however, and.the necessary inquiries are being made there. The Assignee informs us that the work is being gone on with as steadily as possible, and the, report will make its appearance lin due course, but it is impossible to say definitely when.."-

J A man named Christopher. Rutherford, arrested in town on Saturday on a charge of horse .stalling, was brought up at the l'olice Court on 'Monday, and remanded to Wanganui. I At the Police Court on Monday T. ißransgrove was lined by the S.M. £1 and costs 21s for assaulting A. Clelnnd on December 2fith Inst. Mr C. 11. Watson appeared for complainant ami Mr Grey for defendant. I While driving between Eltliam and Ngairc on Sunday Mrs \V. C. Page, senr., sustained a hroKnn ai'm and other injuries through the trap be-' ing caosized, as the result of the horse bolting down Julian's TEH. | A Wellington telegram stales that the following are among the results of the Art and Science examinations (South Kensington) :—-New Plymouth : Machine construction, David A. Crawford, 2nd class agricultural science and rural economy ; Ada M. Cross, Ist class.

Cr. AhV'i- was very amusing in his remarks at the meeting in the Town Hall last night, and he fairly convulsed the audience by staling that one of the councillors representing the east ward "slept anywhere and everywhere, probably on a clothes line." The Waitara Mail states that 11 r Buchanan, as acting secretary of the Taranaki Rugby Union, received a circular from tiro New Zealand Union on Saturday, asking that particulars be forwarded as to cost of grounds in view of a match being arranged between Taranaki and the Australians, who are expected to visit New Zealand this year.

Another veteran passed away at the hospital yesterday in the person of James Carroll, formerly of the 651 h Regiment, and lately of Hawera. Some time back lie underwent an operation, but his advanced age, 75 years, was evidently against his recovery. The funeral will leave the mortuary to-day at 2 p.m. A formal demand for a poll to adopt! the/' rating on l unimproved value system has been numerously signed, and w&s handed in to the Mayor last night for action to be taken in the matter. Considering the diversity of opinion there is on this subject, the ratepayers will do well to consider the matter carefully before going to the poll.

The joint committee of the Taranaki and Clifton County Councils appointed yesterday to deal with the question of carriers' licenses lost no time in getting to work, The four members met immediately after the close of the council's meeting, and set to work in investigating Individual cases of carriers with n view Ito arriving at a decision. | The only electoral ward of the Harbour rating district in which there is to be a contest for the seat is Stratford, where Mr K. Dingle is opposed by Mr James Thomson, of Ngajre. In tho Clifton ward Mr .James lline, jun., replaces Mr Foreman, who retires. ' Messrs., Connett, King, and Maxwell aro returned unopposed.

M. Augusto Van Bicne, who is probn'bly the finest 'cello player il* j tho world, is to visit New Plymouth ', at the beginning of April. Mr ( '■'P»te" Hughes semis us a notifica- , tion to that effect, and we wer« w delighted to receive it. There is a j i treat in storo for the people in this [part, for as Clement Scott once j wrote in the Daily Telegraph:—.

'■' There are two things worth living for—to hear Adelina Patti sing and Augusta Van Biene play the'cello."

The Western Park. Board have made a start with their scheme of improvement, and have consuructed an easy grade path 10 feet wide from ! Cutfield Street to Morloy Street, | with turnstiles at either end, and | already the public are beginning to jinake use of the new ground thus opened up fo them. Qui'to a considerable number of poople visited th« park on Sunday, and strolled about enjoying the lovely view and the j balmy air. It must be gratifying to those who have thy welfare of the West End at heart to see their early elTorts for Improvement appreciated, and we congratulate the board on the good beginning they have made. The funeral of the lute Mr William Bassett look place yesterday afternoon, and was well attended, -though had tht'i weather permitted there is no jieubl that a larger number of I old friends would have been present. The first portion of the burial service was rend in the Primitive Methodist Church by tho Rev. J. Nixon, the Revs. Buttle and Woolloxall reading the lessons, arid the Rev. Cannell giving an impressive address.' The hymns selected for tho occasion were "O God of Bothel" and "Forever with the Lord." Thu remains were then taken to the Cemetery, the pall bearers being Messrs C, E. Ilellrlnger, Baltimore, White, | and F. James. As the funeral party were leaving the church the '-'Dead March" was played by Mr Golding. I Tho service nt the graveside was read by tho Rov. J, Nixon, The chief lnournors wore Mr G, Bassett I (son of deceased), and the Rev. J. | Clover (son-in-law). There was a ■ large number of floral tokens of respect and esteem. I The Runudin corrcspindeiit of the Flost ponds, ttfc following -.—Travel,lers on the north line on- Tuesday [had their fill of sensation. Those preceding northwards by the second express had an' almost miraculous escape at Oamaru, and what in a 'small way was almost as miraculous an escape was experienced by the ocpupants of a, first-class compartment on thp first express from I (Jhristohufch. The train had just Soft Orari, when a bullet whistted through, flip pompartment, narrowly i missing ope gentleman, and piercing 'the coat of another before making its exit through the window. The shot probably came from a pea rifle. When steaming into Timaru the same train ran into a horse which hod got intfi a cattle-Stop. The animal, which, had its harness on, was killed, I

I Mr J, H, MNjvon;, a runlioldpr at jClive, Hawkes Buy, has been fined I£2 a»d costs for paying wages in a j hotel, contrary to section KJI of the 'Licensing Acti, which reads as follows :—" If any master or oilier : person employing journeymen, workmen, servants, or labourers, shall pay, or cause any payment to be inado to any such journeymen, work[inen servants or labourers, in or at any, licensed prciueises, or in any house in which liquor shall be sold, [he fshalj for ahy such offence forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding £lO. Provided always, that nothing herein contained shall extend to any j licensed person paying his own journeymen,, workmen, servants* or labourers, employed solelv in his lousiness us licensed person'in his licen,spd- house."

AFTER TWENTY YEAHS. ( Mr 11. HuJlen, Cheviot, writes : "the Rheumo has done my w : ife ' a great amount of good. She got no | good from the Hanmer Springs, having suffered from chronic rheumatism lor twenty years. I was suffering from the kidneys, and took some Rheunip. It relieved me very quickly, % havp recpnimpnded it to several people, a!) with good results, Sold by aij, and storekeepers, 2s Gd and.' 4s 6rf.- \\ holcsale Agents, Kempthorne, Prosser, and Co,* 7

WHY IT SELLS. If SYKES' DRENCH were not backed by real merit it would have been dead long ago. Uo you want to know why it sells ? WORD OF MOUTH ADVERTISING. A farmer uye it, perhaps through chance, maybe a friend recommends it to lum. However, he gives it a trial. A valuable cow's life is saved ; next tune several of his pigs are sick; e tries it again ; and so it goes on ntil after two or three more trials he finds it can be depended upon. \\im\ his neighbours- cowsj are sick ho says : ''Why don't you use SYKES' Drench ? Best thing I pv e r struck. Get a puckirt, old chap, and ist use it according tothe directions, and it will do the rest." Ihis friend tries it with similar results and recommends ft to another, n-d so it grows constantly bcrnuse tt faithfully does its v.qrk. Each Packet of SYKEg' DRENCJC eontains two drenches. Price Is 6d,— Advt.